opinion: SCHOOL BOARD OF CITY OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, et al. v. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF VIRGINIA et al.
  No. 72-549.
  Argued April 23, 1973
  Decided May 21, 1973
  George B. Little argued the cause for petitioners in No. 72-549. With him on the briefs was Conrad B. Mattox, Jr. William T. Coleman, Jr., argued the cause for petitioners in No. 72-550. With him on the briefs were Jack Greenberg, James M. Nabrit III, Norman J. Chachkin, Louis B. Lucas, William L. Taylor, and Anthony G. Amsterdam.
  Philip B. Kurland argued the cause for respondents in both cases. With him on the brief were Edward I. Rothschild, Andrew P. Miller, Attorney General of Virginia, William G. Broaddus and D. Patrick Lacy, Jr., Assistant Attorneys General, Frederick T. Gray, Walter E. Rogers, J. Segar Gravatt, R. D. Mcllwaine III, L. Paul Byrne, and J. Mercer White, Jr.
  Solicitor General Griswold argued the cause for the United States as amicus curiae urging affirmance in both cases. With him on the brief were Assistant Attorney General Pottinger, A. Raymond Randolph, Jr., Brian K. Landsberg, and John C. Hoyle
  Together with No. 72-550, Bradley et al. v. State Board of Education of Virginia et al., also on certiorari to the same court.
  Briefs of amici curiae urging reversal in both cases were filed by Stephen J. Poliak, Richard M. Sharp, and David Rubin for the National Education Association, and by Melvin L. Wvlf, Sanford Jay Rosen, and Philip Hirschkop for the American Civil Liberties Union et al. Margie Pitts Hames filed a brief for the Black Parents of Atlanta, Georgia, as amicus curiae urging reversal in No. 72-550.
  Briefs of amici curiae urging affirmance in both cases were filed by David I. Carpían for the Jewish Rights Council, and by Harold H. Fuhrman for the National Suburban League, Ltd. Charles S. Conley and Floyd B. McKissick filed a brief for the Congress of Racial Equality as amicus curiae urging affirmance in No. 72-549.
  Per Curiam.
  The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court.
  Mr. Justice Powell took no part in the consideration or decision of these cases.
instruction: What follows is an opinion from the Supreme Court of the United States. Your task is to identify whether administrative action occurred in the context of the case prior to the onset of litigation. The activity may involve an administrative official as well as that of an agency. To determine whether administration action occurred in the context of the case, consider the material which appears in the summary of the case preceding the Court's opinion and, if necessary, those portions of the prevailing opinion headed by a I or II. Action by an agency official is considered to be administrative action except when such an official acts to enforce criminal law. If an agency or agency official "denies" a "request" that action be taken, such denials are considered agency action. Exclude: a "challenge" to an unapplied agency rule, regulation, etc.; a request for an injunction or a declaratory judgment against agency action which, though anticipated, has not yet occurred; a mere request for an agency to take action when there is no evidence that the agency did so; agency or official action to enforce criminal law; the hiring and firing of political appointees or the procedures whereby public officials are appointed to office; attorney general preclearance actions pertaining to voting; filing fees or nominating petitions required for access to the ballot; actions of courts martial; land condemnation suits and quiet title actions instituted in a court; and federally funded private nonprofit organizations.