BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — On Tuesday, a federal judge heard the case against new pandemic-era admissions rules to get into some of the most coveted high schools in Boston.
The Boston School Committee voted to suspend the exam schools' admissions test for the 2021-2022 school year in October, and put in place a new merit-and-zip code based system for the next year.
The system would give 20% of the seats at exam schools to the best students city-wide, and the other 80% would be distributed to the remaining top students by zip code. Students from the least-wealthy zip codes have the chance to pick their school of choice first if they qualify for a spot at one of the three schools.
A group calling itself the Boston Parent Coalition For Academic Excellence is suing the Boston School Committee, saying those new rules violate their Fourteenth Amendment rights and various Massachusetts laws.
The group, bringing the suit on behalf of 14 white and Asian parents and students, says Boston Public School system has "imposed upon the school children of Boston a racial and ethnic classification system for entry into its most prestigious public schools," calling the new plan a "proxy for race and ethnicity."
Judge William Young said he hoped to issue a ruling on the case by the middle of April.
WBZ's Karyn Regal (@Karynregal) reports:
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