Youngkin calls for investigation into Virginia high school after allegations

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Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R)

By Madison Hirneisen

(The Center Square) – Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin is calling for an investigation into the Thomas Jefferson High School administration for science and technology following recent allegations that school administrators withheld notifications from national merit award to students and families.

Youngkin wants Attorney General Jason Miyares to investigate whether administrators at Thomas Jefferson High School withheld information about National Merit Awards, which are determined by PSAT, student and parent scores until deadlines early application for certain colleges have passed.

In a letter to the attorney general on Tuesday, Youngkin said he “believes[s] this failure may have caused material harm to those students and their parents, and that this failure may have violated Virginia human rights law.

“We need to get to the bottom of what appears to be a blatant and deliberate attempt to disadvantage top-performing students at one of the nation’s top schools,” Youngkin said in a statement. “Parents and students deserve answers and Attorney General Miyares will launch a full investigation.”

The allegations against the administration of the Thomas Jefferson School first appeared last month in an article published in the City Journal. The article alleges school officials hid National Merit recognition information for years and accuses administrators of handing out National Merit commendations in 2022 after the application deadline expired. anticipated for some colleges.

The National Merit Awards recognize the top 50,000 students with the highest PSAT score. Of these 50,000 students, 16,000 are notified that they qualify as semi-finalists and approximately 34,000 are designated as recommended students.

Although recommended students do not continue to compete for National Merit Scholarships, students may include the award in their college applications.

According to the article published in the City Journal, National Merit sent a letter to the principal of Thomas Jefferson High School, Ann Bonitatibus, in September, alerting that her 240 students had been recognized as recommended students or semi-finalists. Bonitatibus received the letter in mid-October, but the students did not receive the awards until November 14, according to the article.

Some students, however, who qualified as National Merit Semifinalists were notified of the award through an announcement and student list released by Fairfax County Public Schools in September. The City Journal article claims that Thomas Jefferson students recognized as recommended students in 2022 received notification in November.

Fairfax County Public Schools did not respond to The Center Square’s request for comment. However, a FCPS spokesperson told InsideNoVa last month that once the issue regarding National Merit Notifications was realized, “Advisors sent follow-up emails and calls to each college where these students had applied and informed them of the National Merit Scholarship Commendations”.

“We continue to review this matter and will take all necessary steps to ensure consistency in the proper and timely notification of national merit awards in the future,” the spokesperson told InsideNoVa in a statement.

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