China News Service, Beijing, February 21 - Washington News: The U.S. Supreme Court stated on the 20th local time that it will not accept a lawsuit regarding the admissions policy of a high school in Virginia.
The high school is Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia, known as one of the best public high schools in the United States. The school's admissions policy implemented in 2020 was accused of discriminating against Asians. The Supreme Court's decision not to accept it means that the school's admissions policy can continue to be implemented.
In order to promote the diversity of the student body, Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology will implement a new admissions policy starting in 2020. When admitting students, we not only take into account test scores, but also consider many factors such as the student's family economic situation, geographical location, etc., but racial factors are not included. After the implementation of the new admissions policy, the proportion of Asian students in the school decreased, while the proportion of African-American and Latino students increased. Some parents of students believed that the admissions policy discriminated against Asians and filed lawsuits.
The Federal District Court ruled in 2022 that the high school's practices were "racially discriminatory" and that it needed to stop implementing the admissions policy. Later, the Federal Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that the high school’s admissions policy did not target Asian students and did not have racial discrimination, and it was allowed to continue to be implemented. Ultimately, the students' parents appealed to the Supreme Court.
Seven of the nine justices of the Supreme Court believed that the case should not be accepted, and two justices believed that it should be accepted. Justices Alito and Thomas said that the Supreme Court's decision to allow this "abnormal policy" to continue to be implemented is "incomprehensible" and that the Supreme Court should repeal the policy. "If the virus is not eliminated in time, the virus may continue to spread."
In June last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the "affirmative action" admissions principles of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina were unconstitutional, and that universities across the United States must not consider race in admissions. The ruling was opposed by many parties, including US President Biden. (over)