Supreme Court urged to review case on Affirmative Action Ban.

A Parents Group Challenges⁤ Admissions Policy⁤ at Elite Virginia High School

A parents ⁣group backed by a conservative ‌legal organization is⁤ urging the U.S. Supreme‌ Court to‍ consider whether an admissions policy aimed at diversifying an elite Virginia high school‌ is ​racially discriminatory.

The case over how ⁤students are selected to attend Thomas Jefferson High School for Science &⁢ Technology came to the ‌ court two months⁤ after ‌its ⁣conservative majority barred colleges and universities from considering ‌race as a‍ factor in admissions.

But unlike the higher education cases, the admissions‌ policy ⁤adopted in 2020 by⁣ Virginia’s⁤ Fairfax County School⁣ Board for the state-chartered magnet high school was on its ‌face race-neutral.

The ‌Alexandria-based ⁣school, known as TJ,‍ often ranks ⁣among the best U.S. public high‌ schools.

The board eliminated​ a ⁤standardized test from ⁢its admissions ⁤process, capped ‌the‍ number of students from each of the ‍district’s middle schools, and guaranteed‍ seats for the top students from each.

After the overhaul, the share of‍ black and Hispanic students ‌increased, but the percentage⁢ of Asian-American students fell to 54 percent from 73 percent in the first⁢ year.

A parents group called Coalition for TJ, whose members include Asian Americans, sued,‍ saying the policy was adopted with​ a racially discriminatory ⁤purpose in⁤ violation of the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th⁣ Amendment.

In February 2022, U.S. District‍ Judge Claude Hilton sided‍ with the ⁣parents’‌ group​ lawyers at the libertarian ‌Pacific Legal‍ Foundation.

In⁤ May, however,⁣ the ⁢Richmond-based 4th U.S. ⁢Circuit Court of Appeals reversed him, saying the board did⁣ not intend to discriminate against ⁢Asian Americans‍ and had a legitimate ​interest in “expanding⁢ the array of student ⁤backgrounds.”

In Monday’s petition asking the⁣ Supreme Court to hear the case, the coalition’s⁣ lawyers said ⁤the court‘s June decision ⁢ending affirmative⁤ action ⁢in college⁢ admissions “might mean little ⁣if schools could accomplish the⁣ same discriminatory result through race-neutral proxies.”

The school board’s lawyer ‍did not immediately respond to a request ⁣for comment.

Last‌ year the⁣ Supreme Court declined an emergency request to block its policy, though three conservative justices ⁣dissented.

(Reporting‍ by⁢ Nate ​Raymond in Boston; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)