Fairfax County School Board | FFXnow

Published August 23, 2023 at 11:45AM

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The Coalition for TJ is petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to consider its lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology’s admissions policy, which was revised in 2020 with the goal of diversifying the student body.

In the petition filed Monday (Aug. 21), the advocacy group argues that the changes approved by the Fairfax County School Board discriminate against Asian students, who saw their share of the magnet school’s incoming classes drop from more than 70% to closer to 60% in the past few years.

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FCPS pledges to protect gender-expansive students by not adopting Virginia’s ‘model policies’

By Vivian Hoang

Published August 16, 2023 at 11:45AM

Students hold trans rights and LGBTQ Pride flag signs at a rally protesting Virginia's model policies on transgender students outside Luther Jackson Middle School (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Fairfax County Public Schools has officially announced that it will not implement the Virginia Department of Education’s recently finalized model policies regarding transgender and nonbinary students.

Yesterday (Tuesday), FCPS Superintendent Michelle Reid released a statement confirming that FCPS won’t adopt the new guidelines after a “detailed legal review” found that its current policies are “consistent” with state and federal law.

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FCPS leaders voice support for transgender students despite new Virginia policies

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 19, 2023 at 3:00PM

Fairfax High School students stage a walkout to protest Virginia's proposed policies restricting transgender and gender-nonconfirming students' rights (courtesy Pride Liberation Project)

After months of review, the Virginia Department of Education has released a final set of policies guiding public schools on how to treat transgender students — including many that contradict the policies currently used by Fairfax County Public Schools.

Released Tuesday (July 18), the “model policies” generally direct schools to require that students use names, pronouns and facilities, such as bathrooms, based on their legal sex as designated in their official school records. All local public school systems are obligated by state law to adopt a version of the policies.

News

FCPS proposes scope of possible Kent Gardens Elementary School boundary changes

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 27, 2023 at 2:15PM | Updated October 18, 2024 at 2:06PM

Kent Gardens Elementary School in McLean (via Google Maps)

Another boundary adjustment is in the works for schools in McLean.

Just two years after tweaking the McLean High School boundaries, Fairfax County Public Schools has proposed a study aimed at relieving crowding at Kent Gardens Elementary School (1717 Melbourne Drive), which is currently at 121% capacity — one of the highest rates in the system.

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UPDATED: Fairfax County School Board approves salary increases

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 26, 2023 at 9:30AM | Updated June 27, 2023 at 11:03AM

Fairfax County Public Schools (file photo)

(Updated at 11 a.m. on 6/27/2023) The Fairfax County School Board voted 9-1 last night (Monday) to raise member salaries to $48,000 with an additional $2,000 for the board chair, starting Jan. 1, 2024.

Aiming lower than what staff proposed, the raises are comparable to compensation for other paid school boards governing large school systems elsewhere in the country and raises approved in previous years, Mount Vernon District School Board representative Karen Corbett-Sanders said.

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BREAKING: FCPS wins appeal of lawsuit challenging TJ admissions

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 23, 2023 at 1:30PM | Updated May 23, 2023 at 4:20PM

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 4:20 p.m.) The current admissions process for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) does not discriminate against Asian American students, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled.

A majority of the three-judge panel backed the Fairfax County School Board’s argument in support of admissions policy changes intended to increase diversity at the prestigious magnet school, reversing a lower court’s ruling that sided with the Coalition for TJ.

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FCPS proposes to update dress code and more severely punish substance misuse

By Matt Blitz

Published May 16, 2023 at 11:45AM

Fairfax County Public Schools (file photo)

Fairfax County Public Schools is proposing some notable updates to its student policies.

At last week’s school board meeting, school officials laid out a number of proposed revisions to its Student Rights and Responsibilities handbook, including how cases of bullying are handled, what’s interpreted as appropriate clothing, and the potential for increased punishment for substance misuse.

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FCPS focuses on absenteeism, special education with last round of federal relief funds

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 3, 2023 at 3:00PM

Fairfax County Public Schools Chief Academic Officer Sloan Presidio presents a proposed ESSER III spending plan to the school board (via FCPS/YouTube)

The influx of federal money that has helped buoy Fairfax County Public Schools and other school systems around the U.S. as they emerged from the first year of the Covid pandemic is starting to run out.

Facing a September 2024 deadline, FCPS officials presented a plan to the school board last Thursday (April 27) for spending approximately $57.5 million remaining from the $188.8 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) awarded by the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021.

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Fairfax County Democrats for first time lets voters decide school board endorsements

By Matt Blitz

Published April 11, 2023 at 11:00AM | Updated April 11, 2023 at 5:10PM

Election Day at Cunningham Park Elementary School in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

(Updated at 5:10 p.m.) For the first time ever, the Fairfax County Democratic Committee is allowing registered Democrats to vote on which school board candidates it will endorse this year.

The Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC) announced yesterday (Monday) that it will hold an open caucus to allow any voter who registers with the party to vote in this year’s nonpartisan races.

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EXCLUSIVE: Abrar Omeish bows out of school board race to work with youth-focused legal nonprofit

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 6, 2023 at 1:30PM

Fairfax County School Board At-Large Representative Abrar Omeish at a Girl Scouts President's Circle dinner (courtesy Abrar Omeish)

The Fairfax County School Board will have a lot of new faces next year — and perhaps, a couple of members reemerging from its past.

The latest member to opt out of a reelection bid is at-large member Abrar Omeish, who told FFXnow that she has instead accepted a job with a nonprofit that focuses on youth law and advocacy.