Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board |
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| Court | United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit |
| Full case name | Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board |
| Decided | February 25, 2022 |
| Case history | |
| Appealed from | United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia |
| Court membership | |
| Judge(s) sitting | Robert Bruce King, Allison Jones Rushing, Toby J. Heytens |
| Case opinions | |
| Decision by | per curiam |
| Concurrence | Heytens |
| Dissent | Rushing |
Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board is a pending lawsuit challenging the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology's new admissions policy, which was adopted in 2020.
Background
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) is a prestigious public magnet school that serves part of Northern Virginia. Students are admitted during eighth grade, for entrance the following year, to a class of around 500 students. Prior to 2020, admissions were principally conducted through applicants taking a standardized test, submitting letters of recommendation, and writing essays. In the fall of 2020, the Fairfax County School Board revised the admissions process, dropping the standardized test, removing the $100 application fee, and allocating a small number of seats in the incoming class of 2025 to each public middle school in the region, while evaluating students on their grades, essays, and "experience factors, including students who are economically disadvantaged, English language learners, special education students, or students who are currently attending underrepresented middle schools." Admissions for the class of 2025 saw Asian-American applicants receive 54% of the admissions offers, a decline from 73% for the class of 2024 (which was conducted under the previous policy).
The Coalition for TJ, a local single-issue conservative advocacy group, opposed the changes to the admissions policy, asserting they would have a disparate impact on Asian applicants. It is represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation.
District court proceedings
On March 10, 2021, the Coalition filed suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, challenging the admissions policy as enacted with discriminatory intent against applicants of Asian descent, under Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp. The case was assigned to Judge Claude M. Hilton. The Coalition twice sought preliminary injunctions blocking use of the 2020 admissions policy; Hilton denied them on May 26, 2021, and September 20, 2021. A bench trial was scheduled to begin January 24, 2022; Hilton canceled it on January 18, after the parties agreed there was no genuine dispute as to any material fact.
On February 25, 2022, Hilton granted the Coalition's motion for summary judgment and permanently enjoined enforcement of the 2020 admissions policy. In the opinion, he wrote the policy was "[a] means to accomplish [the Board's] goal of achieving racial balance, was to decrease enrollment of the only racial group 'overrepresented' at T.J.—Asian Americans. The board employed proxies that disproportionately burden Asian American students."
On March 4, 2022, the School Board sought a stay of the injunction pending appeal. Hilton denied it on March 11.
Appeal to Fourth Circuit
On March 14, 2022, the Fairfax County School Board appealed the district court's permanent injunction against the 2020 admissions policy to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Former Solicitor General of the United States Donald B. Verrilli Jr. represents the board pro bono. The board sought to stay the decision pending resolution of the appeal. On March 31, 2022, the Fourth Circuit granted the stay in a 2–1 order. The majority was unreasoned; Judges Robert Bruce King and Toby Heytens joined it; Heytens also wrote a separate concurrence outlining his disagreement with Hilton's reasoning. Judge Allison Jones Rushing dissented.
Supreme Court
On April 8, 2022, the Coalition filed an emergency application in the Supreme Court of the United States to have the Fourth Circuit's stay vacated. Virginia and 15 other states filed an amicus curiae brief supporting the request. On April 25, 2022, the application was denied over the dissents of Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch.
