Philly schools are poised to pay out $650k to settle a lawsuit over a special-admissions policy
The Philadelphia school board on Thursday will consider an agenda item approving a payout to three parents who alleged the district's special admissions policy is race-based and unconstitutional.
The school board this week will consider approving a six-figure payout to three city parents who argued that the Philadelphia School District’s special-admissions policy is “blatantly, unconstitutional, race-based” and illegal.
After the district moved to a lottery-based entrance system for its magnet and other special-admissions schools, with some preference given to students from certain underrepresented zip codes, parents Sharice Sargent, Fallon Girini, and Michele Sheridan filed suit on behalf of their children in federal court in 2022.
On Thursday, the board is expected to consider an agenda item authorizing a $650,000 payout to the plaintiffs.
“This action item seeks authorization for the School District to settle and resolve all disputes with plaintiffs, including attorneys fees, in exchange for a full and complete release of claims against it,” the item reads. “The Office of General Counsel recommends this settlement.”
No other details of the settlement were available.
The lottery system and its rationale
There’s historically been a demographic mismatch at some Philadelphia magnets, with higher-than-expected concentrations of white and Asian students and students who are not from economically disadvantaged homes at a handful of schools, including Masterman.
For years, principals had discretion over who got into the district’s 37 special-admissions schools; the new policy, implemented in 2021, shifted to a centralized, computer-based lottery for students who met academic criteria.
Officials said at the time they “made a commitment to being an antiracist organization” after an “equity lens review” of admissions practices.
Some changes have been made to the admissions policy since it was first adopted, including dumping a computer-scored writing test, having students rank their schools of choice, and guaranteeing high school admission to students who get accepted to schools with both middle and high schools, as long as they maintain good grades.
The plaintiffs’ children — one of whom is Black, one of whom is white, and one biracial — were not admitted to the magnet schools of their choice in 2021, despite qualifying academically.
The suit sought to wipe away the lottery system, stop the district from usually “racially discriminatory criteria” for magnet school admissions, and award damages to the plaintiffs and others who might have been harmed.
A federal judge initially tossed the case in 2024; an appeals court revived it this winter.
The legal team representing the parents includes lawyers from America First, an organization formed by Stephen Miller, a top aide to President Donald Trump.
