Supreme Court grants review of Montgomery County magnet school admissions case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 19, 2026 granted review of Association for Education Fairness v. Montgomery County Board of Education, a case that challenges the county’s magnet middle‑school admissions policy as racially discriminatory.
The case centers on a 2020 revision to the admissions system that replaced district‑wide test scores with peer grouping and local norming, allowing only the top students from each elementary school to enter a lottery. Plaintiffs argue the shift caused Asian‑American enrollment to decline because high‑scoring students at competitive schools are no longer compared across the district.
The Court limited the issue to whether a challenger of a facially neutral policy must demonstrate that the targeted racial group suffered an aggregate disparate impact relative to its share of the applicant pool. That legal question will be addressed during oral arguments scheduled for early 2027, with a decision expected by June 2027.
“The Constitution protects students as individuals, not as members of a racial group,” said Chris Kieser, senior attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation, after the Court granted review.
Montgomery County’s Board of Education defended the lottery as race‑neutral, asserting that the plaintiffs failed to plead facts showing a disparate impact on Asian‑American applicants. The district also noted that Asian‑American students continue to be admitted at rates higher than their proportion in the overall student population.
Lower courts, including the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, had dismissed the lawsuit, holding that the plaintiffs must meet a clear statistical threshold to allege discrimination. The Supreme Court’s upcoming decision will determine whether that threshold is required, potentially setting a precedent for similar challenges to school admissions policies nationwide.
The case follows Montgomery County’s appearance before the Court in 2025, when the high court struck down a board policy that barred parents from opting their children out of LGBTQ curriculum, finding it violated religious rights.
Oral arguments are slated for sometime between February and April 2027, and the justices are expected to issue a ruling by the end of June 2027.
