WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, May 22nd, the Department of Education (DoE) said that it is opening a civil rights investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia over the admissions policy at one of its elite, selective high schools.
According to ABC News, the plaintiffs argue that a change in the admissions policy introduced five years ago at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology led to an increase in the enrollment of black and Hispanic students, which they claim has come at the expense of Asian American students, whose numbers at the school dropped.
The investigation comes one day after the officer of Virginia’s attorney general, Republican Jason Miyares, closed its own investigation, which found that the school’s admission policy discriminated against Asian American students. His office then referred the case to federal authorities.
In a statement, DoE Secretary Linda McMahon said, “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 are being assessed fairly, according to merit and accomplishment.”
In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case challenging Thomas Jefferson’s admissions policy, leaving in place an appeals court ruling that let the policy stand.
In 2020, the school district revised the admission policy at Thomas Jefferson by removing a $100 application fee and admissions test and adopting a “holistic review” process. Data indicates that the first class admitted under the new policy saw an increase in low-income students, English language learners, and girls.
Also, about 54 percent of the admitted class were Asian American, a decline from prior year percentages that ranged from 65 percent to 75 percent. The percentage of black and Hispanic students, who prior to 2020, had been underrepresented at the school, also increased.
The review process of students included 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. Admissions evaluators did not have access to students’ names, race, or other demographic information.
When the new admissions policy took effect, a group of parents challenged it and a district court initially ruled in favor of the parents. However, 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 early 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 U.S. 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 on the case.
The school district said it would review the documents released by the state attorney general. Fairfax County Public Schools said in a statement, “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.”
Reuters reported that following the referral from Miyares, Harmeet Dhillon, the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said that the department would investigate if the school was unlawfully using race in admission decisions. The DoE’s Office of Civil Rights said it is also examining whether Fairfax County Public Schools was violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
