Columbus, OH – On Thursday, The Buckeye Institute joined Mountain States Legal Foundation in filing an amicus brief in Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and find that the school board’s use of race to determine admissions to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) violates the equal protect clause of the U.S. Constitution.

“In Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, the U.S. Supreme Court made it clear that admissions criteria using race as a factor is unlawful,” said David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute. “This case gives the high court the opportunity to make it clear that Students for Fair Admissions applies to all educational institutions, including TJ.”

In 2020, the Fairfax County School Board overhauled its admissions for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in a way that discriminates against Asian-American students. In the brief, The Buckeye Institute and other amici argue that TJ’s admissions policy violates the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause.

Tryon, a former deputy assistant secretary for policy and development in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, is a named amici on this brief. Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board is a Pacific Legal Foundation case.

# # #

UPDATE: On February 20, 2024, The U.S. Supreme Court denied cert in Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board.