Virginia court says Thomas Jefferson High School’s admission practices are not discriminatory
Rachel Schilke
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An appeals court in Virginia upheld an admissions policy used by Thomas Jefferson High School that state leaders said was discriminatory.
The policy removed a standardized test requirement, and people argued the change in admissions criteria was discriminatory against Asian American students. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit said in a 2-1 ruling that the school’s admissions process did not unconstitutionally discriminate against Asian students and was not in violation of the equal protection clause.
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Thomas Jefferson High School’s policy, which was implemented in 2020, sets aside an equal number of spots for each middle school in Fairfax County Public Schools. Prior to the contested policy, the high school used a standardized test that had been a key factor in students receiving a slot. The new policy reviewed by the appeals court scraps that standardized test.
The school said that race was not a factor in admission, but it does give weight in favor of students who are economically disadvantaged or are learning English. Critics of the new policy argued that it discriminated against Asian American students who would have tested well and received a slot if academic merit was the sole factor.
The demographics of the first freshman class admitted under the new admissions policy saw a stark increase in black and Hispanic students, increasing from 1% to 7% and 3% to 11%, respectively. In the same class, Asian American representation decreased from 73% to 54%.
Plaintiffs suing the school over the policy said the increase of black and Hispanic representation was coming at the expense of Asian American representation.
However, the appeals court was “satisfied” that the admissions policy did not “impact Asian American students.”
“We are satisfied that the challenged admissions policy does not disparately impact Asian American students and that the Coalition cannot establish that the Board adopted its race-neutral policy with any discriminatory intent,” Judge Robert King wrote in the majority opinion. “Moreover, we are satisfied that the policy passes constitutional muster under a rational basis standard of review.”
The district court in Fairfax County initially ruled that the Fairfax County School Board engaged in “racial balancing” when it overhauled the original admissions policy.
King wrote in the majority opinion that the school had a legitimate interest in increasing diversity at Thomas Jefferson High School and to say the policy discriminated against Asian Americans “runs counter to common sense.”
Judge Toby Heytens, who also ruled in favor of the school, wrote in a concurring opinion that the school’s new policy was “race-neutral” and worked to create a more “diverse student body” — just as courts have required for years.
“Having spent decades telling school officials they must consider race-neutral methods for ensuring a diverse student body before turning to race-conscious ones, it would be quite the judicial bait-and-switch to say such race-neutral efforts are also presumptively unconstitutional,” he wrote.
However, Judge Allison Jones Rushing wrote in her dissenting opinion that the policy “intended to alter the racial composition of the school.”
“The Policy reduced offers of enrollment to Asian students at TJ by 26% while increasing enrollment of every other racial group. This was no accident,” Rushing wrote.
She added that while the policy might appear neutral on paper, it reflects a clear desire for racial balancing.
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The Virginia appeals court’s ruling comes as the Supreme Court considers the use of affirmative action at universities and colleges.
Higher education institutions have used affirmative action for decades, with several court cases serving as precedents. However, 62% do not believe race and ethnicity should be a factor in college admissions, according to a February Reuters / Ipsos poll.