A Northern Virginia school district faces a federal civil rights complaint over its enforcement of “racial equity” policies that reportedly involve skewing grades based on race and a curriculum that includes a video depicting white students as mosquitoes biting people of color.
The advocacy group Defending Education filed a federal civil rights complaint against Fairfax County Public Schools on Tuesday, requesting that the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights investigate the district.
Fairfax County Public Schools did not immediately respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment.
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The complaint argues that FCPS is engaging in racially discriminatory behavior through programs and activities that receive federal assistance, adding that the district is violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause.
“Since 2017 and continuing today, FCPS has implemented and enforced an all-encompassing, county-wide policy of ‘racial equity’ called ‘One Fairfax,'” the complaint reads.
“By ‘racial equity,’ FCPS means ‘the development of policies, practices and strategic investments’ designed to eliminate ‘racial disparities’ and guarantee equal’ outcomes,'” the document continues.
The advocacy group accused FCPS of continuing to carry out these policies in “discriminatory ways,” citing a report that the Fairfax County School Board in 2020 “became consumed with transforming the racial composition” of Thomas Jefferson High School.
According to the complaint, the board changed the school’s “highly competitive, merit-based admission system” into a “holistic review” because at the time, the high school consisted mostly of Asian students. As a result of the change, Asian representation at the school “steadily decreased,” prompting Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares to open an investigation into FCPS in 2023.
Miyares announced on Wednesday that FCPS violated the Virginia Human Rights Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for discriminating against Asian students in its admissions process. However, the school district has maintained that the issue has already been litigated with a federal appellate court ruling in its favor. The district maintains that the new policy “guarantees that all qualified students from all neighborhoods in Fairfax County have a fair shot at attending this exceptional high school.”
Defending Education accused the school district of enforcing other discriminatory policies, such as “equitable grading,” which appears to involve skewing grades based on race. Documents provided to Defending Education in 2023 highlighted material from a training course for FCPS teachers on “implementing equitable grading practices.”
A syllabus stated that the course would provide teachers with “tools to ensure that cultural responsiveness is embedded into grading practices of teachers who want grades to reflect learning and understanding of students as opposed to behavior and access to resources.”
Another allegation that Defending Education raised concerns the “racially divisive and demeaning content” the district reportedly injects into its curriculum. A video shown to students depicted white students as mosquitoes biting people of color, as well as instruction on an “Oppression Matrix” that elevated certain races over others in a hierarchy of racial struggle.
Despite an executive order issued by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2022 to end the use of “inherently divisive concepts” in Virginia public schools, the advocacy group accused FCPS of continuing to implement “degrading classroom exercises.”
“Students in an English class at one FCPS high school, for instance, were required to play ‘privilege bingo,’ which listed being ‘white’ as a sign that a student was ‘privileged,'” the complaint states.
FCPS’ “racial equity” policies have made it “color-conscious” in every aspect of education and school administration, which Defending Education maintains is “incompatible” with the “color-blind” mandate of Title VI and the Equal Protection Clause.
Earlier this year, Defending Education filed a federal civil rights complaint against the San Leandro Unified School District in California over programs that it argued focused on the race of teachers and students. The complaint accused the district of discrimination, asserting that it had received federal funds in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In November 2024, the group raised similar concerns about racially-segregated affinity groups for teachers and parents in a complaint against Boston Public Schools.
The complaint cited lesson plans and other materials for an affinity group called “White Staff and Parents Challenging Racism.”
According to a guide for the group, the program instructs participants to reflect on past opportunities where they may have gathered with white people “to enhance [their] effectiveness as an ally to people of color.”
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
