Supreme Court urged to assess Virginia high school’s race-based admissions policy.
A Group of Parents and Students Petition Supreme Court to Review Admissions Policy of Top-Rated High School
A group of passionate parents and students is taking a stand and asking the Supreme Court to review the admissions policy of a highly regarded high school in Virginia. They firmly believe that this policy engages in illegal racial discrimination against Asian American students, and they are determined to fight for justice.
This case presents a unique opportunity for the conservative-leaning majority of the Supreme Court to build upon their groundbreaking ruling from June 29. In that ruling, they struck down racially discriminatory admissions policies at U.S. colleges, a long-standing goal of the conservative movement. The timing of when the justices will consider this new petition remains uncertain.
In the majority opinion for the case of Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard, Chief Justice John Roberts eloquently stated that universities have wrongly prioritized an individual’s skin color over their personal achievements and growth. He emphasized that an individual’s identity should be defined by the challenges they have overcome, the skills they have developed, and the lessons they have learned, rather than the color of their skin.
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Now, a new petition has been filed with the Supreme Court in the case of Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board. This petition was submitted by the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), a national non-profit organization dedicated to challenging government misconduct. It was filed on August 21, 2023, and awaits the court’s consideration.
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) holds the prestigious title of being the best public high school in the United States, according to U.S. News and World Report. With a student body of 1,809 and a student-to-teacher ratio of 18–1, TJ provides an exceptional educational experience for students in grades 9 through 12.
The student body at TJ is diverse, with Asians comprising 72.0 percent, whites at 18.3 percent, two or more races at 4.8 percent, Hispanics at 3.0 percent, and blacks at 1.8 percent. However, the Coalition for TJ, a group consisting of over 200 members, believes that the admissions policy discriminates against Asian American students.
The petitioning group argues that the school board implemented changes to the admissions policy in 2020 with the intention of racially balancing the freshman class by excluding Asian Americans. These changes coincided with the aftermath of George Floyd’s tragic death, which sparked widespread protests across the United States and beyond.
Initially, a federal district court ruled in favor of the Coalition for TJ, granting summary judgment to the group. However, the decision was later reversed by a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.
The petition raises the crucial question of whether the school board violated the Equal Protection Clause when it overhauled the admissions criteria at TJ. The group firmly believes that the school board’s actions constitute proxy discrimination, as K-12 schools are not allowed to use overt racial preferences like higher education institutions.
Erin Wilcox, an attorney from the Pacific Legal Foundation, explains that the school board imposed a cap on the number of students admitted from each middle school in the district. This had a significant impact on Asian American students, as many of them attended advanced middle schools that traditionally sent a large number of students to TJ. Consequently, the number of Asian American students admitted to TJ dramatically decreased.
Wilcox describes this cap as an effective proxy for race, as it disproportionately affected Asian American students who were already competing against their peers from academically advanced middle schools. Furthermore, if these students did not make the cut-off, they were placed in a separate pool where they did not receive bonus points for attending a middle school with a low historical representation at TJ.
The Coalition for TJ firmly believes that this admissions policy unfairly targets Asian American students, and they are hopeful that the Supreme Court will address this issue and uphold the principles of equal protection under the law.
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