Miyares Files Amicus Brief with U.S. Supreme Court in Thomas Jefferson High School Case

Attorney General Jason Miyares and 15 other state attorneys general have filed an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a federal appeals court decision allowing Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) to use its controversial admissions process while a lawsuit goes forward.

“Right now, there are innocent Virginians unfairly treated and punished not for anything they’ve done, but because of who they are. Thomas Jefferson High School’s new admissions process is state sanctioned bigotry – it’s wrong, and it’s the exact opposite of equality. As Attorney General, I’ll never stop fighting for the equal treatment and protection of all Virginians,” Miyares said in a press release.

In 2020, officials at the school instituted a merit lottery to try to expand the largely Asian-American student base to underrepresented groups while still maintaining a high standard. Parent group Coalition for TJ protested the decision, and launched a lawsuit against the school. A district court ruled that the process was discriminatory, but in March, the Fourth Circuit Court took the opposite position issuing a stay of the lower court order, allowing use of the process to continue for now.

Judge Toby Heytens said in the concurring opinion that the district court relied on comparing the percentage of Asian-American applicants offered admission under the new policy versus the number of Asian-American applicants offered admission under the old policy, but argued that was the wrong comparator….(Excerpt from the Virginia Star)