On December 9, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear two closely watched K-12 cases, one regarding a Wisconsin school district’s “gender identity support plan” policy and another on temporary admissions policies meant to diversify student bodies at three competitive Boston schools.
In Parents Protecting Our Children v. Eau Claire Area School District, a group of parents challenged a Wisconsin school district’s enforcement of administrative guidance for student gender identity support plans, which are personalized documents intended to build common understanding among staff, parents and a student about how a student’s gender identity will be accounted for and supported in school.
In the second K-12 case rejected by the Court, Boston Parent Coalition For Academic Excellence Corp. v. The School Committee for the City of Boston, parents challenged a temporary pandemic-era admissions policy that reserved seats in three competitive magnet schools for students in grades 7-12 with the highest GPAs in each Boston neighborhood. The rejection let stand an appeals court finding that the parent group’s claim that the temporary policy had a disparate impact on White and Asian students lacked merit. The appeals court had previously ruled that whether the use of criteria like residence, family income and GPA was adopted in admissions to increase racial or ethnic diversity or without consideration to its likelihood to increase diversity was in the eye of the beholder.
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