Supreme Court to Review Challenge to Admissions Policy That Increases Equal Opportunity for Middle School Students
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Sofia Costas scostas@advancingjustice-aajc.orgLatinoJustice, PRLDF media@latinojustice.orgBallard Spahr LLP mediarelations@ballardspahr.comWe Are CASA jsapunar@wearecasa.org
Supreme Court to Review Challenge to Admissions Policy That Increases Equal Opportunity for Middle School Students
The Supreme Court agrees to hear middle school admissions case in Montgomery County, Maryland, despite two lower courts having independently concluded that it should be dismissed.
The U.S. Supreme Court has announced that it will review lower courts’ rulings dismissing Association for Education Fairness v. Montgomery County Board of Education, a misguided lawsuit which seeks to prevent Montgomery County, Maryland, from removing obstacles and adopting reforms to ensure fair admission opportunities for all students at highly selective middle school magnet programs.
The Montgomery County Public Schools adopted the reforms based on recommendations from a multiracial coalition of students, families, and community organizations–including the NAACP, Asian American Youth Leadership, Empowerment, and Development (AALEAD), Montgomery County Progressive Asian American Network (MoCoPAAN), and We Are CASA. Community members worked for years to persuade the school district to remove longstanding barriers to equal access to its magnet programs. The reforms include: automatically screening all fifth-grade students for eligibility; factoring school poverty levels when evaluating math and reading test scores; and using a lottery to select among applicants with qualifying grades, reading level, and test scores. Prior to the lottery-based process, admissions were by referral only. The revised policy led to a tenfold increase in the number of students being screened as compared to the prior process.
The reforms have given all students a fairer opportunity to compete for admission and resulted in qualified students from every community, including Black and Latino students, securing admission to the magnet programs. For example, in 2021, the first year of the lottery-based process, Black and Latino students made up 33% and 41% of admittees to magnet programs in the northern part of the county. In comparison, under the prior process, no to almost no Black and Latino students were admitted.
On behalf of the Montgomery County Branch of the NAACP; MoCoPAAN; Identity, Inc.; We Are CASA; and AALEAD, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF), Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC (Advancing Justice – AAJC), LatinoJustice PRLDEF, and Ballard Spahr LLP have presented oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and filed multiple amicus briefs to support the right of school systems to undertake nondiscriminatory efforts to remove obstacles and to ensure equal educational opportunities for every child.
In a joint statement, the Montgomery County Branch of the NAACP; MoCoPAAN; We Are CASA; and AALEAD said:
“Public education belongs to every child. These reforms have opened doors for students who too often have been left out of opportunities designed to help them thrive. A child’s future should not be determined by the poverty level at the school they happen to attend, their family’s knowledge of the admissions process, or how much or little access they have to resources that help them prepare for the future. Every student deserves a meaningful opportunity to develop and showcase their full potential. Universal screening, local norming, the use of a lottery, and other reforms help ensure that students across Montgomery County have a meaningful chance to demonstrate their abilities and pursue advanced educational opportunities. We support an admissions system that gives all students a fair opportunity to participate in programs that can shape their educational futures. These reforms are an important step toward ensuring that public education serves all of our communities.”
In a joint statement, the counsel for the above organizations (LDF, Advancing Justice –AAJC, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, and Ballard Spahr) said:
“We are disappointed that the Court has agreed to take up a challenge to a policy designed to ensure that all students have a meaningful opportunity to access an excellent public education. But the grant of certiorari is not a ruling on the merits and does not change the fact that these are lawful, race-neutral, evidence-backed admissions policies designed to give students across Montgomery County an equal opportunity to compete for admission to the magnet middle schools. We are confident that, after considering the policy and the law, the Supreme Court will reach the correct conclusion, that the Montgomery County Board of Education’s improved admissions policies are, in fact, lawful and constitutional.”
In July 2022, the district court dismissed the Amended Complaint in this case for failing to allege disparate impact and discriminatory intent. The Fourth Circuit affirmed in February 2026.