Latest news with #ThomasJeffersonHighSchoolforScienceandTechnology
23-05-2025
- Politics
Education Department opens investigation of admissions at selective Virginia high school
WASHINGTON -- The Education Department said Thursday it is opening a civil rights investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia over the admissions policy at an elite, selective high school. A change in the admissions policy introduced five years ago at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology led to the enrollment of more Black and Hispanic students and faced a court challenge from some parents. The plaintiffs argued it came at the expense of Asian American students, whose numbers at the school dropped. The investigation comes one day after the office of Virginia's attorney general, Republican Jason Miyares, closed its own investigation, which found the school's policy discriminated against Asian American students. His office referred the case to federal authorities. 'The Department of Education is grateful for the diligent work of Governor (Glenn) Youngkin and Attorney General Miyares for documenting a pattern of concerning practices at TJ, and we will further investigate this complaint to ensure that all students being assessed fairly, according to merit and accomplishment," Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. The U.S. Supreme Court last year declined to hear the case challenging Thomas Jefferson's admissions policy, leaving in place an appeals court ruling that let the policy stand. The school district said it would review the documents released by the state attorney general. 'This matter has already been fully litigated,' Fairfax County Public Schools said in a statement. 'A federal appellate court determined there was no merit to arguments that the admissions policy for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology discriminates against any group of students.' In 2020, the school district revised the admissions policy at Thomas Jefferson by removing a $100 application fee and admissions test and adopting a 'holistic review' process. The first class admitted under the new policy saw an increase in low-income students, English language learners and girls. About 54% of the admitted class were Asian American — a decline from prior year percentages that ranged from 65% to 75%. The percentage of Black and Hispanic students, who have been underrepresented at the school, also increased. Students' grades, a problem-solving essay, a 'portrait sheet' of their skills, and four experience factors — special education status, eligibility for free or reduced-price meals, whether they were an English language learner and whether they attended a historically underrepresented public middle school — were part of the review. Admissions evaluators did not have access to students' name, race or other demographic information. A district court initially ruled in favor of the parents' group that challenged the policy, but an appeals court later overturned that ruling. The appeals court noted that while the percentage of Asian American students had declined under the new policy compared to earlier classes, Asian American students outperformed their share of the applicant pool. The case had been considered a possible next step to challenging admissions practices, after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action and explicit consideration of race in its 2023 ruling against Harvard and the University of North Carolina. But in 2024, the Supreme Court declined to take up the case. ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Education Department opens investigation of admissions at selective Virginia high school
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department said Thursday it is opening a civil rights investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia over the admissions policy at an elite, selective high school. A change in the admissions policy introduced five years ago at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology led to the enrollment of more Black and Hispanic students and faced a court challenge from some parents. The plaintiffs argued it came at the expense of Asian American students, whose numbers at the school dropped. The investigation comes one day after the office of Virginia's attorney general, Republican Jason Miyares, closed its own investigation, which found the school's policy discriminated against Asian American students. His office referred the case to federal authorities. 'The Department of Education is grateful for the diligent work of Governor (Glenn) Youngkin and Attorney General Miyares for documenting a pattern of concerning practices at TJ, and we will further investigate this complaint to ensure that all students being assessed fairly, according to merit and accomplishment," Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. The U.S. Supreme Court last year declined to hear the case challenging Thomas Jefferson's admissions policy, leaving in place an appeals court ruling that let the policy stand. The school district said it would review the documents released by the state attorney general. 'This matter has already been fully litigated,' Fairfax County Public Schools said in a statement. 'A federal appellate court determined there was no merit to arguments that the admissions policy for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology discriminates against any group of students.' In 2020, the school district revised the admissions policy at Thomas Jefferson by removing a $100 application fee and admissions test and adopting a 'holistic review' process. The first class admitted under the new policy saw an increase in low-income students, English language learners and girls. About 54% of the admitted class were Asian American — a decline from prior year percentages that ranged from 65% to 75%. The percentage of Black and Hispanic students, who have been underrepresented at the school, also increased. Students' grades, a problem-solving essay, a 'portrait sheet' of their skills, and four experience factors — special education status, eligibility for free or reduced-price meals, whether they were an English language learner and whether they attended a historically underrepresented public middle school — were part of the review. Admissions evaluators did not have access to students' name, race or other demographic information. A district court initially ruled in favor of the parents' group that challenged the policy, but an appeals court later overturned that ruling. The appeals court noted that while the percentage of Asian American students had declined under the new policy compared to earlier classes, Asian American students outperformed their share of the applicant pool. The case had been considered a possible next step to challenging admissions practices, after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action and explicit consideration of race in its 2023 ruling against Harvard and the University of North Carolina. But in 2024, the Supreme Court declined to take up the case. ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Winnipeg Free Press
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Education Department opens investigation of admissions at selective Virginia high school
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department said Thursday it is opening a civil rights investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia over the admissions policy at an elite, selective high school. A change in the admissions policy introduced five years ago at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology led to the enrollment of more Black and Hispanic students and faced a court challenge from some parents. The plaintiffs argued it came at the expense of Asian American students, whose numbers at the school dropped. The investigation comes one day after the office of Virginia's attorney general, Republican Jason Miyares, closed its own investigation, which found the school's policy discriminated against Asian American students. His office referred the case to federal authorities. 'The Department of Education is grateful for the diligent work of Governor (Glenn) Youngkin and Attorney General Miyares for documenting a pattern of concerning practices at TJ, and we will further investigate this complaint to ensure that all students being assessed fairly, according to merit and accomplishment,' Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. The U.S. Supreme Court last year declined to hear the case challenging Thomas Jefferson's admissions policy, leaving in place an appeals court ruling that let the policy stand. The school district said it would review the documents released by the state attorney general. 'This matter has already been fully litigated,' Fairfax County Public Schools said in a statement. 'A federal appellate court determined there was no merit to arguments that the admissions policy for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology discriminates against any group of students.' In 2020, the school district revised the admissions policy at Thomas Jefferson by removing a $100 application fee and admissions test and adopting a 'holistic review' process. The first class admitted under the new policy saw an increase in low-income students, English language learners and girls. About 54% of the admitted class were Asian American — a decline from prior year percentages that ranged from 65% to 75%. The percentage of Black and Hispanic students, who have been underrepresented at the school, also increased. Students' grades, a problem-solving essay, a 'portrait sheet' of their skills, and four experience factors — special education status, eligibility for free or reduced-price meals, whether they were an English language learner and whether they attended a historically underrepresented public middle school — were part of the review. Admissions evaluators did not have access to students' name, race or other demographic information. A district court initially ruled in favor of the parents' group that challenged the policy, but an appeals court later overturned that ruling. The appeals court noted that while the percentage of Asian American students had declined under the new policy compared to earlier classes, Asian American students outperformed their share of the applicant pool. The case had been considered a possible next step to challenging admissions practices, after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action and explicit consideration of race in its 2023 ruling against Harvard and the University of North Carolina. But in 2024, the Supreme Court declined to take up the case. ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DOJ opens civil rights probe into Virginia high school's admissions policies
The Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia over the use of race in admissions to its top-ranked Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. Last year, the US Supreme Court declined to hear arguments over the same allegations, but this investigation signals that the Trump administration will use the civil rights division to challenge affirmative action policies – a longtime hot-button issue for conservatives who claim that such admissions policies focus more on race than they do academic achievement. The investigation follows a referral from the state attorney general who announced Wednesday that his office had found reasonable cause to believe the district and the school discriminated against Asian American students on the basis of race. In a letter Wednesday, DOJ Civil Rights Division Chief, Harmeet Dhillon, confirmed her office will review the matter. The Supreme Court has weighed in on the issue of affirmative action before. In 2023, the high court threw out policies used by Harvard and the University of North Carolina that considered race in its admissions decisions. Their decision pushed schools to experiment with 'race neutral' policies – such as those based on geography – to promote diversity. The controversy at Thomas Jefferson High School in the Washington, DC, suburbs arose from a policy, which sought 'to mitigate socioeconomic obstacles faced by students of all races' by admitting students from every middle school in the county, CNN has reported A group of parents in Fairfax County sued the school board in 2021, alleging that the new policy sought to balance the student body's racial makeup by 'excluding Asian Americans,' who had comprised 70% of enrollment before the changes. A federal judge in 2022 ordered the school to stop using the new admissions policy, ruling that it was 'racially discriminatory,' but a panel of appeals court judges later reversed, saying that the policy did not disparately impact Asian American students and that the challengers didn't establish that it was adopted with discriminatory intent. Asra Nomani, a former Thomas Jefferson High School parent who has been actively involved in the litigation, told CNN that she is 'elated' by news of the investigation. 'I have always believed this was not an issue of parental advocacy, but of civil rights…this great day for efforts to win merit in America.' In a statement, the Fairfax County Public Schools responded: 'This matter has already been fully litigated. A federal appellate court determined there was no merit to arguments that the admissions policy for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology discriminates against any group of students. Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) division leadership and counsel are currently reviewing the documents released today by the Attorney General and will issue a more detailed response in the coming days. FCPS remains committed to providing a world class education for all of our students.' The Supreme Court also declined to hear similar challenges, including one accusing three elite Boston public schools with violated the Constitution by using a zip-code based admissions policy.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
AG Jason Miyares finds ‘reasonable cause' of Asian American discrimination at Fairfax County school
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) — Attorney General Jason Miyares has released a statement finding 'reasonable cause' that the Fairfax County Public Schools discriminated against Asian Americans at one of their charter schools. The fact sheet that was compiled describes a complicit and intentional effort by the Fairfax County School Board to roll back admission acceptance of Asian Americans at its Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. One member of the board stated wanting to move 'towards greater equity, to beclearly distinguished from equality,' according to Miyares. Woman's death in Anne Arundel County ruled as homicide after suspected overdose Admissions of Asian Americans were reduced from 73% to 54% in one year, according to Miyares. According to claims listed in the fact sheet, FCPS signed a $455,000 contract for nine months in 2022 with a California-based consultant. This consultant allegedly advised FCPS to pursue the goal of 'equal outcomes for every student, without exception' including committing 'purposefully unequal' action to achieve such goal, according to Miyares' fact sheet. Miyares said written messages were among the sources pulled to show school board members' acknowledgment of an 'anti asian feel.' Some messages included that the Superintendent '[c]ame right out of the gate blaming Asian students,' according to Miyares' fact sheet. The national ranking for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology dropped from No. 1 to No. 14 and, Miyares said, occurred after the implementation of the new admission policy. The Office of the Attorney General has referred this matter to the U.S. Department of Educationand the U.S. Department of Justice for further enforcement under federal civil rights law. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
