Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Virginia H.S.’s Admissions Policy
Critics argued that this policy discriminated against Asian American students.
(Getty Images)
The Supreme Court opted not to hear a challenge to the admissions policy of a prominent Virginia high school, known for being “race-neutral,” which critics argue discriminates against Asian American students. This decision leaves intact a lower-court ruling in favor of the school, and notably, conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas expressed dissent, advocating for the reconsideration of the case.
Here is what CNN reported on the matter:
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, a highly selective institution, implemented a new admissions policy in 2020 aimed at increasing diversity by addressing socioeconomic barriers faced by students of all races. This change shifted from a reliance on standardized tests to admitting a small percentage of the highest-performing students from each middle school in the county. The policy also reserved 100 slots for the highest-evaluated applicants overall, regardless of their middle school.
The controversy arose when a group of parents in Fairfax County sued the school board in 2021, alleging that the new policy, intended to balance the racial makeup of the student body, violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution by allegedly excluding Asian Americans. Asian-American students had previously constituted 70% of the enrollment, dropping initially but rising to 62% in 2023.
The challengers, known as the Coalition for TJ, argued that this constituted a form of racial discrimination, primarily targeting Asian American students, likening it to the discrimination invalidated by the Supreme Court in the Harvard and University of North Carolina cases last year.
Despite a federal judge’s 2022 order to halt the use of the new admissions policy, citing racial discrimination, a divided federal appeals court panel in Richmond later overturned this decision, stating that the policy did not disproportionately affect Asian American students, and there was no evidence of discriminatory intent.
Justice Alito, in his dissent, strongly contested this, characterizing it as a “virus” that may spread if not promptly addressed. He criticized the majority’s reasoning that intentional racial discrimination is acceptable as long as it is not overly severe.
This case highlights the ongoing uncertainty stemming from the Supreme Court’s previous rulings on college admissions cases and emphasizes the potential for related cases in lower courts to reach the high court in the future.
Noumaan Faiz, (he/him) is a journalist and entertainer from Hayward, CA who covers culture and entertainment.
Edited by Nykeya Woods