Legal Case Says Acceptance Policy Discriminates Against Asians

 

A discrimination case involving Asian Americans at a top public high school in the state of Virginia is moving ahead.

A federal judge in late May ruled that a parents' group can dispute the admissions policy of the high school in court. The group says the new admissions policy is meant to limit the number of ethnically² Asian students at the school.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, commonly called TJ, is in Alexandria, Virginia. It is part of the Fairfax County School system. TJ was rated the best public high school in America last month by the magazine U.S. News and World Report.

However, the school accepts very few Black and Hispanic students. This year, a small percentage of students at TJ are Black or Hispanic. However, about 70 percent of students are identified as Asian. Government information shows that Asians make up about 20 percent of the population of Fairfax County.

Last year, the Fairfax County School Board changed the admissions process at the school. Before the change, acceptance to the highly competitive³ school was based mainly on grades and test scores.

The board said it decided⁴ to change the process to judge students holistically⁵. That means to consider many different qualities of a person rather than a few. A difficult admissions test is no longer required. Critics of the earlier system argued that it gave an advantage to families that could pay for test preparation classes.

Now, any eighth grade student with a 3.5 grade point average or above can apply to TJ. Instead of an exam, students write an essay. Students are judged based on a "portrait," which considers things like a student's economic situation and whether they come from a home where English is not the main language. Seats are also guaranteed to the top 1.5 percent of students at any of the county's middle schools.

Fairfax Schools Superintendent⁶ Scott Brabrand led the push for the changes at the high school. Officials say the new admissions policies are not affected⁷ by race.

"We have heard from many members of the TJ community—current and former—who have raised concerns about diversity at the school," Brabrand said to the board last year. "TJ must reflect the diversity...of Fairfax County Public Schools."

A group, including several Asian families, brought legal action soon after the school board announced the changes. The case argues that the new admissions rules are meant to lower the number of Asian students. The group calls itself the Coalition⁸ for TJ. It is receiving legal help from the Pacific Legal Foundation, PLF, a nonprofit legal organization.

PLF lawyer Erin Wilcox is representing the families. She said in a statement, "TJ's attempts at racial balancing are not only illegal, but they also harm the children they're supposedly trying to help." She said the school board is barred from choosing who can attend public school based on a person's race or ethnic¹ group.

The TJ admissions legal case is similar to debates at other schools around the country. Often, there are few Black and Hispanic students at top public high schools. Students that attend these competitive schools are more likely to do well on SATs and other exams and attend good universities.

Stuyvesant High School is a top public high school in New York City. Similar to TJ, almost three of four students at Stuyvesant are Asian. The New York Times reported that only eight Black students out of 759 were admitted into the first-year class for 2021.

And in the San Francisco Unified⁹ School District, 34 percent of students are Black or Hispanic. But at Lowell High School, one of San Francisco's top public schools, 13 percent of students are Black or Hispanic.

A study published last year said that diversity can be good for students, both educationally and socially. Research from the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., suggests that Black students perform better on standardized¹⁰ tests if they go to schools with more white students.

But in the Virginia case, parents argue that the school district's policies to support racial minorities hurt a racial minority—Asian Americans.

The debate may partly be answered in the U.S. Supreme¹¹ Court before the end of next year. In a case brought in 2014, a group called Students for Fair Admissions wants Harvard University to remove race as a factor in college admissions. Colleges and universities have used race and ethnicity as one of many factors in deciding who to accept.

The group says that Harvard's admissions policies discriminate¹² against Asian students. Asians make up 24 percent of the Harvard student population.

Harvard won the case in federal court in 2019 and again in an appeals court in 2020. But legal experts say the Supreme Court is likely to have its own ruling. While the case concerns a private university, Wilcox, the Coalition for TJ lawyer, told The Associated Press that a decision by the Supreme Court could affect the TJ case. The Pacific Legal Foundation supports Students for Fair Admissions' side in that legal case.

Asra Nomani is a TJ parent who has led opposition¹³ to the admissions changes. She said at a press conference that the new policies are part of growing "racism¹⁴ against Asian Americans." She said many of the TJ families are recent immigrants who came to America for a better life.

"These families never could have imagined they would face such injustice¹⁵ in America," she said.

Words in This Story

diversity — n the state of having people who are different races or who have different cultures in a group or organization

advantage — n. something (such as a good position or condition) that helps to make someone or something better or more likely to succeed than others

portrait— n. a detailed¹⁶ description of something or someone

reflect — n. to show (something) : to make (something) known

apply –v. to ask for something formally, such as a job or admission to a school, usually in writing

standardized –adj. describing something that has been made the same for everyone who uses it

factor –n. something that helps produce or influence a result; a fact that influences a decision

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 ethnically   

adv.人种上，民族上

参考例句：

• Ethnically, the Yuan Empire comprised most of modern China's ethnic groups. 元朝的民族成分包括现今中国绝大多数民族。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• Russia is ethnically relatively homogeneous. 俄罗斯是个民族成分相对单一的国家。 来自辞典例句

3 competitive   

adj.竞争的，比赛的，好竞争的，有竞争力的

参考例句：

• Some kinds of business are competitive.有些商业是要竞争的。
• These businessmen are both competitive and honourable.这些商人既有竞争性又很诚实。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 holistically   

adv.holistic（整体的，全盘的）的副词形式

参考例句：

• Menu items and dialogs, when they are translated, to be considered holistically. 在翻译菜单项和对话框时，需要全盘考虑，确保翻译的界面保持整体的一致性很重要。 来自互联网
• If we examine this entity holistically, we can discover how incredible it really is. 如果我们整体检查这实体，我们可以发现它真的是多么让人难以置信。 来自互联网

6 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

10 standardized   

adj.标准化的

参考例句：

• We use standardized tests to measure scholastic achievement. 我们用标准化考试来衡量学生的学业成绩。
• The parts of an automobile are standardized. 汽车零件是标准化了的。

11 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

12 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。

13 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

14 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

15 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

16 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。