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WASHINGTON, D.C. – America First Legal (AFL) secured a major victory for parents and students in its lawsuit challenging the School District of Philadelphia’s race-driven admissions overhaul for its formerly merit-based public high schools.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that the plaintiffs produced sufficient evidence that Philadelphia officials acted with racially discriminatory intent when they rewrote school admissions standards in 2022, and it reversed a federal district court’s ruling dismissing the case for insufficient evidence. The Third Circuit also held that the district court should have applied “strict scrutiny” to the School District of Philadelphia’s racially-motivated scheme. Strict scrutiny is the most stringent standard of review known to law, which declares racially motivated government policies presumptively unconstitutional and allows them in only the most narrow and compelling circumstances. The Third Circuit’s ruling sends the case back to the district court for trial.
The plaintiffs sued in response to a sweeping revision to the school district’s high-school admissions policies, which was prompted by the district’s “anti-racism” initiative and its response to the death of George Floyd in 2020. The new admissions policy which replaced merit-based admissions with a system engineered to produce racially driven outcomes. The district eliminated longstanding academic standards, introduced automated scoring and writing tools, and created “preferred” zip codes that guaranteed automatic admission to “qualified” applicants, while all other students were forced into a lottery for remaining seats.
Five of the six favored zip codes are overwhelmingly Black and Hispanic, making the program a thinly veiled proxy for race. Internal school district documents and public statements further revealed goals to dramatically increase Black and Hispanic enrollment at elite schools to match citywide demographics. These changes were announced just one day before applications opened, without taking public input into account.
The parents who challenged this racially motivated scheme were represented by America First Legal, Jonathan F. Mitchell, and Wally Zimolong. They sued after their children met the district’s baseline eligibility requirements but were forced into a lottery, while “qualified” students from favored zip codes received automatic admission into the city’s elite criteria-based high schools.
The district court initially dismissed the case, accepting Philadelphia’s claim that the new admissions policies were race-neutral. The Third Circuit flatly rejected that conclusion, holding that a reasonable factfinder could determine the admissions overhaul was designed to alter the racial makeup of schools and that it materially disadvantaged Asian and White students in a zero-sum admissions process.
“School officials don’t get to rig admissions systems to satisfy ideological goals,” said Gene Hamilton, President of America First Legal. “This ruling affirms a basic constitutional principle: government cannot discriminate by race, whether openly or by proxy. AFL will continue fighting to secure accountability and restore equal protection.”
“This is a major victory for parents and students who were shoved aside so school bureaucrats could chase racial quotas,” said Ian Prior, Senior Counsel at America First Legal. “Philadelphia officials replaced merit with ‘equity,’ used zip codes as racial proxies, and intentionally rigged admissions to manufacture their preferred outcomes. The Constitution doesn’t allow government officials to pick winners and losers based on race, and today’s decision makes clear that this scheme should be exposed in court. America First Legal is proud to stand with these families, and we look forward to holding every responsible official accountable.”
“School District officials were not bashful that their goal was to achieve ‘racial equity’ and they undertook a systemic review of every School District policy with an end to achieve that goal,” added Wally Zimolong, lead trial counsel for the plaintiffs.
America First Legal will continue fighting to defend equal protection under the law and ensure that students are judged by their qualifications, not sacrificed to radical DEI experiments.
Read the court’s opinion here.
Read more about this case here.
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