BREAKING: Virginia AG Launches Investigation of Fairfax Faculty Caught Withholding College students’ Benefit Awards

Virginia Lawyer Common Jason Miyares introduced Wednesday that prosecutors will examine one of many state’s richest college districts and its celebrated science and tech college for “illegal discrimination” in violation of state regulation.

The transfer from Miyares, a Republican, follows issues that Fairfax County Public Colleges and Thomas Jefferson Excessive Faculty for Science and Know-how (regionally dubbed “TJ”) engaged in illegal discrimination each by withholding Nationwide Benefit Scholarship honors from college students and implementing “equitable” admissions insurance policies.

The highschool claims the honors had been delayed because of human error.

In saying that his Workplace of Civil Rights would conduct the probe, Miyares stated:

No scholar ought to be handled in a different way due to their race. College students at Thomas Jefferson Excessive Faculty for Science and Know-how are amongst the brightest within the nation, but some have been punished within the title of ‘fairness.’ Racism and race-based authorities decision-making in any kind is fallacious and illegal beneath Virginia’s Human Rights Act.

A federal decide dominated nearly a 12 months in the past that Fairfax County’s college admission practices discriminated towards Asian college students by limiting their quantity in an effort to “racially steadiness” the scholar physique at TJ, the top-rated STEM college within the nation.

Asian scholar enrollment at TJ declined from 73% to 54% earlier than the decide dominated towards the Fairfax college system final February, discovering that the college’s “racial balancing” apply is illegal and discriminatory.

Relating to the discrimination towards Asian college students, Miyares stated: 

The controversial admissions insurance policies at [TJ], which have considerably decreased the quantity of Asian American college students enrolled lately, is one other instance of scholars being handled in a different way due to their ethnicity.  My Workplace of Civil Rights will examine any potential violations of the regulation and vindicate the civil rights of those college students and their households.

Following a Fairfax County Faculty Board decision to supply “Equal outcomes for each scholar, with out exceptions,” TJ directors determined to delay informing college students of their Nationwide Benefit Scholarship awards in order to deal with “college students for who they’re as people, not deal with their achievements,” Brandon Kosatka, the college’s director of scholar providers, stated.

The college has reportedly withheld scholar award recognition for years, affecting over 1,200 college students and infrequently maintaining them from having the ability to listing honors achievements on college and scholarship purposes.

“I’m grateful, and hopeful that the lawyer common is wanting into this matter,” Harry Jackson, former president of the Thomas Jefferson Excessive Faculty Dad or mum Trainer Pupil Affiliation, informed The Each day Sign.

“We, the mother and father, have been sounding the alarm on the ‘darkish’ facet of fairness, as envisioned by activist educators that may trigger precise hurt to our college students,” Jackson stated. “We hope that [Miyares] will put an finish to the present discrimination at TJ, and permit our kids to thrive.”

Though admitting to Jefferson Excessive’s direct implementation of an “equitable” coverage of maintaining college students from being acknowledged for his or her achievements, a written assertion from the college makes an attempt to color the choice to withhold awards as a “distinctive scenario resulting from human error.”

Following a substantial controversy, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, known as for an official investigation into Fairfax County Public Colleges and Thomas Jefferson Excessive Faculty relating to each discriminatory insurance policies. Days later, Miyares responded by saying his investigation.

Youngkin and Miyares received their elections in November 2021 together with Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, and all three took workplace in January 2022. Youngkin is white, Sears is black, and Miyares is Hispanic.

Youngkin supercharged his gubernatorial marketing campaign after committing to training reform in Virginia—particularly criticizing insurance policies which can be anti-parent, racially discriminatory, and counter to highschool alternative. He promised to struggle for college students and their mother and father.

This investigation offers the newest proof that Youngkin and Miyares are trying to ship on these guarantees.

This can be a breaking story and could also be up to date.

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