Families continue to fight BPS exam school admissions policy after judge rules no discrimination against white, Asian students

A group of white and Asian families continues to challenge Boston’s tiered admissions process for three exam schools. The Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence filed an appeal in the First Circuit Court of Appeals after a federal judge dismissed claims in March. The coalition argues that zip codes and socioeconomic tiers used for admissions operate as proxies for race and racially discriminate against white and Asian students. The coalition contends that the number of white students fell below their proportion of applicants, creating underrepresentation. The judge dismissed the case, stating that courts had already rejected similar equal protection claims tied to a prior zip code-based system. The judge also said disparate impact benchmarks should use the full school-age population rather than the applicant pool.

"The court dismissed the case, saying the benchmark to determine “disparate impact” is not the applicant pool, but all of Boston's school-age children. “This Court's precedent does not embrace the school-age population benchmark, a measure that would make it all but impossible to show that facially race-neutral admis"

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