Board defends admissions policy at prestigious high school

By DENISE LAVOIE
AP Legal Affairs Writer

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Virginia school board says its new admissions policy at a prestigious high school in northern Virginia does not discriminate against Asian American students and is not an attempt to achieve “racial balancing.” The Fairfax County School Board made that argument in its response to an emergency request filed with the U.S. Supreme Court by a coalition of parents trying to overturn the policy. The group Coalition for TJ last week asked the high court to vacate a ruling allowing the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology to continue using its admissions policy while the school board appeals a lower court ruling that found the policy discriminatory.