Litigation Update: Thomas Jefferson High Litigation

Last year, Thomas Jefferson High School (TJ), ranked #1 in the nation for academic excellence, changed its admission policy discarding a merit-based entrance exam in favor of a “holistic evaluation” to determine admission. The school stated the change was made in the name of making the student body more demographically representative. Many concerned parents disagreed, contending that the modification was intended to change the racial makeup of the student body—specifically to exclude some Asian Americans in favor of more whites, blacks, and other racial groups.
Litigation followed. The Coalition for TJ—comprised of approximately 5,000 concerned parents, residents of Fairfax County, and parents of eighth-graders who would be impacted by the admission policy change—sued the Fairfax County School Board and Superintendent Scott Brabrand alleging that the new policy was adopted with racially discriminatory intent in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Last Friday, February 25, a District Court granted summary judgment for the Coalition for TJ. In light of the Supreme Court’s recent cert grant in the pair of Students for Fair Admission's cases—Students for Fair Admission v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admission v. UNC Chapel Hill—the Thomas Jefferson litigation is rapidly gaining national attention.
Nicki Neily, President of Parents Defending Education, joined us for a litigation update on the summary judgment decision and its implications.
Featuring:
Nicki Neily, President of Parents Defending Education
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