Boston, MA
US Supreme Court denies petition from parents challenging admissions to Boston’s exam schools – The Boston Globe
Writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch said the district’s new policy “greatly diminish[ed]” the court’s need to review the parent coalition’s case.
“The difficulty, as I see it, is that Boston has replaced the challenged admissions policy,” Gorsuch said in his response to the parents’ petition. “The parents and students do not challenge Boston’s new policy, nor do they suggest that the city is simply biding its time, intent on reviving the old policy.”
Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.
BPS’s temporary policy resulted in a significant decrease in the number of white incoming seventh graders who received admissions offers, and a small increase in admissions for Asian American applicants. The number of Black and Latino students admitted to the exam schools rose substantially.
The parent coalition sued BPS in 2021 on behalf of 14 white and Asian applicants. The parents sought to ban BPS from using criteria, such as ZIP codes and socioeconomic factors, as proxies for race in order to admit more Black and Latino students to exam schools at the expense of white and Asian applicants.
The coalition also sought to have five students who were rejected under the temporary plan admitted, arguing they would have been accepted under the old policy.
Chris Kieser, senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, which represented the parent coalition, said in a statement the district’s use of students’ ZIP codes to allocate exam school seats violated the Constitution’s promise of equal protection under the law.
“Every student should have an equal opportunity to succeed based on their merit, not where they live or the color of their skin,” Kieser said. “Regardless of today’s disappointment, the government’s use of skin color or ethnicity to choose who can attend public schools is a critical constitutional question that must be settled.”
In his dissent from the high court’s denial, Alito said the district’s temporary policy was “racial balancing by another name” and “undoubtedly unconstitutional.”
Spokespeople for BPS did not return requests for comment.
The temporary policy was previously upheld by the federal district court in Boston and the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Oren Sellstrom, litigation director of Lawyers for Civil Rights, which represented two families who intervened in the lawsuit in support of the plan, said the court’s decision shows school districts should take steps to ensure that educational opportunities are available to all students equally.
“Our schools are stronger when classrooms are diverse and students from a wide range of backgrounds can learn from each other,” he said in a statement.
The justices earlier this year declined to hear a similar case brought by a group of Asian American parents who argued the race-neutral admissions criteria to the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology in Virginia were designed to increase enrollment of Black and Latino students. The policy set aside seats for a portion of students from every middle school.
Last year, the court struck down race-based affirmative action admission policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina.
Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, executive director of Lawyers for Civil Rights, said in a statement the Supreme Court’s action sends a clear message that there is “no appetite for extending the affirmative action decision beyond its narrow scope in college admissions.”
Deanna Pan can be reached at deanna.pan@globe.com. Follow her @DDpan.
Boston Legacy FC vs Utah Royals
Boston Legacy FC vs Utah Royals LIVE GAME: Boston Legacy FC vs Utah Royals look to seize control of thrilling Boston Legacy FC vs Utah Royals. Every team in the Boston Legacy FC vs Utah Royals has two wins apiece as we go into the final two game weeks. Boston Legacy FC vs Utah Royals will host Boston Legacy FC vs Utah Royals at Boston Legacy FC vs Utah Royals Park Stadium with the Boston Legacy FC vs Utah Royals a single point ahead of Boston Legacy FC vs Utah Royals in the standings and just one behind leaders Boston Legacy FC vs Utah Royals.
Gray, acquired in a November trade from the St. Louis Cardinals, was one of Boston’s key rotation additions, along with Ranger Suarez, in the offseason. He was 14-8 with a 4.28 ERA in 2025.
“He’s very specific about his work. Every day has a purpose,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Gray. “Two hundred strikeouts, that’s something that we were looking for. The competitor. Every five days, this guy is going to give you everything.”
In his five career appearances against the Reds, Gray is 1-3 with a 4.18 ERA.
“It’s pretty much one of the only things that is continuing to push me, is to get to a World Series, to win a World Series, to pitch in big games,” said Gray. “I love the moment, and I am chasing that moment.”
Here’s the preview:
RED SOX (1-0): TBA
Pitching: RHP Sonny Gray
REDS (0-1): TBA
Pitching: RHP Brady Singer
Time: 4:10 p.m.
TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7
Red Sox vs. Singer: Wilyer Abreu 2-5, Roman Anthony 1-2, Willson Contreras 2-7, Jarren Duran 3-10, Caleb Durbin 0-1, Isiah Kiner-Falefa 6-16, Marcelo Mayer 0-1, Andruw Monasterio 1-4, Carlos Narváez 1-1, Ceddanne Rafaela 1-5, Trevor Story 0-4, Connor Wong 2-8, Masataka Yoshida 2-7
Reds vs. Gray: Will Benson 0-5, Elly De La Cruz 5-11, TJ Friedl 1-8, Ke’Bryan Hayes 4-17, Nathaniel Lowe 2-10, Noelvi Marte 0-5, Matt McLain 2-2, Spencer Steer 4-9, Tyler Stephenson 0-8, Eugenio Suárez 7-13, Jose Trevino 0-2
Stat of the day: Sal Stewart become the first Cincinnati rookie since 1958 to record three hits on Opening Day.
Notes: Cincinnati sends righthander Brady Singer (14-12, 4.03 in 2025) to the mound … With Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo already on the injured list to start the season, Singer is considered one of Cincinnati’s most durable pitchers, leading the Reds with 32 starts last season … Singer has made five career starts against Boston, posting a 2-2 record with a 4.88 ERA over 24 innings … His last appearance against the Red Sox, on July 1 in Boston, ended after just three innings when he allowed two earned runs on three hits.
Cam Kerry can be reached at cam.kerry@globe.com.
Nearly three months since assuming office as mayor of Everett, Massachusetts, Mayor Robert Van Campen isn’t wasting any time.
The former city councilor ousted 18-year incumbent Carlo DeMaria in decisive fashion last November, but even so, issues surrounding his predecessor still linger at City Hall.
A state-led salary audit of DeMaria found $180,000 in overpayment, a finding the former mayor disputes. Van Campen says the city is monitoring ongoing investigations.
“What I’ve conveyed to my partners in government here, locally, is to allow that state process to play itself out, and then we, as a community, will make a decision,” the mayor said. “In addition to that, I recently met with Inspector General Jeff Shapiro, who visited me at City Hall. We had a great conversation about transparency in government, best practices, putting in the right systems to ensure that that type of financial oversight doesn’t happen in the future.”
Beyond the audit, Van Campen is placing emphasis on school overcrowding.
“My objective is to try to implement solutions as quickly as I can,” he said. “Our high school today, which was built for I think 1,650 students, now houses around 2,200.”
The World Cup is creating buzz across Massachusetts, including in Everett, where the Kraft Group is looking to build a soccer stadium.
To alleviate that problem, the mayor is using federal ARPA funds to repair the old Everett High School and seeking out other spaces that could be used in the future.
“Would I like to build out new classroom space for the students of Everett in the next one to two years? Yes, that’s my ideal,” Van Campen said. “But I want to make sure that if we do it on a quick timeline, it’s done in a correct and proper fashion.”
Also in focus for the mayor is a new soccer stadium for the New England Revolution on the shores of the Mystic River.
The Kraft Group, Boston, Everett and the state Legislature have all taken steps to make the project a reality, but Van Campen says there’s still more work to do.
“It’s a transformative project, it’s a breathtaking project,” said Van Campen. “But I’ve been clear with all the stakeholders around that project, and the other larger developments going on down there, that we have to make sure that transit issues are comprehensively addressed, that pedestrian access issues are comprehensively addressed, that all those issues have to be addressed to perfection in order for these projects to succeed.”
Tune in on Sunday, March 29 at 9:30 a.m. for our extended @Issue Sit Down with Van Campen.
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