Virginia AG expands civil rights investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools
Jeremiah Poff
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Virginia attorney general Jason Miyares announced Monday that his office would expand a civil rights investigation into Thomas Jefferson High School to include all of Fairfax County Public Schools after several high school principals apologized for failing to recognize National Merit Commended Students.
The announcement expands an investigation launched by Miyares last week after reports surfaced last month that the magnet school in Fairfax County Public Schools had likewise failed to inform students of their commendations for years. The attorney general is also investigating the school’s admissions process, which was overhauled in 2020.
VIRGINIA AG LAUNCHES CIVIL RIGHTS INVESTIGATION AGAINST THOMAS JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL
“It’s concerning that multiple schools throughout Fairfax County withheld merit awards from students,” Miyares said in a statement. “My office will investigate the entire Fairfax County Public Schools system to find out if any students were discriminated against and if their rights were violated.”
The announcement from the attorney general comes just days after principals at Langley and Westfield High Schools reportedly apologized last week for failing to inform students of the commendation and said they would be taking steps to inform college admissions offices of the recognition, according to the Fairfax Times.
“If any of the protected bases listed in the Virginia Human Rights Act was a motivating factor for Fairfax County Public Schools’ or any high school’s decision to withhold any information from a student regarding any recognition from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, or any other merit recognition, then FCPS has violated the Virginia Human Rights Act,” Miyares wrote in a Monday letter to superintendent Michelle Reid.
The email apologies from Langley High School principal Kimberly Greer and Westfield High School principal Tony DiBari said that students who were recognized as Commended Students by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation were not informed during the fall semester, as was customary.
“I must apologize that certificates were not distributed to these Langley High School students in the usual way this past fall,” Greer reportedly wrote in the email. “I am deeply sorry for this mistake.”
In a statement following the reports about Thomas Jefferson High School, FCPS said it believed an oversight due to human error had been the source of the delay in 2022, but that it would investigate further. In his email, DiBari said that Westfield’s failure to notify students of the award would also be part of the investigation.
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In a statement last week, Superintendent Reid vowed to cooperate with Miyares’s investigation, saying the school district “stands ready to work with our partners at the state level on both areas of investigation.”
“We understand and value the hard work and dedication of each and every student, and the families and staff who support them,” Reid said. “Please be assured that we remain resolutely committed to supporting every student in reaching their unique and fullest potential.”
Fairfax County Public Schools did not respond to a request for comment.