Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Department of Education is investigating a highly selective Virginia public school for its 2020 admissions policy that aimed to increase student diversity by conducting a more holistic review of applicants.
- According to the Education Department’s Thursday announcement, the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County is being investigated for potential violations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination in federally funded education programs on the basis of race, color, or national origin.
- The Education Department's review of the school was prompted by a Virginia Office of Civil Rights investigation that found "reasonable cause" that Fairfax County Public Schools is in violation of the Virginia Human Rights Act and Title VI for discrimination against Asian American students in its admissions process.
Dive Insight:
Findings from the Virginia investigation, announced by Attorney General Jason Miyares on May 21, faulted the district's 2020 revised admissions policy for putting Asian American students at a disadvantage. Admissions for Asian American students dropped from 73% to 54% in the year after the policy went into effect, according to the investigation.
A fact sheet provided by Miyares' office also said that in the years following the admissions policy change, Thomas Jefferson's national ranking dropped from No. 1 to No. 14. The number of National Merit Semifinalists fell from 165 to 81 in the first class admitted under the new admissions policy.
"These students are not statistics," Miyares said in a statement Wednesday. "They are sons and daughters, neighbors, classmates, and Virginians who deserve equal protection and opportunity under the law.”
U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a Thursday statement that the Education Department's investigation will ensure that all students at Thomas Jefferson, which is also known as T.J., are being "assessed fairly, according to merit and accomplishment."
"The Fairfax County School Board's alleged decision to weigh race in TJ's admissions decisions appears to be both contrary to the law and to the fundamental principle that students should be evaluated on their merit, not the color of their skin,” McMahon said.
The Fairfax County School Board changed the school's admissions policies to include merit-based factors, such as GPA and 21st century skills, as well as life experiences like socioeconomic status and disability. The school also dedicates a certain number of seats at Thomas Jefferson for applicants at each public school that has 8th graders in the five regional districts that participate in the school.
The Legal Defense Fund, in a Thursday statement, criticized the Education Department's investigation while supporting the school's updated admissions policy, stating that the "race-blind, merit-based process" better identifies qualified students.
The school has seen nearly 1,000 more student applications compared to the admissions cycle before the policy change, LDF said. Additionally, in the first admissions cycle with the revised admissions policy, Asian American students attending middle schools that had been historically underrepresented at Thomas Jefferson had a sixfold increase in offers for admission.
And the number of low-income Asian American students admitted to the school increased from one student in 2020 to 51 students since the revised policy, according to LDF.
Thomas Jefferson's revised admissions policy has been challenged in the courts. In TJ v. Fairfax County School Board, parents sued the district, claiming the new admissions policy resulted in an intentional and discriminatory decline in Asian American enrollment.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the school board in May 2023. In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.
In a statement sent to K-12 Dive Tuesday, Fairfax County Public Schools said it would be reviewing the documents released by the Virginia attorney general and expects to issue a more detailed response in the coming days.
"FCPS remains committed to providing a world class education for all of our students,” the district said.
