The Supreme Court declined on Friday to temporarily block race-conscious admissions at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, clearing the way for the school to continue considering race as a factor in selecting the class that will enroll in the fall.

The court’s order rejected a request for emergency relief from Students for Fair Admissions, a conservative group that has repeatedly challenged affirmative action in college admissions, as a lawsuit moves forward. It had asked the justices to act swiftly because West Point was poised to stop accepting applications on Jan. 31.

The court’s order said that the record was “underdeveloped” and that the court’s denial “should not be construed as expressing any view on the merits of the constitutional question,” signaling that the justices could consider the issue in the future. There were no noted dissents.

Students for Fair Admissions successfully challenged race-conscious admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina during the court’s last term, effectively ending a policy that colleges across the nation had relied on for decades to increase racial diversity.

In June, the justices, in a 6-to-3 decision split along ideological lines, declared that the admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina were unlawful.

In the majority opinion, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., in a footnote, limited the reach of the decision by exempting military academies.