A lawsuit about Philly schools’ special-admissions process is officially over
Three families will receive $120,000 each from the settlement.
A judge this week signed off on a $650,000 payout to three families, marking the end of a legal challenge to the Philadelphia School District’s special-admissions policy.
The families, backed by lawyers from America First, an organization formed by Stephen Miller, a top aide to President Donald Trump, alleged that the school system had shifted to a “blatantly unconstitutional, race-based” system.
The settlement pays $120,000 each to parents Sherice Sargent, Joshua Meyer and Michelle Sheridan, each of whom had children who were not selected in the lotteries for the Philadelphia magnet schools of their choice in 2022, despite qualifying academically for spots in the schools.
» READ MORE: Philly’s magnet school admissions are being overhauled — in the name of equity
Philadelphia in 2021 dramatically overhauled how it admits students to 37 criteria-based schools in an effort to correct a demographic mismatch — some magnet schools had higher percentages of white, Asian and children who do not come from economically-disadvantaged families than the city as a whole.
The district moved to a centralized, computer-based lottery system to determine admission to magnet schools, with automatic admission for those who met academic criteria and lived in certain under-represented zip codes. In the past, principals had some discretion over who got into the schools.
When the changes were made, officials said they “made a commitment to being an antiracist organization” after an “equity lens review” of admissions practices.
District officials had no immediate comment on Wednesday.
The settlement brings no changes to the district’s current admissions policy, which has gone through several changes since first introduced by former Superintendent William R. Hite Jr., including losing a computer-scored writing test, having students rank their schools of choice, and guaranteeing high school admissions to students who get accepted to schools with both middle and high schools, as long as their grades meet standards.
Zip code preference remains in place. Last fall, students in zip codes 19121, 19132, 19133, 19135, 19136, and 19140 got preference for Academy at Palumbo, George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science, Central High, and Masterman.
Gene Hamilton, president of America First, said the district had unfairly used zip codes as a proxy for race.
“This settlement sends a clear message to every school district in America: if you replace merit with racial engineering, America First Legal will find you, we will sue you, and we will hold you accountable," Hamilton said in a statement. “The era of disguising racial quotas behind the language of ‘equity’ is over.”
Wally Zimolong, a Villanova-based lawyer who worked on the case with the America First team, said the 2021 policy “was discrimination, plain and simple. It was unconstitutional, and worse, it hurt students.”
Zimolong said the policy “affected the families greatly,” and the settlement compensated families for out-of-pocket expenses they incurred, plus emotional distress.
The settlement also specifies $290,000 be paid in lawyers’ fees.
