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FCPS’s Advisory Committee “Reforms” Avoided Real Reform
Earlier this year, the Fairfax County School Board made several changes to its policies and procedures relating to its Community Advisory Committees, but the Board didn’t address the most important problem with these bodies: They tend to echo the preexisting views of Board members rather than being a source of independent advice. Background Over the…
Read MoreGood Riddance to TJ’s Principal
Earlier this week, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) announced that Ann Bonitatibus, the principal of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (“TJ”), was “resigning” to take a new position in the central office. The announcement followed the release of data showing that TJ’s number of National Merit semifinalists had plummeted from 165 last…
Read MoreAlert: FCPS Students Will Be Automatically Enrolled in Unpopular Unisex Sex-Ed Classes Unless Parents Opt Out Soon.
In 2022-23, when transgender advocates urged the Fairfax County School Board to eliminate gender-separate sex-ed classes for boys and girls, 84% of the community opposed the idea in a public survey. The School Board therefore ducked the issue and didn’t vote on it. Nonetheless, FCPS administrators thereafter quietly decided to proceed with a version of…
Read MoreThe Transgender Agenda at FCPS — What’s Next?
The Fairfax County School Board will be voting on several recommended changes to the sex-ed curriculum for Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) at its next meeting, on June 27. For this reason, several community members addressed the issues at the Board’s June 13 meeting. Two speakers, including myself, voiced concerns about some of the Family…
Read MoreIt’s a Sad Day: TJ Discriminatory Admissions Policy Is Allowed to Stand
The U.S. Supreme Court, in an order entered yesterday, declined to review the decision of a court of appeals in Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board that upheld a discriminatory admissions policy for the once-elite Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (“TJ”). Two justices (Alito and Thomas) voted to take the…
Read MoreWill 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 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 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…
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