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 court case about the way students are admitted to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. This lawsuit challenged a new admissions plan that started in 2020.
Contents
What is Thomas Jefferson High School?
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (often called TJ) is a special public school in Northern Virginia. It's known as a "magnet school" because it attracts students who are very interested in science and technology. Students apply when they are in eighth grade to join the school the next year. About 500 students are accepted each year.
Before 2020, students got into TJ by taking a special test. They also needed to send in letters from teachers and write essays.
Changes to Admissions
In the fall of 2020, the Fairfax County School Board changed how students get into TJ.
- They stopped using the standardized test.
- They removed the $100 application fee.
- They set aside a few spots for students from every public middle school in the area.
- They started looking more at students' grades, essays, and "experience factors." These factors included if students were from lower-income families, were learning English, had special education needs, or came from schools that usually didn't send many students to TJ.
After these changes, the number of Asian-American students accepted went down. For the class entering in 2024 (under the old rules), 73% of accepted students were Asian-American. For the class entering in 2025 (under the new rules), this dropped to 54%.
A group called the Coalition for TJ did not agree with these changes. They believed the new rules would unfairly affect Asian-American students.
The Case in District Court
On March 10, 2021, the Coalition for TJ filed a lawsuit. They said the new admissions policy was designed to be unfair to Asian students. The case went to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Judge Claude M. Hilton was in charge of the case.
The Coalition asked the judge twice to temporarily stop the new policy. Judge Hilton said no both times. However, on February 25, 2022, Judge Hilton made a final decision. He agreed with the Coalition for TJ. He said the new policy was a way to change the racial makeup of the school. He felt it unfairly affected Asian-American students. He ordered that the 2020 admissions policy could not be used anymore.
The School Board then asked Judge Hilton to pause his order while they appealed it. Judge Hilton said no to this request on March 11, 2022.
Appeal to a Higher Court
On March 14, 2022, the Fairfax County School Board appealed the judge's decision. They took their case to a higher court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. This court looks at decisions made by lower courts.
The School Board asked this appeals court to pause the order that stopped their admissions policy. On March 31, 2022, the Fourth Circuit Court agreed to pause the order. This meant the new admissions policy could be used again while the appeal was being decided. Two judges, Robert Bruce King and Toby Heytens, agreed to the pause. Judge Allison Jones Rushing disagreed.
The Supreme Court's Decision
On April 8, 2022, the Coalition for TJ took their case to the highest court in the United States, the Supreme Court of the United States. They asked the Supreme Court to stop the Fourth Circuit's decision to pause the injunction. This would mean the new policy would be stopped again.
The state of Virginia and 15 other states supported the Coalition's request. However, on April 25, 2022, the Supreme Court said no to the Coalition's request. This meant the Fourth Circuit's decision to pause the injunction stood. The new admissions policy could continue to be used while the appeal process continued. Three justices, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch, disagreed with this decision.
