Boston Moves To Revise Admissions Policies

By Caroline Hendrie

Moving to quell a dispute that has brought racial tensions in Boston to the fore, district officials took steps last week to alter the system of admitting students to the city's selective public high schools.

The debate over the admission policy, which reserves 35 percent of the seats in the schools for African-Americans and Hispanics, arose from a lawsuit brought last year by a white student who was denied admission to the city's prestigious Boston Latin High School because of the quota.

It has taken on significance beyond that immediate conflict, however, amplified by Boston's volatile history with race-based busing and a citywide election in November. Voters will determine whether the 63,000-student district will switch from an appointed to...