Posts by Mark Spooner
Will the Harvard/U.N.C. Decision Affect the TJ Admissions Case?
On May 23 of this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in a 2-1 decision, overturned a federal district court’s ruling that the new admissions standards for the elite Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (“TJ”) violated the “equal protection of the laws” mandate of the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment. …
Read MoreSchool Board Rubber Stamps “Equity Policy” in Wee Hours
In a bizarre meeting that sometimes proved the “Law of Triviality,” the Fairfax County School Board unanimously approved a controversial “Equity Policy” at 12:30 a.m. on June 27. How the Meeting Unfolded The School Board’s meetings are user-unfriendly. They begin at 7:00 p.m., but the discussion of pending business often doesn’t begin until 9:00 p.m.…
Read MoreRhetoric v. Reality in the New “Equity” Policy
After a working session of the Fairfax County School Board a couple of days ago, a new draft of the proposed Equity Policy was hurriedly drafted, and then posted on the FCPS website at 3:30 Friday afternoon. A meeting will be held Monday evening, June 26, to stamp it with the Board’s final approval. It…
Read MoreSchool Board Reaffirms Intent to Ram Through a New “Equity Policy” without Public Engagement
The Fairfax County Public School System (FCPS) revealed a proposed “Equity Policy” on June 14. No prior draft had been released. Nevertheless, FCPS scheduled it for discussion at a work session on June 21 and for a final vote on June 26. See “New Equity Policy — FCPS Schedules Key Vote with No Time…
Read MoreNew “Equity” Policy — FCPS Schedules Key Vote with No Time for Public Engagement!
Two days ago, on June 14, the Fairfax County School System quietly posted its proposed “Equity Policy” on its website. The School Board is scheduled to consider it just four days from now, on June 20, and to approve it the following week, on June 20. The notice on the FCPS website says the policy…
Read MoreNational Merit Awards Controversy — Update
As previously reported, a controversy erupted in December of last year regarding delays by administrators in the Fairfax County Public School system (FCPS) in notifying students and families about prestigious National Merit “commended student” awards. In response, the FCPS Superintendent announced that a law firm was being hired to conduct an independent investigation into the…
Read MoreWhere Is the FCPS “Equity Policy”?
As reported two weeks ago (see HERE), the Fairfax County School Board has scheduled a work session for June 20 to consider a long-awaited “Equity Policy,” which has been kept under wraps during its year-long process of development. The Board has scheduled a formal meeting for six days after that, June 26, to vote to approve…
Read MoreCoalition for TJ v. School Board — Further Analysis
The two-judge majority in Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board concluded that the School Board’s revised admissions policy did not have a disparate, adverse impact on Asian American applicants to the high school; indeed, according to the court, this group was helped, not hurt, by the new admissions criteria. Having parsed through the…
Read MoreAppeals Court Overturns District Court Ruling in TJ Case
In a 2-1 split decision today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed the lower court’s ruling in Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board. The district court had ruled in February 2022 that the Fairfax County School Board’s revision of admissions criteria for the elite Thomas Jefferson High School for…
Read MoreFCPS Consideration of “Equity Policy” Coming Soon
A proposed “Equity Policy” for the Fairfax County Public School system (FCPS) will be considered by the county School Board at a work session on June 20 and will come up for final approval at the Board’s June 26 meeting, just five weeks from now. This is despite the fact that a draft of the…
Read More