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.

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