Eric Vance

On Feb. 20, the United States Supreme Court decided not to review the long-standing case against Jefferson’s revised admissions policy by the Coalition for TJ. “We’re very proud that the last three years of TJHSST admissions decisions included students from every Fairfax County middle school and the average grade-point average (GPA) was 3.9, which is consistent with historical averages,” FCPS School Board chair and Providence District representative Karl Frisch said.

The United States Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from the Coalition of TJ on Feb. 20 regarding Jefferson’s admission policy. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas disagreed with the decision to exclude Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board from the Supreme Court’s docket in a 10-page dissent.  The Supreme Court did not provide a reason for refusing to hear the case. 

The changed admission policy in question was adopted in 2020, eliminating the application fee and testing portions of the process. The Coalition for TJ filed a lawsuit against the FCPS School Board on March 10, 2021, claiming that the changes discriminated against Asian American students. 

On Feb. 25, 2022, U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton ruled that the revised Jefferson admissions process was illegal, finding that the admissions policy was “motivated by a racial purpose” and “patently unconstitutional.” 

The Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) School Board appealed the decision, resulting in a split decision on May 23, 2023, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, reversing Judge Hilton’s ruling. 

Alito, joined by Thomas, asserted in his dissent that the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision that Jefferson’s admissions policy was not discriminatory was “based on a patently incorrect and dangerous understanding of what a plaintiff must show to prove intentional race discrimination” and that the decision “effectively licenses official actors to discriminate against any racial group with impunity as long as that group continues to perform at a higher rate than other groups.” 

Because the Supreme Court refused to hear the case, the decision of the lower court stands, ruling in favor of Jefferson’s admission policy as not discriminatory against Asian American students. 

“We have long believed that the new admissions process is both constitutional and in the best interest of all of our students,” FCPS School Board chair and Providence District representative Karl Frisch said regarding the Supreme Court decision. “It guarantees that all qualified students from all neighborhoods in Fairfax County have a fair shot at attending this exceptional high school.”