On Friday, Penn in partnership with Heights Philadelphia, rolled out a new free course aimed at helping those who might not have a lot of outside guidance navigate the admissions process.

The thorny issue mirrors a growing national trend to roll back LGBTQ+ rights that was amplified by Friday’s Supreme Court decision that limited protections.

The session, featuring Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr., Arkansas Education Secretary Jacob Oliva, and South Carolina Superintendent Ellen Weaver, said public schools were too radical.

"Today the Supreme Court has bowed to the personally held beliefs of an extremist minority," said Derrick Johnson, NAACP president and CEO.

The court released a 6-3 decision on Friday shutting down the Biden administration’s plan to wipe thousands of dollars of student debt from millions of borrowers.

Donald Trump is among those slated to speak at a gathering almost certainly to draw national attention.

The issue has become a quagmire for Gov. Josh Shapiro, as he negotiates his first budget deal with a split General Assembly, with one chamber held by Democrats and the other by Republicans.

The evaluation also included a recommendation that eligible eighth graders attending special-admission middle-high schools be granted automatic admission to ninth grade.

“At Penn, I already feel underrepresented, and I just know this decision is going to lead to less Black students ending up in our incoming classes,” said Yomi Abdi, a Wharton sophomore who is Black.

The school’s long-term future is still uncertain; district officials have said that Frankford may need to be razed and rebuilt.

“The Court does say that, for example, qualities of character that might have been affected by race can be considered, but the use of race alone as a factor is illegal," says a Villanova professor.