Full National Merit Investigation Report Sought By AG, Drawing FCPS Pushback

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Privacy and harassment of staff were cited as reasons officials with Virginia's largest school system don't want to release the full report on delayed notifications to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation's commended students.

Fairfax County Public Schools is taking legal action to prevent the Virginia attorney general's from obtaining the full investigative report on delayed notifications to National Merit commended students. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares requested the complete investigation report by subpoena in Fairfax County Circuit Court, leading the school district to file opposition to the request.

When the delayed notifications came to light, the school district hired a law firm to conduct an independent investigation into how high schools notify the National Merit Scholarship Corporation's commended students.

Superintendent Michelle Reid said the school district has released thousands of documents and the attorney general has all the needed documents for his investigation. In opposing the attorney general's subpoena, Reid cited the privacy of teachers and staff who were interviewed during the investigation.

"We owe it to them to do everything we can to protect their privacy and personal security. As the attorney general knows, multiple FCPS staff members have been harassed and threatened over this issue. We specifically alerted the attorney general to this concern and described the severity of the threats."

Victoria LaCivita, a spokesperson for Miyares, responded in a statement to WTOP saying, "No school system is above the law. If the report shows no wrongdoing, then FCPS should release it."

Miyares had started an investigation into why students were not notified of National Merit Scholarship commendations in a timely manner at certain Fairfax County public schools. Commended students are not the same as the semifinalists and finalists chosen to compete for National Merit Scholarships, but some students may use the commendation to seek college admissions and other scholarships. The investigation will determine if the schools' delayed notifications violate the Virginia Humans Rights Act.

While the full investigation includes confidential information such as documentation and interviews with staff and parents, FCPS released an overview of the investigation's findings in late March.

"As noted in the summary, the independent investigation found no evidence of inequity or bias and no evidence that FCPS deliberately withheld any student notifications," said Reid. "However, even before the law firm investigation was completed, we learned of inconsistencies and how the notification process was managed at our individual high schools."

Eight schools of the 23 FCPS high schools were found to not have notified commended students before Nov. 1 — Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Annandale High School, Thomas Edison High School, Langley High School, John R. Lewis High School, George C. Marshall High School, Westfield High School and West Potomac High School.

FCPS is addressing the inconsistent notifications of commendations with a new regulation. The new regulation standardizes how schools should notify students of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation's commendation. Reid has also written to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation and College Board to encourage notifications to students, families and school district central offices in addition to their high schools.