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Fairfax County, Virginia’s Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology – commonly known as TJ – is the #1 ranked public high school in the country.
In 2020, the Fairfax County School Board enacted measures intended to increase racial diversity in TJ’s student body. These policies changed the school’s admissions process and drew criticism from some TJ parents, locals, and national observers. The changes included discontinuing the admissions test, allowing race-consciousness, and capping the number of students allowed admission from each of the district’s 23 middle schools. In the end, the new system led to a reduction in the number of Asian-American students admitted to TJ.
In March 2021, Coalition for TJ sued the Fairfax County School Board over the new admissions policies alleging discrimination against applicants of Asian heritage. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted Coalition for TJ’s motion for summary judgment in February 2022. Fairfax County School Board then appealed the District Court’s permanent injunction to the Fourth Circuit. The Fourth Circuit stayed the District Court order. The Coalition for TJ filed an emergency stay application to the U.S. Supreme Court but was denied; the case was remanded to the Fourth Circuit and heard in September 2022. In May 2023, the Fourth Circuit reversed the District Court allowing the new admissions plan to be enacted.
Coalition for TJ’s legal representation, Pacific Legal Foundation, is now planning to file a cert petition to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the lead up to filing, Erin Wilcox will join us to discuss the case and offer an update on the latest events.
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What I find chilling is the role of progressive appeals court judges, in this and the Harvard case, who are entirely happy to falsify the evidence.
Progressives are utilitarians. For them, right and wrong reside in the end sought, not in the methods used to get there.
This was actually Sen. Harry Reid’s dream, when he ended the filibuster for judicial nominations. And every day the Democrats remain in control of the White House and the Senate, more progressive judges are being appointed.