Attorney General Miyares Launches Civil Rights Investigation

Public Schools and the administration of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (“TJHSST”) for

unlawful discrimination in violation of the Virginia Human Rights Act (“VHRA”).

The investigation will examine if the administration’s decision to withhold National Merit Scholarship honors from

students and the school’s new admissions policies violate the VHRA.

“No student should be treated differently because of their race. Students at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science

and Technology are amongst the brightest in the nation, yet some have been punished in the name of ‘equity.’ Racism

and race-based government decision making in any form is wrong and unlawful under Virginia’s Human Rights Act,”

said Attorney General Miyares. “The controversial admissions policies at TJHSST, which have significantly decreased

the amount of Asian American students enrolled in recent years, is another example of students being treated

differently because of their ethnicity. My Office of Civil Rights will investigate any potential violations of the law and

vindicate the civil rights of these students and their families.”

Read the letter here.

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