Discrimination complaint against prestigious Virginia High School

NBC Washington - Allegations of discrimination have hit a prestigious Alexandria high school...

Jul 25, 2012

NBC Washington – Allegations of discrimination have hit a prestigious Alexandria high school.

Two organizations have filed a complaint against the admissions policy at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.

Martina Hone with the Coalition of Silence claims the Fairfax County Public School System discriminates against minority students and those with disabilities.

“Poor Latino kids are not being identified, and I worry part of that is language,” Hone said. “African-American kids are not being identified. I’m worried that’s race.”

Hone is concerned these students are grossly underrepresented at what some call the crown jewel of high schools in the nation.

The Fairfax chapter of the NAACP shares Hones’ point of view. Together, they’ve filed a complaint against the county school system.

Their report indicates this year’s class at Thomas Jefferson is made up of 476 students. Of those, 43 percent are white, 46 percent are Asian, and a little more than 8 percent are multiracial. Only 2.1 percent are Hispanic and a bleak 0.6 percent — just 3 students — are black.

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