Supreme Court Allows What Critics Call ‘Racial Balancing’ at Elite Public School

The U.S. Supreme Court will allow one of the nation’s top public schools to move forward with a new admissions policy that critics say has “racial balancing” at its core.

The closely watched case from Fairfax County in northern Virginia involves Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.

For years, its student body — drawn from a race-blind process relying heavily on standardized tests — was more than 70% Asian American. In 2020, school board officials shifted to a more holistic approach that has resulted in greater numbers of white, Hispanic and Black students enrolled. {snip}

A district court struck the policy because of alleged racial motivations of officials, but a narrowly divided appeals court reversed the decision and said it was permissible.

A majority of Supreme Court justices voted to let that ruling stand; they did not explain their decision.

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