Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced on Wednesday that his office would launch two investigations into Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology — one of the nation’s top high schools.
The first investigation will look at why more than 200 students at TJHSST received late notices in 2022 of a National Merit Scholarship competition “commended student” achievement. The issue was revealed in an investigation by former Wall Street Journal reporter and activist Asra Nomani.
Many of the awards, given to the nation’s top 3 percent of standardized test takers, were delayed until early college application deadlines had already passed, the report found, dealing a significant blow to students seeking scholarships from top universities.
The lack of notification has prompted accusations of racial discrimination from parents who say the school, which was once led by a predominantly Asian American student body, has become more interested in fostering an environment of diversity than one of academic merit.
The second investigation, Miyares announced at a news conference in Alexandria, will look at potential civil rights violations for admissions at the prestigious school, NBC4 reported. “Today is the first step on a long journey to restore excellence, transparency, and merit to the No. 1 high school in the nation, right here in our beloved Virginia,” Miyares said.
The move comes after a protest by parents upset with the delayed notifications for their students’ commendations, and follows calls for action by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
In Nomani’s report, current TJHSST parent and lawyer Shawnna Yashar, whose son was among the affected students, said school administrators told her the award delays stemmed from two school officials who “didn’t want to ‘hurt’ the feelings of students who didn’t get the award.”
“Keeping these certificates from students is theft by the state,” Yashar told Nomani.
In a statement addressing the report, officials from Fairfax County Public Schools attributed the gaffe to “a unique situation due to human error.”
But Nomani, who is also a parent of a TJHSST student who was impacted in the past, isn’t buying it.
Under the five-year guidance of school principal Ann Bonitatibus, at least 1,200 students have been impacted by such delays that would potentially open “the door to millions of dollars in college scholarships and 800 Special Scholarships from corporate sponsors,” Nomani said.
In a letter to Miyares, Youngkin said he was “stunned by news reports alleging that information about National Merit Awards, as determined by student PSAT scores, was withheld from students.”
“We need to get to the bottom of what appears to be an egregious, deliberate attempt to disadvantage high-performing students at one of the best schools in the country,” Youngkin wrote.
“Parents and students deserve answers and Attorney General Miyares will initiate a full investigation,” Youngkin added. “I believe this failure may have caused material harm to those students and their parents, and that this failure may have violated the Virginia Human Rights Act.”
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