Multi-Racial
Group of Thomas Jefferson Students, Family, and Alumni Denounce Effort to
Overturn School’s Fairer Admissions Policy
Washington, DC –
Today, a multi-racial group of students, family, and alumni of Thomas Jefferson
High School for Science and Technology (TJ) denounced a petition filed by the
Pacific Legal Foundation, a conservative legal advocacy group, on behalf of
plaintiff Coalition for TJ, asking the Supreme Court to review a federal
appeals court’s ruling that a 2020 race-neutral change to the school’s
race-blind admissions policy is permissible under the United States
Constitution.
The Virginia NAACP, Hamkae Center,
Asian American Youth Leadership Empowerment and Development (AALEAD), CASA
Virginia, Hispanic Federation, and TJ Alumni for Racial Justice have been
represented by the Legal Defense Fund, Asian Americans Advancing Justice –
AAJC, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, and Arnold & Porter as amicus curiae as the
case has made its way through the federal appeals court. These groups, with
multiracial constituencies across Northern Virginia, applaud the 2020 changes
made by the school board, which expanded access to the specialized, publicly-funded
high school for students from a wider range of economic, racial, and geographic
backgrounds in the district.
The admissions changes put in place to
ensure all area students have a fair shot at the educational opportunities
available at TJ include: the elimination of a cost-prohibitive application fee,
and the introduction of a holistic review for qualified eighth graders from
eligible locales, including consideration of students’ socio-economic status,
whether they have disabilities, and their degree of English language
proficiency.
After this policy change, the number
of applications for TJ’s class of 2025 increased by nearly 1,000 students, and
the mean grade point average among the applicants was higher than it had been
in five years.
In May, the United States Court of
Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that the admissions policy is
constitutional, highlighting that – rather than being discriminatory against
Asian American students, as alleged by the plaintiff – it has resulted in
increased numbers of low-income Asian American students being admitted to TJ.
The plaintiff now seeks to reverse this ruling with a groundless claim that the
new admissions process discriminates against Asian Americans. In essence, the
plaintiff seeks to cement pre-existing inequalities by prohibiting school
districts from trying to remedy any unfairness in the admissions process that
may change the racial makeup of accepted students. If successful, such
arguments would distort the meaning of the Equal Protection Clause by
manipulating it to prevent school districts from advancing equal access to
educational opportunities.
“A publicly-funded educational
resource, like TJ, should be equally available to all qualified students from
eligible middle schools,” said Robert N. Barnette Jr., President of the
Virginia NAACP. “The school district’s more equitable admissions
policy increases opportunities for all students, which the numbers bear out:
more low-income Asian American students were accepted to TJ, and more sorely
underrepresented Black and Latino students were able to apply to the school. We
reject the shameful effort to have the Court cement a status quo that would
have continued to under-identify students with fewer resources, who
nevertheless deserve the same fair shot at educational advancement.”
“Allowing school districts like
Fairfax County to build a more equitable and inclusive school community by
implementing an admissions process that provides all students with fair
opportunity to compete is beneficial to all,” said Ingrid Alvarez, Vice
President for Policy and Strategic Engagement, Hispanic Federation. “We
hope SCOTUS rejects this brazen attempt by appellant to undercut the Fourth
Circuit’s decision upholding equal educational opportunity for Latino and other
students of color.”
"As we continue to see
significant resistance towards racial justice and a wave of attacks directed at
our education system, we stand firmly with our belief that a diverse learning
environment enriches educational experience for our students” said Luis
Aguilar, Director of Virginia region, CASA, Inc. “The Fourth Circuit’s
correct interpretation of the law affords all students- regardless of their
background- access to a highly sought after education at TJ by removing biased
admissions criteria. Our highest court should deny this unjustified attempt to
roll back racial justice, equity, and fairness in our educational system.”
Akil Vohra, Executive
Director of AALEAD said, “We need our children to see that the door to
educational opportunity is open, for each of them. We don’t believe that public
education is a zero-sum game. Each applicant class at TJ is unique and each
applicant class should be drawn from a pool that is made up of qualified
students whose merit is judged on standards attainable by all, not those that
are based on privilege. We support policies that create equal educational
opportunities for all.”
Sookyung Oh, Director of
Hamkae Center shared, “Every parent wants to know their child will not be
disadvantaged in our public education system no matter their personal wealth or
language abilities. It is imperative that students from communities of color,
including Asian Americans, will not be disadvantaged by an unfair admissions
process and will have the same access to educational opportunities only
previously afforded to those with the wealth and privilege to get their
children into schools like TJ.”
Daniel Morales, a member
of the TJ Alumni for Racial Justice’s Board, said “The Fourth
Circuit confirmed what should be obvious: diversity, excellence and opportunity
go hand in hand. The TJ I graduated from in 1998 drew most of its students from
the most privileged precincts of Fairfax County. But talent isn’t limited to a
handful of rich zip codes. Today’s TJ finds talent of every color, creed, and
household income percentile.”
