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Supreme Court Refuses to Require T.J. to Resume Prior Admissions Process

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Dick Hall-Sizemore
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Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.  Photo credit: New York Times

by Dick Hall-Sizemore

As reported today by The New York Times, the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday refused to require the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology to resume using its prior admissions process, pending an appeal of a judge’s decision overturning a new process adopted by the school board.

This issue has been the subject of several lengthy posts on this blog.

A federal judge overturned the school’s decision to drop its former admissions process that relied heavily on a standardized test and substitute a race-neutral process that instead allocated slots to each of the schools in the district and also considered “life experiences” in deciding which students to admit. In siding with opponents of the new process, who contended that it discriminated against Asian students, the district judge said that the changes were “racially motivated.”

The Fairfax County School Board appealed the decision. In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the U.S. Appeals Court granted a stay of the district court’s order while the appeal played out. One of the judges on the Appeals Court panel said in his opinion that the school board’s new admissions process met the Supreme Court requirements for race-neutral admissions.

The group challenging the new process asked the U.S. Supreme Court for an emergency order to overturn the stay while the appeal was in process. In an unsigned order, the Supreme Court refused to do so. Three of the Justices, Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch, said they would have reinstated the federal judge’s decision blocking the new criteria.

The result is that T.J. will select a second class, using the new criteria, while the case makes its way through the appeals process.

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34 responses to “Supreme Court Refuses to Require T.J. to Resume Prior Admissions Process”

  1. vicnicholls Avatar
    vicnicholls

    I’d investigate the judge. The case shows clearly racism.

    1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      Which judge? And how do you “investigate” a judge, especially one who has a lifetime appointment?

      1. vicnicholls Avatar
        vicnicholls

        Take a good look at the “supposed” conservatives on there and how they vote. They’re not conservative. This is also a case of needing to take court cases and them bailing out on them because they don’t have what it takes to actually make the tough decisions they should. Then again, court packing has already commenced.

    2. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      Which judge? And how do you “investigate” a judge, especially one who has a lifetime appointment?

  2. Stephen Haner Avatar
    Stephen Haner

    None of these preliminaries dictate the eventual outcome. I am in general sympathetic with the parents who feel the rules were changed and thus the nature of the school changed and admission is no longer based on race-blind academic criteria. They also have plenty of evidence of racial animus toward Asians expressed by officials. That said, it is a public school, the admissions process is controlled by an elected local school board, and the Supreme Court could indeed decide to overrule the district judge.

  3. f/k/a_tmtfairfax Avatar
    f/k/a_tmtfairfax

    The Supreme Court often rejects requests to overturn a stay order or a refusal to grant a stay. Despite the ongoing stupidity of the MSM focusing on the so-called “Shadow Docket,” SCOTUS generally gets involved only after there is a court of appeals decision. This decision provides very little insight into anything.

    1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      I realize that, but this story has gotten a lot of exposure on this blog; this is the latest chapter.

      Despite your skepticism, several members of the Court have recently shown a unusual willingness to use the “shadow docket”.

  4. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    yep. got a ways to go but the idea that the SCOTUS jump right in , to me, shows a lack of understanding on how the appeal process works and/or perhaps SCOTUS is now actually weighing in sometimes before it’s played out and “ripe’.

    I’m agog at the idea that judges of decisions that some disagree with ought to be “investigated”. By who? And what process ? wow!

    This case (and some others) really does illustrate how different folks think about things as well as some déjà vu with respect to whether a policy is actually discriminatory OR the EFFECT of it is discriminatory. We’ve been there before also.

    I wonder how many colleges (and other institutions) enroll purely on a top-score rank basis for performance on a standardized test. People in all kinds of occupations from doctor to lawyer to police to military – do have to take and pass tests but if there are fewer positions available than applicants, does it come down solely to their score on a standardized test or are other factors in play.

    1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
      Eric the half a troll

      Maybe if TJ used an athletic performance preference and it was a Div 1 school Conservatives would suddenly approve…?🤷‍♂️

  5. DJRippert Avatar
    DJRippert

    The Asian population in Fairfax County increased from 17.45% in 2010 to 20.33% in 2020.

    Asians are now second only to Whites as the most populous racial group in Fairfax County.

    If the GOP had any brains (and they might not), this issue (with its Anti-Asian commentary) would be grist for the mill.

    The longer the controversy simmers the more opportunity the Republicans have to “make hay” come election day.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      The Asians who would possibly be drawn to the GOP would be the TJ folks but make no mistake – these are high income , well educated Asians not low income.

      What should TJ do to offer opportunity to low income Asians?

      Other Asians that are not high income but in America for opportunity are repelled by xenophobes that tend to identify with Conservatives and the GOP seems to have trouble separating themselves from.

      1. killerhertz Avatar
        killerhertz

        It’s simple really Larry.

        Don’t vote for the party that discriminates against you and perhaps even despises you.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          Many of the Asians in NoVa are high income – highest income demographics in NoVa, in fact.

          Would they vote GOP?

          Have they voted GOP?

          Would they vote GOP if they heard xenophobes within the party?

          That’s the GOP’s problem IMHO.

          They got these folks in their ranks – in plain sight – and then someone, an Asian notices it and it’s all over with.

  6. James A. Bacon Avatar
    James A. Bacon

    Thanks for the update, Dick.

    I would take exception to only one passage in the post. (Whether the phrasing is yours or you were just paraphrasing the New York Times, I’m not sure.)

    The passage in question describes the new admissions process as substituting “a race-neutral process that … allocated slots to each of the schools in the district.”

    The process is quite the opposite of “race neutral.” The new admissions process does not use race as an explicit criteria (which would have been unconstitutional) but it was consciously designed to have the effect of admitting more Hispanics and Blacks at the expense of Asian-Americans.

    1. DJRippert Avatar
      DJRippert

      More Hispanics, Blacks and Whites … at the expense of Asians.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        not low income ….. high income…. How does TJ offer opportunity to low income of any race?

    2. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      The phrase was in the article, but I agree with it. If race is not a criteria and the folks that make the admissions decisions do not know the race of the applicants, does that not make the process “race-neutral”?

  7. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
    James Wyatt Whitehead

    Let’s hope this is not the 21st century version of Plessy v. Ferguson. Been there, done that, and didn’t work out so well.

  8. DJRippert Avatar
    DJRippert

    TJ is / was intentionally targeted at elite students who could test into the program. The test was, as far as I can tell, race neutral although the results disproportionately favored Asians.

    Do the supporters of the lottery concept also favor a lottery for US special forces like the SEALs?

    “About 84% of the Navy SEAL and SWCC enlisted troops are white, and 2% are Black. The greater diversity comes in the number of American Indian, Alaskan Native and those who say they are “multiple” races. The Army’s enlisted special forces are also 84% white, but the percentage of Blacks goes up to 4.”

    https://www.abc10.com/article/news/nation-world/us-militarys-elite-forces-expand-diversity/507-92f43fc4-897a-417e-9b4e-3909b97c8b3e#:~:text=About%2084%25%20of%20the%20Navy,Blacks%20goes%20up%20to%204.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      That’s exactly how it does work DJ – there are basic qualification standards and from that pool, the final group is selected – not solely on one test.

      And you’re extolling the “virtues” of institutional bias:

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/201407ba2d010e77a8b0c4d45c387cc67b0c482790ddff893713ca55191b4eaa.jpg
      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f40f484751cb2ff7899994f002dfd9a4ce944ac3d5366b4f5179a9c19103cd1e.jpg

      1. DJRippert Avatar
        DJRippert

        Not my understanding of SEAL qualifications. You take the 10 week “test” and either you make it or you don’t. Where is the test that ultimately determines admission to TJ?

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          How do they get to take the 10-week test? What ‘s the criteria for acceptance?

      2. dick dyas Avatar
        dick dyas

        Ha, Mullen accusing Fairfax County school authorities of institutional bias.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          Nope. But he’s telling the truth about institutional bias – that exists not only in the military but academics and other fields. Some folks might have you believe that the reason the military or the seals have such low percentages of minorities is because the minorities themselves are not qualified which in my mind is little more than white supremacy thinking.

    2. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      It is not a lottery. Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.5 and have taken a prescribed list of courses. https://www.fcps.edu/registration/thomas-jefferson-admissions/eligibility-requirements

      1. DJRippert Avatar
        DJRippert

        That narrows the applicant pool down to about 15,000. How are students chosen from there? Some are chosen by lotto, no?

        1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
          Dick Hall-Sizemore

          No. Applicants are evaluated on a number of factors. It is not unlike the process used by colleges and universities in evaluating applications. The process is summarized here: https://www.fcps.edu/registration/thomas-jefferson-high-school-science-and-technology-admissions/tjhsst-freshman

  9. oromae Avatar
    oromae

    I suggest the Virginia Lottery be conducted in the same manner and winning weighted by skin color.

  10. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    What has happened at TJ may be what could happen with more Charter Schools in Virginia. The claim will be that it’s to “help” the low-income kids in low-performing schools but the reality would be like TJ, where most of the kids are from high income families, not low income and from high-performing schools not low-performing schools that don’t provide a path for kids to achieve the academics required to get into TJ.

    So TJ may well represent what happens with Charter Schools in Virginia unless we actually do use a non-academic lottery.

    1. DJRippert Avatar
      DJRippert

      TJ was, once upon a time, designed to admit only the most elite students based on an entry test. It taught about 1 – 2% of all Fairfax County high school students (and fewer from its larger catch area). Charter schools are not usually targeted at elite students. Where they are common, they are an alternative to traditional public schools. No?

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        In either case, would you expect those accepted to reflect the income and race demographics of the folks applying?

        in the case of Charters, in this blog and from others, the claim is that Charters are justified to “help” the low income kids who are stuck in “under-performing” schools.

        I ask – what will the enrollment criteria for them look like? will it rule out high-income kids?

        For TJ, what explains the fact that almost no low-income kids enroll – including Asians?

        how does that happen and should it be fixed so that low-income kids are enrolled in TJ?

  11. Kathleen Smith Avatar
    Kathleen Smith

    I want to ask a dumb question. Why not open more TJ schools without any changes in curricula throughout Northern Virginia? More places for more kids and no one is left out?

    1. dick dyas Avatar
      dick dyas

      Why not bulk up on advanced placement classes in all high schools? That’s the way it used to be. Leave the intelligent kids in the local high schools, where they will be student leaders. Win-win.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        Yes. If a kid is identified as having significant potential, he/she should be offered a academic track to higher level material and especially so if they are low-income, economically disadvantaged so that when they do get to high school, they are viable to compete for such schools.

        When only 1% or 2% of TJ attendees are low income, what does that really mean?

        By the way, it’s ALL races of low-income that do not qualify for entrance to TJ – including Asians.

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