Multiple schools in Fairfax County, Virginia, are under investigation after allegedly failing to give students their National Merit Scholarship merit awards in a timely manner, before many students needed them for college applications.
State Attorney General Jason Miyares launched the investigation on January 4 against Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) for unlawful discrimination, according to a press release from his office.
Five days later, Miyares expanded the investigation to include the entire Fairfax County Public Schools system after receiving reports that other schools withheld awards as well, according to a separate release from the attorney general.
Fairfax County Public Schools is also investigating, via an independent third party, its superintendent said in a January 4 letter.
“Our current understanding is that the delay at TJHSST this fall was a unique situation due to human error, but we will leave it to our investigative review to draw any final conclusion,” said Fairfax County Schools Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid.
Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria is nearly 66% Asian, according to the Fairfax County Public Schools demographics.
The school is also being investigated for its admission policies, which Miyares said in a statement have significantly reduced the number of Asian American students in recent years.
“I have said before – in America about the only state-sanctioned form of bigotry is anti-Asian bigotry, and it is wrong and we’re going to hold folks accountable,” Miyares said in a press conference on January 4. “To the extent that withholding of any of these awards at Thomas Jefferson High School was based on race, national origin or any other protected status under the Virginia human rights act, that is unlawful.”

Cnn