Appeals Court Grants FCPS a Stay in Thomas Jefferson High School Admissions Case
A federal appeals court today granted a stay, or a suspension, of the district court’s February 25 ruling that required the Fairfax County School Board (FCSB) to stop using its new admissions process for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ).
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals order now allows FCSB to continue with the current TJ application process to select the Class of 2026 this spring. For the 2,500+ students in this application pool, this means the race blind process set out by the School Board in October 2020 will remain in place as an appeal challenging the February court decision plays out.
This process, approved by the School Board in December 2020, resulted in the freshman Class of 2025 being the most diverse in the school’s recent history. For the first time in at least 10 years, every FCPS middle school had students who were offered admission to TJ. The changes also resulted in a significant increase in access for groups who have faced barriers to entry, including students with disabilities, students eligible for free and/or reduced-price meals, and English Learners.
“We are pleased with the ruling from the Fourth Circuit, and we will continue to pursue our appeal of the lower court’s ruling,” said School Board Chair Stella Pekarsky.
In requesting the stay, the School Board said the district court’s ruling was “the first time in the history of Equal Protection jurisprudence concerning school admissions, a race-neutral, race-blind admissions policy was declared unconstitutional.”
