Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence Corp. v. The School Committee for the City of Boston, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, No. 21-1303, 22-1144 · judgment December 19, 2023
Before the decision, about 1.6× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a First Circuit decision below, a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition), and a business petitioner.
Question presented
The Boston School Committee overhauled the criteria for admission to its three competitive “Exam Schools” for the 2021–22 school year. The School Committee replaced the traditional standardized test with a zip code quota that reserved seats for students with the highest GPA in each Boston neighborhood. The number of seats allocated to each neighborhood was based on the neighborhood’s population of schoolaged children. Members of the School Committee spoke openly of their intent to racially balance the Exam Schools at the expense of Asian American and white students. Three of the seven members who voted to enact the quota ultimately resigned in disgrace for racially-charged actions. The district court found that these members “harbored . . . racial animus” and that “the race-neutral criteria were chosen precisely because of their effect on racial demographics.” Yet the First Circuit held the School Committee had not violated the Equal Protection Clause because Asian American and white applicants continued to earn seats at the Exam Schools at a rate above the groups’ share of the applicant pool. The question presented is whether an equal protection challenge to facially race-neutral admission criteria is barred simply because members of the racial groups targeted for decline still receive a balanced share of admissions offers commensurate with their share of the applicant pool.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Christopher Matthew Kieser
Pacific Legal Foundation
For respondent
Douglas Harry Hallward-Driemeier
Ropes & Gray, LLP
Argument & decision
Decided December 9, 2024.
Proceedings
- Dec 09 2024Petition DENIED. Statement of Justice Gorsuch respecting the denial of the petition for a writ of certiorari. (Detached Opinion). Justice Alito, with whom Justice Thomas joins, dissenting from the denial of certiorari. (Detached Opinion)
- Dec 02 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/6/2024.
- Nov 18 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/22/2024.
- Nov 12 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/15/2024.
- Nov 04 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/8/2024.
- Oct 28 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/1/2024.
- Oct 15 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/18/2024.
- Oct 07 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/11/2024.
- Sep 27 2024Supplemental brief of respondents The School Committee for the City of Boston, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Sep 25 2024Supplemental brief of petitioner Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence Corp. filed. (Distributed)
- Aug 26 2024Reply of petitioner Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence Corp. filed. (Distributed)
- Jul 10 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/30/2024.
- Jun 20 2024Brief of respondents Boston Branch of NAACP, et al. in opposition filed.
- Jun 20 2024Brief of respondents The School Committee for the City of Boston, et al. in opposition filed.
- May 20 2024Brief amicus curiae of The Equal Protection Project filed.
- May 20 2024Brief amici curiae of The American Civil Rights Project, et al. filed.
- May 20 2024Brief amici curiae of The Buckeye Institute and Mountain States Legal Foundation filed.
- May 20 2024Brief amici curiae of National Association of Scholars and Chinese American Citizens Alliance of Greater New York filed.
- May 20 2024Brief amici curiae of Advancing American Freedom, et al. filed.
- May 17 2024Brief amicus curiae of Center for Individual Rights filed.
- May 17 2024Brief amici curiae of The Asian American Coalition for Education, et al. filed.
- May 16 2024Brief amici curiae of Beacon Center of Tennessee, et al. filed.
- May 15 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including June 20, 2024, for all respondents. See Rule 30.1.
- May 14 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response from May 20, 2024 to June 19, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
- May 14 2024Letter regarding substitution of parties under Rule 35 received from counsel for respondents.
- Apr 17 2024Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due May 20, 2024)
- Feb 23 2024Application (23A771) granted by Justice Jackson extending the time to file until April 17, 2024.
- Feb 21 2024Application (23A771) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from March 18, 2024 to April 17, 2024, submitted to Justice Jackson.