The Supreme Court declined to hear cases on affirmative action, guns and transgender issues, refusing to wade into aspects of a trio of hot-button topics.

The Supreme Court declined to hear Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence Corp. v. The School Committee for the City of Boston (Boston Parent) on Monday. The court's refusal to take up the case is bad news because it leaves unresolved a circuit split on what constitutes a violation of the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.