Justice Department probes Virginia school's admissions discrimination against Asian Americans

In the United States, the Justice Department began a civil rights investigation into the admissions practices of Fairfax County Public Schools, particularly concerning the highly ranked Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. This investigation was initiated after a referral from the Virginia Attorney General, Jason Miyares, who determined that there is reasonable cause to believe that the school district has discriminated against Asian American students in its admissions policies. Previously, the school had faced numerous allegations regarding its admissions process, which was believed to have been altered to decrease the number of Asian American students admitted. The controversy surrounding the admissions policy escalated when, in 2021, a group of parents filed a lawsuit claiming that the changes were specifically designed to exclude their children, who made up around 70% of the school's enrollment. The lawsuit led to a federal district court ruling in favor of the parents, stating that the school’s new admissions policy was racially discriminatory. However, this ruling was later overturned by a federal appeals court, which argued that the parents did not provide sufficient evidence to prove that the policy had a disparate impact on Asian American students or that it was adopted with discriminatory intent. Despite the appellate court ruling, the investigation by the Justice Department marks a significant move in the ongoing debate regarding affirmative action in education and its implications for admissions processes across the nation. The Supreme Court has previously ruled against similar policies in cases against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, prompting calls for schools to adopt