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CAIR, FCPS reach temporary agreement on students’ records in ‘kidnapping’ skit lawsuit

Published July 28, 2026 at 11:34AM | Updated July 28, 2026 at 2:31PM

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

Fairfax County Public Schools has temporarily agreed not to release the disciplinary records of the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) students who were suspended for making a “kidnapping” skit for social media to promote their chapter of the Muslim Students Association, pending the outcome of a lawsuit against the school system.

Filed in federal court last week, the preliminary agreement largely prevents FCPS from releasing disciplinary records related to the case to colleges and universities or anyone else who inquires. It also stipulates that the students will not be disciplined for wearing clothing with a map of Palestine or the Palestine flag.

News

More restrictions on student parking proposed in Lake Braddock neighborhoods

By Scott McCaffrey

Published July 27, 2026 at 11:45AM

Lake Braddock Secondary School (file photo)

It soon could be more challenging for Lake Braddock Secondary School students wishing to park without purchasing an annual pass from the school.

At its meeting on July 14, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors authorized a public hearing for Aug. 25 to consider further restrictions on non-resident parking around the school.

Around Town

FCPS students team up with community theater to stage ‘Dear Evan Hansen’

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Published July 24, 2026 at 2:45PM | Updated July 24, 2026 at 5:32PM

Colby Chase, playing Evan Hansen, speaks with the grief-stricken parents of Connor Murphy, played by Katie Pond and Patrick Killoran. (Staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

When the Broadway hit “Dear Evan Hansen” opens tonight (Friday) at South Lakes High School in Reston, it will represent more than the launch of a new show.

For some students and recent graduates of Fairfax County Public Schools, the performance marks their debut in a true community theater setting, thanks to a new partnership with the Reston Community Players (RCP).

Countywide

FCPS to roll out new student ID cards for school bus tech upgrades

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 23, 2026 at 10:00AM

Fairfax County Public Schools Bus Driver Supervisor Lei Shi demonstrates how students will check in with their ID card (via FCPS/YouTube)

Fairfax County Public Schools’ integration of technology into its operations will extend to its transportation system in the coming academic year.

New identification cards that can be used to track when students get on and off a school bus will be rolled out across the division when the 2026-2027 school year starts on Aug. 24, FCPS announced on Tuesday (July 21).

News

BREAKING: Special education teacher at McLean school charged with assaulting student

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 22, 2026 at 9:10PM

Eliseo Perez (courtesy Fairfax County Police Department)

A special education teacher at Cooper Middle School has been arrested after allegedly assaulting a student.

Administrators at the school in McLean (977 Balls Hill Road) were alerted on June 4 to “concerns regarding inappropriate behavior” involving a teacher, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

News

School bands stage concert at Army Museum after Independence Day parade cancellation

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 6, 2026 at 3:45PM

Arcadia High School's Apaches marching band from California performs at the National Museum of the U.S. Army in Fort Belvoir (courtesy Chime In - Chimacum Cowboys Band Boosters)

Though the National Independence Day Parade in D.C. was called off, hundreds of student musicians from around the country ensured America’s birthday celebration went on by relocating to a venue in Fairfax County.

Four high school bands that had expected to march in the District on Saturday (July 4) as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary festivities instead staged an impromptu concert at the National Museum of the United States Army in Fort Belvoir.

News

Fairfax student among five finalists in national cooking competition

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Published June 25, 2026 at 3:45PM

Safaa Haizoun, a student at Virginia Virtual Academy, will compete for the People’s Choice award for the People's Choice Award in the K12 National Student Cook-Off (courtesy Hong Huynh)

A Fairfax County high school student is one of just five to reach the finals of a national cooking contest held in Arlington this summer.

Safaa Haizoun, a 10th grade student at the Virginia Virtual Academy, an online program offered by multiple public school districts statewide, earned a spot in the K-12 National Cook-Off in early June by designing an original recipe for creamy masala chicken.

News

Robotics teams from Marshall, Hayfield honored by county board for international success

By Scott McCaffrey

Published June 12, 2026 at 3:45PM

Marshall High School students at FIRST World Robotics Championship (via FCPS)

Fairfax County supervisors on Tuesday (June 9) honored students from robotics teams at two schools for participation in recent international competition.

The Hayfield Secondary School Night Hawks and Marshall High School Gryphon Robotics each competed in the FIRST Robotics World Championship, held in Houston April 29-May 2.

News

Herndon student wins field trip to Cape Canaveral with America 250 poem

By Tadi Abedje

Published June 11, 2026 at 1:45PM

Floris Elementary School student Isabel Theodore holds her first-place certificate from the America's Field Trip contest with America 250 Chair Rosie Rios (photo by Naveena Govindasamy)

Isabel Theodore is heading to Cape Canaveral.

The fifth-grader at Floris Elementary School in Herndon was among 250 students nationwide awarded earlier this month by the America’s Field Trip contest, which invited students from third to 12th grade to submit writing and artwork on what America means to them in commemoration of the country’s 250th birthday.

Countywide

Fairfax County Public Schools sued over response to Muslim students’ ‘kidnapping’ skit

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Published June 4, 2026 at 3:45PM

Ahmad Kaki, a staff attorney with CAIR, plays the video made by Thomas Jefferson High School students during a press conference June 4. (Screenshot via CAIR's Facebook page)

A Muslim civil rights group is suing Fairfax County Public Schools for suspending several students after they created a “kidnapping” video for social media to promote their chapter of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) last fall.

The video was intended to depict a “playful overreaction” in response to a “specific, viral comedy skit circulating nationwide,” according to a filing submitted by the CAIR Legal Defense Fund today (June 4) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria.