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维州学校改招生政策 被裁定歧视亚裔 法官喊停
文章来源: 星岛日报
02/27/2022
维珍尼亚州联邦法院裁定，州内1家“全美最佳公立学校”的高中修改招生政策后，虽然旨在提升非裔和西裔学生的比例，但同时也歧视亚裔学生，因此需要终止相关政策。校区表示不服裁决将继续上诉。
综合《华盛顿邮报》和美联社报道，案中的托马斯杰斐逊科技高中（Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology，简称TJ高中），在全美多项公校高中排名均位居榜首，毕业生也大多升读长春藤名校，因此成为不少家长和学生梦寐以求的学校。校方去年应费尔法克斯县（Fairfax County）校董会要求，放弃征收100元报名费，也不再举办入学试，改以审核申请人的社会、经济背景等因素，从而提升非裔和西裔学生的比例。
新措施落实后，校内非裔新生的比例由以往的1%升至7%，西裔新生的比例也由3%增加至11%，但亚裔新生比例却从73%减至54%。
对于这个现象，法官希尔顿（Claude Hilton） 25日判决时表示，TJ高中的新政策未能消除歧视成分，因此需要停用。法官在长达31页的判词中表示，从校董会成员之间的电子邮件和手机短信可见，当时的调整相当匆忙，校董会明知此举会损害亚裔学生的权益，但依然为了改变学生族裔比例，急于推行新安排。
代表费尔法克斯县校董会的律师反驳，TJ高中的招生政策纯粹参考学生资质，与申请人的族裔、性别、出生地无关，辩方认为这次裁决缺乏法律依据，因此将寻求联邦上诉法院推翻结果。
截至目前，TJ高中未有交代来年招生政策是否有变。
诉讼在家长和校友之间引发不同反应。兴讼家长、学生、校友组成的“TJ联盟”表示，乐见法庭颁布这次决定，形容结果是“所有学生、所有家长以至全国的胜利”，维持了法律平权、优质教育和“美国梦”。但也有校友担心，家庭收入较低或者英语水平较弱的亚裔学生，将更加难以进入这所高中。
教育平权近年已成争议热点。哈佛等精英高等院校也曾因此面对诉讼， 挑战团体控告哈佛招生歧视亚裔学生的案件，已获联邦最高法院受理。
TJ高中录取未保持「族裔中立」？ 联邦法官将直接裁决
世界新闻网
01/20/2022
北维州明星高中汤玛斯杰弗逊(简称TJ高中)录取标准改革目前仍面临两项法律挑战，其中包括亚裔社区去年提吿费郡公校(FCPS)教委在制定招生制度时未保持「族裔中立」，该案原定24日开庭审理，但近日联邦法官表示因不存在重要事实争议，决定取消审理，而会直接裁决(issue a ruling)。
A plaintiff points to a text exchange between board members that suggest they knew the process was anti-Asian. The board chair said it was taken out of context.
以亚裔家长为主组成的「Coalition for TJ」去年3月提吿费郡公校教委在改革招生制度时带有族裔偏见，要求法官撤销TJ高中的录取改革，联邦法官希尔顿(Claude Hilton)当时同意受理，并原计划今年1月24日开庭审理，但本周二(18日)公听会结束后，希尔顿表示「没有理由审理此案，因不存在重要事实争议(no material facts in dispute)」，将直接裁决。
FCPS said the admission process for the Class of 2025 saw more applications and students accepted from all middle schools and historically underrepresented schools. The makeup of the student demographic also changed with an increase in Black, Hispanic and white students. Asian students saw a decline per FCPS data.
Black students increased from 1.23% (2020-21) to 7.09%
Hispanic students increased from 3.29% (2020-21) to 11.27%
White students increased from 17.70% (2020-21) to 22.36%
Asian students continue to constitute a majority of the class at 54.36%, a decrease from 73.05% (2020-21)
TJ高中多年在全美公立高中排名第一，去年开始以「综合评估」的新录取方式招收2021年秋季入学的新生，该方案取消了100元申请费和入学考试，并将家庭收入状况、英语会话水平等因素纳入招生标准，费郡公校教委表示此作法旨在平衡学生族裔比例，提高多元性。
但此事在亚裔社区引发强烈反弹，录取改革前TJ高中学生亚裔占比达七成，改革后亚裔学生比例降至五成，非裔和西语裔学生比率明显提升，亚裔社区称此招生方式不具「族裔中立」，费郡公校教委明显希望减少亚裔学生比率，因此将族裔、家庭背景、各郡市人口组成情况等因素纳入录取机制。
希尔顿未表明具体的裁决时间，也没有暗示他会如何裁决，但不论裁决结果为何，两造双方仍可上诉。
Disabled veteran reacts to Virginia school labeling military children as privileged: It’s ‘unacceptable’
费郡公校的法律顾问福斯特(John Foster)通过声明表示，法律站在费郡公校这一边，「新的录取方式并不知道学生的族裔、性别、国籍，该方式符合所有法律要求，法官的裁决将对费郡公校教委有利」；而「Coalition for TJ」也表示「对希尔顿的裁决有信心」，相信法官会「制止费郡公校教委系统性的歧视亚裔学生」。
该诉讼是费郡公校教委正面临的两起法律挑战之一，一群家长代表2020年11月表示，TJ高中的新招生方式不符合维州对州长学校(governor’s school)的法律规定，因此向费郡巡回法院提诉，目前该诉讼仍在进行中，但近几个月没有显著进展。
Why not lottery admissions for great high schools? It’s not church bingo.
Struggling for fairness at two famous schools, Jefferson and Lowell.
By Jay Mathews
01/18/2022
Judging from heavy participation in the Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots, many Americans love lotteries. But when such randomized selection systems have been used lately to decide who gets into popular high schools, they have inspired bitter debates and lawsuits.
Among the most controversial proposed lottery admissions systems have been the ones for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, Va., and Lowell High School in San Francisco.
The debate over such systems is often confusing and misleading. Frequently overlooked is the fact that many long-used admissions processes, particularly in our most revered colleges, also are quite random but don’t get as many complaints, in part because the schools involved are considered national treasures.
Jefferson High was built in 1965 and became a magnet school admitting students on academic merit in 1985. It is often the most selective high school in the country, public or private, as measured by the average SAT scores of its students.
Lowell, under another name, became in 1856 the first U.S. public high school west of the Mississippi. It has long selected students on the basis of grades and test scores, but, in recent decades, it has not had average SAT scores as high as some Bay Area public schools that admit anyone living in their affluent neighborhoods.
The Fairfax County schools superintendent proposed in fall 2020 a lottery-like admissions system for Jefferson, but the school board said no. Lowell has adopted a lottery system because of issues with grades and test scores during the pandemic. It is set to expire in the next school year, but the school board wants to keep it. Reformers also have suggested lottery-like admissions for selective public schools in Boston, New York City and other places, but many people don’t like what sounds to them like picking names out of a hat.
Influential people wanted to try lotteries at Lowell and Jefferson for the same reason. They did not like the fact that Black, Hispanic and impoverished students were underrepresented. Jefferson, with 1.7 percent of students low-income and 5 percent Black or Hispanic, was less welcoming to such students than Lowell, with 36 percent of students low-income and 14 percent Hispanic or Black.
The largest ethnic group at both schools is of Asian descent. This has happened at some other selective high schools. I can’t find research on this, but one reason may be that Asian American culture is more focused on academic achievement. Lawsuits have been filed in both San Francisco and Fairfax County, arguing that new admissions systems wrongly reduce the number of Asian American students accepted.
The new randomized lottery system at Lowell produced the largest number of Black and Hispanic freshmen in at least 25 years, up from 16 percent to 30 percent of that class. Jefferson also got more low-income, Black and Hispanic admissions out of a new non-lottery system that gave personal background some weight, one of several points of controversy in the lawsuits that have been filed.
While we fret over selective high school admissions, the random nature of our system for picking students for selective universities doesn’t get much attention. Ivy League admissions officers work hard to make sure each year they create a new class of freshmen that is both diverse and talented. But from the perspective of an individual applicant who knows the chance of admission can be as low as 5 percent, the process looks pretty random. Experienced admissions people at such colleges say that with the exception a few uniquely gifted students, those they admit are not clearly superior to many of the students they reject or put on bloated wait lists.
A new documentary about Lowell, “Try Harder!,” goes deep into the lives of students on that campus struggling with college admissions systems that don’t make sense to them. The students seem less concerned about the difficulties they encountered getting into their ancient and excellent high school. I think this is in part because the San Francisco district (57,000 students), like the Fairfax County district (178,000 students), has other schools with courses and teachers just as good.
If ninth-graders don’t get into Lowell, there are four other San Francisco campuses in the top 5 percent of U.S. high schools measured by participation in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses and exams on my Challenge Index list. AP and IB are important for college preparation. Fairfax County has 16 high schools other than Jefferson in the top 5 percent.
Families are understandably pleased to have their children admitted to Jefferson, Lowell or other selective high schools. But I can find no research showing those students do better in college or life than similarly talented graduates of lower-performing high schools.
Complaints about randomized high school admissions often overlook the fact that only the most ambitious students are likely to apply to such demanding schools. Wanting to go to a school like Lowell or Jefferson reveals a desire to succeed that, as many of us learn in life, in the long run is more important than whatever high school we attended.
This is particularly true of the intellectual superstars who critics fear will not get into the best schools because of randomized admissions. I sense there are great teachers in nearly every school who will detect such students and make sure they get the special attention and freedom they need.
Those students’ parents are also likely to supply enriching experiences they would not find in most schools. Our country is blessed to have so many opportunities for young people like that.
Thomas Jefferson High responds to proposed bill challenging admissions policy
By Melissa Howell
01/12/2022
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, in Fairfax County, Virginia, is pushing back against a proposed bill that challenges its admissions process.
Beginning in October 2020, the magnet school stopped requiring standardized tests from students looking to apply, and implemented what it calls a merit-based, race-neutral application process aimed at giving students from underserved communities a chance to attend the school.
A bill which will be introduced to the Virginia General Assembly this month would prohibit Governor’s Schools from asking for racial and ethnic information and suggests that factors such as standardized testing, grades and extracurricular activities should be the determining factors when it comes to admissions.
The school has since responded, saying, “The bill rests on the fiction that any action taken to increase access for underserved or underprivileged groups is discrimination. This bill would serve to reinforce inequities, rather than working to eliminate them.”
Since implementing the new application process in 2020, the school says the average GPA for applicants has been higher than in the previous five years. Diversity has also increased: The number of Black students has risen from 1% to 7%, and the percentage of Hispanic students has grown from 3% to 11% of the school population.
维州提案 挑战明星TJ高中将族裔纳入招生标准
世界新闻网
01/12/2022
维州立法者近日推出一项提案，禁止州长学校(Governor’s Schools)以学生族裔等信息来招生，并建议以标准化考试来决定录取，这将重点挑战北维州汤玛斯杰弗逊高中(TJ高中)去年才通过并开始采用新招生方式，此招生改革议题再次引起地方乃至全美关注。
全美公立高中排名第一的的TJ高中去年开始以「综合评估」的新录取方式招收2021年秋季入学的新生，该方案规定，学生须满足GAP达3.5，上过代数学一(Algebra I)或更高级数学课、上过数学和科学的资优课(honors course)，外加一门英语或社会研究相关的资优课，申请者还要提交一篇数学或科学的短论文、一篇展示学生参与课外活动情况及成绩的「学生肖像单」(Student Portrait Sheet)，同时取消了入学考试及申请费，TJ高中所在的费郡公校(FCPS)称，此方案是为平衡学生族裔比例，提高多元性。
但此录取改革从开始至今持续惹议，以华裔为主的亚裔社区始终反对，表示新方案明显族裔偏袒，也让学生的刻苦努力徒劳；维州共和党州众议员戴维斯(Glenn R. Davis)近日提案称，除了联邦法律要求的信息之外，TJ高中等19所维州州长学校不应在招生过程中搜集申请者的族裔、性别、肤色、国籍等信息。
该提案禁止州长学校通过这些信息歧视或偏待任何学生，并建议州长学校只通过类似标准化入学考试等「传统学术评估方式」来衡量申请者的水平。
戴维斯表示，所有学校都不该将族裔背景纳入招生标准，「这么做只会创造一种虚假的多样性，实际上则会阻碍学生公平享受教育资源的渠道。」
该提案即将提交维州州议会，也被认为是在挑战TJ高中的录取改革，费郡公校(FCPS)的法律顾问福斯特(John Foster)表示，TJ高中没有在录取过程中考虑学生的族裔、民族、国籍等信息，并指责该提案明显针对TJ高中，「我们会持续捍卫TJ高中的录取流程，不论需要多少力气或时间。」
TJ高中2021年秋季首次以新录取方式招到新生，数据显示，非裔和西语裔学生占比增加，白人学生比例基本不变，相较之下，亚裔学生比例明显减少，从原来的逾70%降至50%左右。
戴维斯的提案是TJ高中录取政策近期面临的第三项挑战，此前以华裔为主的家长群体两次提诉，要求法官阻止或撤销TJ高中的录取改革，福斯特表示，费郡公校官员未来几日会为反击该提案做准备。
Immigrant Mom to School Officials: “Treat Children as Humans, Not Identities”
4/23/2021
4/23/2021
On April 17, Suparna Dutta sent the following email to Ann Bonitatibus, principal of Fairfax County’s Thomas Jefferson School for Science and Technology (“TJ”). Dutta’s email included a plea to Lisa Williams, the school district’s “chief equity officer.”
Ms. Bonitatibus,
On March 19th, as I sat in a hospital in India caring for my ailing mother, I got frantic texts from my child about offensive material being shown as part of 8th period mandatory social and emotional learning lessons. My child, who was very upset, sent me the slides and videos that the class was being subjected to. I was shocked to see videos of leaders of a very small but radical leftist 501(c)(4) group TJAAG, telling FCPS children that TJ is racist and indoctrinating them with far-left ideology at taxpayers’ dime. These were ideas right out of the Marxist “equal outcomes” Critical Race Theory ideology. These activists said “America is not the land of equality,” “have to be actively anti-racist; not simply not being racist, not doing bad things isn’t an option,” “take an active stance in calling out your classmates.” Adults should not be allowed to hold children as captive audience and subject them to psychological harm. That is what happened to my child. This is tantamount to child abuse at TJ under YOUR watch.
I shared these videos with other parents who are also upset about this. As the principal you are ultimately responsible for this radical propaganda. Who created this lesson? Do not try to hide behind our children by saying that this was created by them. Who approved this lesson? Why were parents not notified about this beforehand? Why were there no diverse viewpoints expressed? Since when does a school have the role of teaching morality to my child? That is my sacred job as a parent. You should stick to your job to provide a rigorous factual academic experience to my child. Let children be free thinkers by letting them express their opinions in a free and open dialogue without the fear of repercussions by activist educators, not by limiting ideas.
As most TJ parents now know from FOIA requests, you have been in bed with the radical activist TJAAG members for a long time, plotting to destroy the haven of meritocracy that TJ has offered children. TJ used to be the alternative to private schools, which most of us cannot afford. You wrote to mostly minority TJ parents last year questioning our privilege. You spoke of “lessons and activities that will need to be infused across our entire TJ program of study in all content areas.” You have demonized the hard working Asian American students by insinuating that they cheated their way into TJ by paying up to “$15,000,” which is an utter lie. While the rest of the world forges ahead in STEM education, and the US lags behind, your priority is to not bolster academic excellence but to teach kids to be radical activists. This is a dereliction of duty and you ought to be fired.
Ms. Williams,
Most parents don’t expect much of Superintendent Brabrand after the debacle over TJHSST and FCPS distance learning. But it is disappointing to see that as the equity lead, you have joined this divisive fray at FCPS. My chosen home, America, has been the beacon of freedom and hope in the world. “Anti-racist” ideology pits people against each other, divides them into oppressors and oppressed warring factions based on immutable factors. Everything gained since the civil rights movement is being lost now, with this cancerous Marxist ideology being inculcated in the youth. It encourages hatred and discrimination. A core tenet of CRT claims “The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination.”
I hope you don’t indulge in the bigotry of low expectations against some groups, like Ms. Bonitatibus does. She said in an email last year that there are “so few black and brown children” at TJ. She also said at a TJPTSA meeting that when she pokes her head into classrooms at TJ, she’s saddened that the demographics do not reflect the geographic area. Imagine how that makes the parents feel?! Treat children as humans, NOT identities or objects to be experimented with.
I’m worried about the misguided and regressive path FCPS is taking. What will you do to assuage the concerns of parents who are very concerned about the indoctrination of CRT, couched in euphemisms like “culturally responsive,” which inflicts real emotional harm in our innocent children?
Very disappointed in FCPS,
Suparna Dutta
On April 19, Dutta received the following response from Bonitatibus.
Dear Ms. Dutta,
Thank you for reaching out to share your and your daughter’s experience relative to the content in the SEL lesson on March 19. I am sorry that your daughter felt offended and we will respect your request to excuse your child from remaining SEL lessons this year. Also, I am sorry to hear your mother was ailing and hope your time at her side was one of comfort.
I would like to take this opportunity to provide one point for clarity on an issue you raise. Please be aware that there is no partnership that TJ as a school or I as an individual share with TJAAG. TJ student leaders working on the project wanted current and former TJ voices. They reached out to alumni of their choosing, none of whom in the video were identified as members of TJAAG, nor did they speak to that organization.
I would also offer that you and I have never spoken personally about our shared beliefs and values, especially the sacred right you hold as a parent teaching morality to your child. If you would want to speak one-on-one about your concerns, I am always open to do so. We most likely would learn from each other and develop a stronger mutual respect and understanding.
Regards,
Ann N. Bonitatibus, Ed.D.
To date, the embattled Bonitatibus has not resigned, nor has she been terminated from her role at TJ. While Bonitatibus’s email fails to apologize for the March 19 incident, she does offer to excuse Dutta’s child from “remaining SEL lessons this year.” Other parents, across Fairfax County, might want to request the same for their own children, if they don’t want them exposed to similar Critical Race Theory indoctrination sessions.
A Lawsuit Challenges TJ Admission Changes
Parents sue to stop TJ’s admission policy changes, alleging anti-Asian race discrimination.
By Mercia Hobson
3/19/2021
The Fairfax County School Board and Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Scott Brabrand face a new lawsuit filed against them last week in United States District Court in Alexandria. The lawsuit alleges race discrimination against Asian-American students by the School Board and the superintendent in changing the admissions process to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, known as “TJ.” The Pacific Legal Foundation filed the civil suit on Wednesday, March 10, on behalf of their client, Coalition for TJ, a group of mostly concerned parents at the high school.
#“This type of racial balancing is unconstitutional,” said Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Erin Wilcox at a press conference held that morning outside the courthouse.
#The Plaintiffs allege FCPS’ recently-implemented overhaul of the TJ admissions process changes, which eliminated the long-standing race-neutral standardized admissions test, is specifically aimed to reduce the number of incoming Asian-American students to racially balance the school according to the racial demographics of the school. “Up until this year, admissions to TJ have been race-blind,” said Wilcox. “Unfortunately, Fairfax County Schools officials apparently believed that this is too many Asian students,” she said.
Pacific Legal Foundation holds a press conference on March 10 announcing that they filed a lawsuit against the Fairfax County School Board and Superintendent Scott Brabrand on behalf of their client, Coalition for TJ, challenging recent changes to the admissions policy at Thomas High School for Science and Technology.
#THE COMPLAINT alleges that without the court issuing an injunction, the number of Asian-American students in the incoming TJ Class of 2025 is likely to be cut in half due to the “defendants’ stated desire to manipulate TJ’s demographics.” “The discriminatory intent they’ve shown is intertwined and an inseparable part of the policies they put in place,” Wilcox said.
#According to the lawsuit, in the fall of 2020, Superintendent Brabrand and the School Board saw a reporting requirement by the Virginia Department of Education to include the racial/ethnic make-up and socioeconomic diversity of its students, faculty, and applicants as an opportunity “to completely overhaul the TJ admissions process in order to racially balance the school’s demographics, going far beyond the minimal reporting requirements.”
#Located in Alexandria, TJ is a regional Virginia state-chartered magnet school operated by FCPS with students eligible for admission from Fairfax, Arlington, Loudoun, and Prince William counties, and the City of Falls Church. TJ is ranked the number one public high school in the 2020 National Rankings.
#The School Board voted to eliminate the TJ merit-based admissions test at its Oct. 6 work session with no public comment opportunity. The complaint quotes Brabrand during the discussion at the work session with the Board to say that eliminating the merit admissions test “eliminat[es] the testing component that squeezed out talent and squeezed out diversity in our system.” Board members said they hoped the new process increased Black and Hispanic representation in the student body.
#On Dec. 17, the School Board voted and adopted, with immediate implementation, further changes to the TJ admissions policy applicable to the incoming TJ freshman Class of 2025 and to future years. The Board adopted the challenged admissions policy that limits the number of students accepted from each county feeder middle school to the top 1.5 percent who meet the minimum evaluation criteria-GPA, student portrait sheet, problem-solving essay, and experience factors: including economically disadvantaged students, English language learners, or special education students.
#The lawsuit alleges that coupled with the high concentration of Asian-American students at four middle schools – Carson, Kilmer, Rocky Run, and Longfellow – and their history of sending large numbers of students to TJ, racial balancing could be accomplished.
#According to the complaint, the plaintiffs sought “to vindicate the rights of Asian-American public school children in and around Fairfax County, Virginia, to compete on an equal footing for admission to the nationally-ranked Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) without regard to their race.” Overall, Plaintiffs’ data analysis reported in the complaint that the student body at TJ, at approximately 73 percent Asian-American students under the merit-based race-blind admissions system would drop to 31 percent under the new racial-balancing admissions system for the Class of 2025 with “no other racial group projected to lose seats.”
#The lawsuit alleges changes to admissions violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment “…a promise that government at every level will treat every American as an individual, not simply as a member of his or her racial group. Policies like the one implemented by FCPS stand in direct opposition to that promise.”
#THE PLAINTIFFS requested entry of an order requiring the Defendants to return to the admissions procedure for entry into TJ in the fall of 2020. “The Coalition for TJ is not going to stand for this kind of discrimination against Asian-American students and they are here to fight for equal protection for their children,” said Wilcox.
#Julia McCaskill, an immigrant, and parent of a TJ student and students in grades 8 and 6, said at the March 10 press conference that TJ does not belong to a certain race or certain group of people. Low admission rates at TJ for Black and Hispanics are the failure of the FCPS Board, according to McCaskill. “They failed those under-represented areas over the decades instead of fixing the pipeline issue. The authorities are stirring up hate against Asian-Americans hoping to slash the number of Asian-American students will fix the overdue school problem.”
#Asra Nomani, a cofounder of Coalition for TJ and parent of a senior at TJ, said during the press conference that she came to the United States at age four from India. Nomani said she was proud to be working the past nine months with families who came to the United States from communist China and eastern Europe, India, and other places where they faced injustice. “They never could have imagined that they would face injustice in America,” she said.
#A Fairfax County Public Schools spokesperson provided a statement saying, “The process continues to be race-neutral and merit-based… As a Governor’s school, we value diversity and believe that it contributes to the richness of the education at TJHSST.”
#Parents of 17 middle school students filed the initial lawsuit in November 2020 to overturn the School Board’s decision to eliminate the standardized admission test for TJ and the $100 application fee. On Feb. 2, a Fairfax Circuit Court Judge John M. Tran denied the parents’ request to require mandatory standardized testing in the admissions process. Tran said, “The debate over standardized testing belongs to educational professionals.”
#On Friday, March 12, Wilcox said that the next step would be the defendants’ response, either an Answer or a Motion to Dismiss, in approximately 60 days. “I’ve seen in various news articles that FCPS issued a statement on Wednesday. Their legal response to our complaint will be one of the documents mentioned,” Wilcox said.
Source: http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2021/mar/19/lawsuit-challenges-tj-admission-changes/
Judge declines to halt elite school’s admissions changes
2/04/2021
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A judge on Tuesday refused to issue an injunction to stop an elite northern Virginia high school from changing its admissions policies.
Fairfax County Public Schools is overhauling the admissions process at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, which has been ranked as the top public high school in the country.
The school board hopes the changes will increase diversity at the school, which has long failed to attract Black and Hispanic students. Standardized tests that have long been part of the admissions process have been scrapped in favor of a more holistic review.
Supporters of the existing system sued, citing state regulations designating TJ as a school for the gifted and stating that giftedness should be measured by a standardized test.
Circuit Court Judge John Tran declined to issue an injunction that would immediately bar the changes from taking effect, but the lawsuit itself can still go forward.
A conservative legal group is also weighing a challenge based on racial discrimination against Asian Americans who currently make up a majority of the student body.
Students, Parents Challenge TJ Admissions Changes
Coalition for TJ | Press Release
11/07/2020
Seventeen parents filed a lawsuit against the Fairfax County School Board and Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Brabrand for illegally changing the admissions process at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.
TJ, as the school is known, is the nation’s top-ranked public high school, according to U.S. News & World Report. Established in 1985, the STEM-focused Governor’s School has long maintained rigorous, merit-based, race-blind admissions standards that include the administering of a set of standardized tests. In an October 6 work session, however, the Fairfax County School Board voted to abolish the school’s admissions tests, and the superintendent abruptly eliminated the tests from this year’s admissions process.
The lawsuit alleges that the school board and superintendent violated state laws and regulations requiring that a “nationally norm-referenced aptitude test” be used as part of the TJ admissions process to identify gifted learners with an aptitude for STEM. As a Governor’s School, TJ provides services to gifted students, or advanced academic learners, and receives special funding from the Commonwealth for this purpose.
Today, the Coalition for TJ held a press conference outside the Fairfax County Courthouse, announcing that the 17 parents had filed a lawsuit against school officials. “The basis for the complaint against Fairfax County School Board and Scott Brabrand is relatively simple,” Coalition for TJ co-founder Glenn Miller said at the news conference. “Virginia law, which is the superior law and controls the actions of Fairfax County and its school board, contains specific requirements that must be followed in order to admit students to TJ. Fairfax County and its school board violated those laws. As such, the Fairfax County School Board and the superintendent acted beyond their authority and acted arbitrarily and capriciously.”
The abolition of TJ’s standardized admissions tests will invariably reduce the number of Asian students at the school. The lawsuit’s 17 plaintiffs are families of current middle schoolers who are disadvantaged by the admissions changes. Plaintiff James Pan, father of a gifted middle schooler, spoke at today’s press conference. “FCPS is using the pretext of banning the test for their goal of reducing Asians at TJ,” Pan said. “The government is using a process that is plain old bigotry.”
Plaintiff and middle school parent Srinivas Akella said that he chose to live in Fairfax County for its program for gifted students and for TJ, in particular. “The school board and FCPS arbitrarily made changes to the admissions process in violation of state law,” Akella said today. “I have faith in our judiciary, and I am petitioning them as a last avenue since there was no other recourse left for me to pursue.”
Following the plaintiffs’ remarks at today’s press conference, Coalition for TJ co-founder Asra Nomani spoke of the opportunities that TJ has afforded generations of immigrants in Fairfax County. “My father came here for the American Dream. My son pursued it here in this country and is now a student at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology,” Nomani said. “We should not allow anyone — including the Fairfax County School Board and Superintendent Scott Brabrand — to stand in the way of justice. We are all here for the justice that America provides, and I applaud these courageous families.”
WATCH:
•Nov 5, 2020
