WASHINGTON, DC (AP) – The U.S. Supreme Court has left in place the admissions policy at an elite public high school in Virginia, despite claims that it discriminates against highly qualified Asian Americans. The federal appeals court in Richmond had upheld the revamped admissions policy at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, frequently cited among the best in the nation. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented from the order Tuesday rejecting an appeal from parents.

The high court’s action followed its June decision striking down admissions policies at colleges and universities that took account of the race of applicants. Fairfax County’s School Board took admissions measures to increase the percentages of black and Latinx students more toward district population ratios after some 75-percent of admissions had been Asian-American students.