The U.S. Supreme Court left in place Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology’s admissions policy when it declined to take up an appeal where parents argued the elite school’s revised policy discriminates against Asian Americans.
The justices left in place a federal appeals court ruling that upheld the policy’s constitutionality. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond ruled in May 2023 that the policy does not discriminate against Asian American applicants.
The high court did not give a reason for not adding the case to its docket. The decision ended a three-year legal challenge to the revamped policy.
Two Justices Dissent
Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas disagreed with the decision not to hear the case that could have further dismantled affirmative action in education. In their 10-page dissent, they said the lower court’s decision “is based on a patently incorrect and dangerous understanding of what a plaintiff must show to prove intentional race discrimination.”
The dissent went on to say: “The holding below effectively licenses official actors to discriminate against any racial group with impunity as long as that group continues to perform at a higher rate than other groups. That is indefensible.”
The case made its way up the court system after the Coalition for TJ, a group of parents, sued the school board. For years, Asian Americans made up more than 70 percent of the student body, while Black and Hispanic students remained underrepresented. Parents sued after the Fairfax County school board changed the admissions policy and scrapped a standardized test in order to increase diversity at the school that is consistently among the nation’s best. The new admissions process set aside an equal number of slots for each county middle school for admissions to TJHSST. It also took into account whether applicants came from historically underrepresented high schools, had disabilities, had economic disadvantages, and were still learning English.
The judge in the federal appeals court ruling said the school board had a legitimate interest in increasing diversity at the school. Judge Robert King said that calling it intentional racial discrimination ran “counter to common sense.”
Reaction from Fairfax County’s School System
Following the ruling, the school system released comments from the head of the school board.
“We have long believed that the new admissions process is both constitutional and in the best interest of all of our students. It guarantees that all qualified students from all neighborhoods in Fairfax County have a fair shot at attending this exceptional high school,” said Karl Frisch, Fairfax County School Board chair and Providence District representative.
“We’re very proud that the last three years of TJHSST admissions decisions included students from every Fairfax County middle school and the average grade-point average (GPA) was 3.9, which is consistent with historical averages,” Frisch said.
Fairfax County Public Schools said that economically disadvantaged students comprised 11.64 percent of the freshman class that started in fall 2023. By gender, the class is 43.4 percent female and 57.6 percent male.
“Asian American students represented 61.6 percent of the offers, with white students receiving 19 percent and Black and Hispanic students receiving 6.7 percent and 6.0 percent, respectively. All students admitted to TJHSST are qualified and have earned their place in this prestigious school,” the school system said.
Feature image courtesy Thomas Jefferson High School For Science and Technology
Maggie Roth contributed to this story
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