Appeals Court Rules TJ Admissions Policy Does Not Discriminate, Policy Continues

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — A ruling in support of the new admissions policy at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Tuesday claims the policy does not discriminate against Asian American students. The policy will continue as the next TJ class is chosen.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed a ruling by U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton that claimed Asian American students are "disproportionately harmed" by the new admissions policy at the school. The federal judge's ruling led the Fairfax County School Board to seek the appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

The school board was allowed to keep the new admissions policy while the appeal was considered.

With the appeal court's ruling, the Coalition for TJ, the group that challenged the policy in a lawsuit, will seek to bring the case to the Virginia Supreme Court. The group believes the admissions policy attempts to reduce the Asian American students admitted for the intent of racial balancing.

"We are disappointed by [Tuesday's] ruling, but we are not discouraged," said Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Erin Wilcox, who represented the Coalition for TJ in the case. "Discrimination against students based on their race is wrong and violates the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection. We look forward to asking the Supreme Court to end this illegal practice once and for all."

John Foster, an attorney representing the Fairfax County School Board, released a statement in support of the appeals court's ruling.

“The court reached the correct decision, and we firmly believe this admission plan is fair and gives qualified applicants at every middle school a fair chance of a seat at TJ," said Foster in a statement reported by the Washington Post.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology is often a top-ranked high school in the U.S. by U.S. News and World Report. The Fairfax County School Board adopted the new admissions policy at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in December 2020, aiming to remove barriers for underrepresented groups like Black and Hispanic students. The new admissions policy eliminated the admissions test and application fee, instead introducing a holistic review and raising the minimum grade point average.

The holistic review evaluates students on their grade point average, a portrait sheet demonstrating Portrait of a Graduate attributes and 21st century skills, a problem-solving essay, and experience factors. Experience factors include students who are economically disadvantaged, English language learners, special education students, or students who are currently attending underrepresented middle schools.

The new policy also provides seats to 1.5 percent of applicants from each Fairfax County middle school. All Fairfax County public middle schools were represented in the first two classes chosen under the policy. Remaining seats may be offered to top applicants in participating school divisions, including Arlington County, City of Falls Church, Loudoun County and Prince William County.

In the first class chosen under the new policy (class of 2025), Black students made up 7.09 percent of the admitted class of 2025. The previous year's admission was "too small for reporting," meaning 10 or less. Hispanic students made up 11.27 percent of accepted students, compared to 3.3 percent the previous year.

The percentage of white students admitted also increased from 17.7 percent to 22.36 percent. Asian students still represent the majority of admitted students, although the percentage fell from 73 percent to 54.36 percent.

For the class of 2026, Black students made up 5.82 percent of accepted students, and Hispanic students made up 8.18 percent. White students made up 21.27 percent of accepted students, while Asian American students represented the majority — 59.82 percent.

Applicants for 550 available seats in the upcoming class of 2027 had to apply by mid-November 2022.