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

One of the nation's largest part highly ranked high schools is once again in the spotlight over its admissions policies after the U S Department of Instruction communicated it would be launching an assessment into the matter The announcement comes after the state's Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares disclosed his office has uncovered reasonable cause after a multi-year examination determining that Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Machinery TJHSST which is overseen by Fairfax County Constituents 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 reported These students are not statistics They are sons and daughters neighbors classmates and Virginians who deserve equal protection and opportunity under the law The argument 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 approach 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 incident effectively cementing the appeals court's ruling Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented and warned of the manageable implications the appeals court's ruling could have for other admissions policies at other schools across the country BIDEN TRAINING DEPT PUT PRIORITY ON PRONOUNS LEFT BACKLOG OF NEARLY ANTISEMITISM COMPLAINTS OFFICIALMiyares has been scrutinizing 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 guidelines 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 noted And in the zero-sum contest of school admissions achieving the Board s preferred racial balance meant that fewer Asian American students would be accepted SPARKS FLY BETWEEN DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY LINDA MCMAHON AND DEM REP WATSON COLEMAN 'YOU SHOULD FEEL SHAMEFUL'The Department of Justice revealed Wednesday it would work with the Department of Guidance to probe the anticipated Title VI violation after Miyares' office referred the matter to them for analysis 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 mentioned the matter has already been adjudicated by the courts which it reported have determined there is no merit behind the accusations that its admissions policies are discriminatory CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Nonetheless the comment explained 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 protocol for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Device discriminates against any group of students the announcement read Fairfax County Citizens Schools FCPS division leadership and counsel are presently reviewing the documents issued the present day by the Attorney General and will issue a more detailed response in the coming days FCPS remains committed to providing a world-class training for all of our students