Virginia AG orders school to stop racial discrimination

The Virginia Attorney General’s Office has sent a scathing letter calling on a middle school to stop enrolling students in its college prep program “based on race” after it excluded white and Asian students in its recruitment efforts.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Christine Lambrou Johnson, head of the state’s Office of Civil Rights, lambasted Copper Middle School Principal Lisa Barrow for violating state and federal laws.

Administrators at the school in McLean recently notified parents about the program for eighth-graders – but only for certain national or ethnic groups.

The students were invited to sign up for the College Partnership Program if they were “Black or African American students” or “Hispanic students, of one or more race,” the Fairfax County Times reported.

Other categories listed by Johnson were: “Students who are the first in their family to attend college in the U.S.,” “Students with disabilities,” “English learners” and “Economically disadvantaged students.”

The woke district’s letter didn’t cite Asian or white students as being qualified for the program.

“It has come to the attention of this Office that Cooper Middle School is engaging in conduct in contravention of the Virginia Human Rights Act … and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution,” Johnson wrote.

“It appears that Cooper Middle School is soliciting and selecting applicants to the College Partnership Program based on race, color, and national origin,” she continued.

Johnson said the matter was being investigated by the state Office of Civil Rights.

“Please cease and desist the illegal conduct of soliciting and selecting applicants to the College Partnership Program based on race, color, and national origin,” she wrote.

Johnson informed Barrow that she had six days to provide evidence that the school has “retracted and corrected” its March 1 email and begun “conducting the application process for the College Partnership Program in nondiscriminatory and legal manner.”

If the school fails to comply, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares could file a lawsuit against it for violating the state Human Rights Act.

“It’s shocking that we continue to find such blatant examples of racial and ethnic discrimination in the Fairfax County Public School System,” Miyares said in a statement, according to the news outlet.

“Every student should be able to apply for the College Partnership Program and have the same opportunities as their peers, regardless of race,” he continued.

“I demand that Cooper Middle School, its administrators, and anyone involved in this program stop this illegal discrimination immediately,” Miyares added.

Asra Nomani, a conservative author, former Georgetown University professor and anti-woke activist, also weighed in on Twitter, where she posted the district’s message about the program.

“Cooper MS invites students to school district’s college prep program, identifying Black and Hispanic students as qualifying for the program and excluding Asian + white students,” she wrote.

“In the 20th century, Asian Exclusion Act denied Asians equal opportunities. Now @FCPSNews promotes a college prep program with race-based admissions, excluding Asians + whites. A judge already ruled FCPS violated US Constitution in new anti-Asian admissions,” Nomani added.

Glenn Miller, a parent and lawyer who shared the AG’s letter with the Fairfax County Times, said: “I’m glad that Attorney General Miyares is investigating this program. There needs to be accountability. The school board needs to be held accountable for these egregious violations of the law.”

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He told the paper that “right now, Fairfax County Public Schools officials think there is an ‘equity’ exception to the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees equality under the law. There is no ‘equity’ exception.”

Schools spokeswoman Kathleen Miller earlier this week denied that the program is racist and said it is “open to everyone/anyone,” according to the paper.

On the district’s website, the program promotes students of all races — except Asian and white children — among its “typical” students.

In a statement about the claims, the district told ABC 13: “As stated previously, media coverage referencing a ban on certain demographic groups applying to the College Partnership Program is wholly inaccurate.

“In fact, in School Year 2022-23, 352 Asian students (17.4%) and 176 white students (8.7%) out of a total of 2,018 students were enrolled in the program which is designed to encourage historically underrepresented groups to consider a path to college,” it said.

The district added that it was “disappointed” that no one from the AG’s contacted it “to check on the authenticity of these reports. Instead, false and damaging public accusations against Cooper Middle School have been made.

Publishing false narratives like this undermine public school efforts to boost U.S. educational achievement,” the statement added.