www.thecentersquare.com – By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-05-23 09:42:00
The U.S. Department of Education has launched a civil rights investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools after Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares referred allegations that 2020 admissions changes at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology violated federal anti-discrimination laws. The policy eliminated standardized tests and adopted a holistic review, which critics say was designed to reduce Asian American student enrollment. The department is reviewing whether the changes violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The Coalition for TJ praised the investigation as a victory for merit and equal opportunity. No timeline or enforcement actions have been announced.
(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Education has opened a civil rights investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools following a referral from Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, alleging the district’s 2020 admissions changes at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology may have violated federal anti-discrimination laws.
The announcement came from the department’s Office for Civil Rights and was echoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin during a Fox News interview, where he said Fairfax County “engineered an illegal admissions system” and “purposefully discriminated against Asian American students.”
The federal agency said it is investigating whether the changes were intended to alter the school’s demographic makeup in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
“Thomas Jefferson High School in Fairfax County has long had a reputation for producing some of our nation’s brightest minds, due in no small part to its rigorous admissions process. The Fairfax County School Board’s alleged decision to weigh race in TJ’s admissions decisions appears to be both contrary to the law and to the fundamental principle that students should be evaluated on their merit, not the color of their skin,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.
The admissions policy, adopted in 2020, eliminated standardized testing and implemented a “holistic” evaluation process that considered factors such as middle school attendance, grades and personal experiences.
Miyares’ office concluded earlier this week that the changes were designed to reduce the number of Asian American students at TJHSST and referred the case to both the Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice.
While the school district has previously defended the policy and pointed to a 2023 federal court ruling that upheld it as constitutional, the Department of Education said it is reviewing the matter under a different legal standard tied to federal civil rights enforcement.
The Coalition for TJ, which brought the original federal lawsuit challenging the policy, praised the Department’s decision to investigate.
“For nearly five years, Fairfax County Public Schools has perpetrated a systemic campaign of racial engineering that targeted and penalized Asian American students—simply because of their race,” the group said in a statement. “Today marks a historic and moral victory for merit, equal opportunity, and the fundamental civil rights of all American children.”
The Department of Education has not provided a timeline for its investigation or said what enforcement steps may follow. Under Title VI, schools found in violation can be required to take corrective action but rarely face immediate funding loss.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The article primarily reports on an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Education into Fairfax County Public Schools’ admissions policies at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. It relies heavily on statements from conservative figures such as Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and Governor Glenn Youngkin, both of whom are emphasized in the piece alongside their critical framing of the admissions changes. The selection and prominence of quotes, including the characterization of the admissions policy as “engineered” and “illegal,” and the focus on allegations of discrimination against Asian American students, align with typical center-right critiques of affirmative action and race-conscious policies in education. Additionally, the article highlights the Coalition for TJ’s praise of the investigation, reinforcing a narrative supportive of merit-based admissions and critical of race-conscious evaluation methods. Although factual in tone, the framing and source choices suggest a center-right leaning perspective rather than a purely neutral or centrist presentation.
Starting July 1, 2025, Virginia law prohibits the collection, sale, or disclosure of personally identifiable reproductive or sexual health data without consumer consent. In response, Walmart now displays pop-ups warning Virginia shoppers that browsing or purchasing reproductive-related products like condoms or birth control may involve data use for analytics and fraud prevention. Other retailers, like CVS, have broader data collection notices. Virginia legislators, including Sen. Barbara Favola and Sen. Scott Surovell, pushed for these protections amid concerns that private data could be used by law enforcement in prosecuting reproductive healthcare decisions. The law allows consumers to sue for unauthorized data sharing, and ongoing efforts seek to refine protections further.
Disclosure pop-ups about the “cookies,” or other aggregate bits of data websites collect and store aren’t an uncommon experience while shopping online. What’s less common: when a pop-up indicates that your potential purchase of condoms, birth control medication or menstrual hygiene products is being noted digitally, a message Virginians have started seeing when they shop virtually for such products.
Since July 1, a new state law outlines that people’s personally identifiable reproductive or sexual health information cannot be obtained, disclosed, disseminated or sold without consumer consent. As new laws took effect in Virginia on July 1, Walmart has begun alerting customers about certain product or service searches and purchases.
“By viewing, searching for, or buying these products or services on our site, or using related features such as the Baby Registry, you consent to our use of this information to complete your purchase, provide the requested feature, and for general analytics, operations and fraud prevention,” a pop-up disclaimer now notifies people who visit Walmart’s website from within Virginia.
If consumers don’t want their data connected to their sexual or reproductive health to be stored, the disclaimer suggests they “avoid viewing, searching for, using or purchasing these products, services, or features.”
But not all pop-ups are new or specifically focused on reproductive-related information. Other retailers like CVS have more broad disclaimers about data collection. Its site explains that information collected about consumer behaviors is used “to provide our products and services recommendations, understand how you engage with our site, and improve the services we offer you.”
It also warns that it may share data with “trusted third parties” that include marketing, analytics and research “partners.”
This sort of data collection is a common practice in e-commerce and is a catalyst for targeted advertisements that people experience elsewhere on the internet, like their social media feeds or when using search engines.
As the national reproductive health legal landscape shifts, including contraception and abortion access, some state and federal lawmakers have pressed for strengthened consumer protection laws surrounding reproductive health data.
Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax and Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Arlington, have introduced and supported legislation to shore up these protections.
Surovell said the U.S. Congress’ “My Body, My Data Act,” a measure to protect menstrual health data introduced by Democratic lawmakers, inspired him to bring a similar effort to Virginia.
“I don’t think a lot of people realize the information that private industry buys and sells about them,” he said in a recent call.
He then worried about how law enforcement and government officials could use consumer data in the private sector.
“I was concerned that attorneys generals in some other states who want to be more aggressive about prosecuting women or other people for helping women cross state lines to obtain either contraception or abortion services might use information that the private sector has in order to reverse engineer women and other people to prosecute,” Surovell said.
Surrovell and Favola also worked on bills to prevent menstrual data from being subject to search warrants, which Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed into law. Last year, Youngkin was lambasted by many, including former President Joe Biden and talk show host Stephen Colbert, for opposing the same bill in a previous legislative session.
“It should go without saying that when a woman has her period or visits a doctor, it is nobody’s business but her own,” Favola said earlier this year.
As more pregnant people travel to get abortions outside states where the medical procedure is banned or restricted, some states — including Alabama and Texas — have threatened legal repercussions for people who leave the state for an abortion, and for those who aid them.
This year Favola’s Senate Bill 754 passed the Democrat-controlled legislature and Youngkin signed it. The law protects reproductive health data, often collected in period tracking digital apps, and allows consumers to sue if their data is sold or released without their consent.
Walmart’s interpretation of the law prompted the pop-up disclaimer, and other companies will find their own way to follow suit.
“The companies are trying to figure out how to implement the bill,” Favola said in a text message.
Next, Favola wants to explore how to further refine the bill to ensure people’s identifiable information is protected.
“I made it clear that the law is focused on individually-identifiable data — not aggregate data,” she explained. “I expect to make some revisions next session.”
Further details will be discussed in a workgroup later this summer, she said.
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Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Left
This article primarily reports on a new Virginia law protecting reproductive and sexual health data and the responses from Democratic lawmakers who championed it. The framing highlights privacy concerns related to reproductive rights and critiques opposition from conservative figures like Gov. Glenn Youngkin, which aligns with a Center-Left perspective emphasizing consumer protections and reproductive freedoms. The coverage is sympathetic to Democratic initiatives and concerns about data privacy in a shifting reproductive rights landscape, while presenting opposing views mainly through noted criticism rather than direct advocacy. Overall, it maintains a mostly factual tone but leans toward Center-Left through its focus and sources.
www.youtube.com – 13News Now – 2025-07-07 12:02:28
SUMMARY: The FBI and Justice Department released 11 hours of jail footage confirming Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in his Manhattan cell in 2019 while awaiting trial. Investigators found no one entered Epstein’s area overnight before his death. Crucially, no client list or credible evidence of blackmail involving prominent individuals was uncovered. Despite years of conspiracy theories, the investigation found no grounds to pursue uncharged third parties. Attorney General Pam Bondi reviewed the files under a directive from President Trump. Elon Musk once hinted at explosive information in the files but later retracted his statements. President Trump denies ties to Epstein.
The FBI and DOJ say new jail video confirms Epstein died by suicide in 2019 and shows no evidence of a blackmail “client list” or wrongdoing by others.
www.youtube.com – 12 On Your Side – 2025-07-07 11:37:49
SUMMARY: The Glen Allen 12-year-old All-Star team won the Babe Ruth League State Tournament this weekend. Curt Autry congratulated the team and wished them well on his Facebook page. The team’s victory is celebrated as a significant achievement, marking them as state champions in the Babe Ruth League. Community members and supporters expressed excitement and pride for the young players’ success in the tournament. This accomplishment highlights the dedication and talent of the Glen Allen team, bringing positive recognition to their hard work and teamwork throughout the competition.
Congrats to Glen Allen’s 12-year-old All-Star team!
