Elite Virginia high school's admissions policy under Trump admin scrutiny amid discrimination complaints

One of the nation's the greater part highly ranked high schools is once again in the spotlight over its admissions policies after the U S Department of Teaching communicated it would be launching an study into the matter The announcement comes after the state's Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares reported his office has exposed reasonable cause after a multi-year inspection determining that Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and System TJHSST which is overseen by Fairfax County Residents Schools FCPS system operates an admissions process that discriminates against applicants of Asian heritage The Fairfax County School Board made clear its intended outcome was to reduce opportunities for Asian American students and that s exactly what occurred Miyares announced These students are not statistics They are sons and daughters neighbors classmates and Virginians who deserve equal protection and opportunity under the law The disagreement began in when TJHSST made changes to its admissions policies to sensibly promote diversity This was done through the elimination of standardized testing and application fees for interested students implementing a holistic review process that considers factors like socioeconomic status and geographical location and seething aside a certain number of spots for students from each middle school in the county FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP ADMIN MOVES TO DISMANTLE DEPT OF EDUCATIONIn response parents filed a lawsuit against the district alleging that the new admissions strategy discriminated against asian students A federal district court subsequently ruled in favor of the parents but that ruling was later overturned by a federal appeals court The U S Supreme Court eventually declined to hear the scenario effectively cementing the appeals court's ruling Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented and warned of the feasible implications the appeals court's ruling could have for other admissions policies at other schools across the country BIDEN TUITION DEPT PUT PRIORITY ON PRONOUNS LEFT BACKLOG OF NEARLY ANTISEMITISM COMPLAINTS OFFICIALMiyares has been studying TJHSST's admissions policies since concluding this week that there was reasonable cause to determine FCPS was discriminating against Asian American students According to Miyares when TJHSST first implemented its new admissions protocol Asian American students made up over of the school's admitted classes But over a period of just one year Asian American admissions dropped points he noted Internal communications confirm that this outcome was intentional The Board reviewed proposal after proposal until it could guarantee the racial diversity the Board was after Miyares office disclosed And in the zero-sum tournament of school admissions achieving the Board s preferred racial balance meant that fewer Asian American students would be accepted SPARKS FLY BETWEEN TEACHING SECRETARY LINDA MCMAHON AND DEM REP WATSON COLEMAN 'YOU SHOULD FEEL SHAMEFUL'The Department of Justice reported Wednesday it would work with the Department of Learning to probe the prospective Title VI violation after Miyares' office referred the matter to them for assessment The Trump administration has threatened to withhold funding from schools over potentially discriminatory diversity equity and inclusion programs In a declaration to Fox News Digital FCPS disclosed the matter has already been adjudicated by the courts which it announced have determined there is no merit behind the claims that its admissions policies are discriminatory CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Nonetheless the report stated the district was reviewing materials from the Attorney General and will issue a more detailed response in the near future This matter has already been fully litigated A federal appellate court determined there was no merit to arguments that the admissions framework for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Hardware discriminates against any group of students the declaration read Fairfax County General Schools FCPS division leadership and counsel are as of now reviewing the documents issued in the modern day by the Attorney General and will issue a more detailed response in the coming days FCPS remains committed to providing a world-class guidance for all of our students