FCPS objects to subpoena by Virginia attorney general on delayed notifications

Fairfax County Public Schools is refusing to hand over additional documents to Attorney General Jason Miyares about the delay in notifying students designated as Commended Students by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

This winter, FCPS contracted with the Sands Anderson law firm to conduct an investigation of the delay. The report concluded that the delayed notifications were not intentional and were not due to racial bias or inequity as contended by Miyares and Gov. Glenn Youngkin. There was no evidence that FCPS deliberately withheld information from any student.

FCPS has not released the full report – only a lengthy summary – citing confidentiality and attorney-client privilege.

At Youngkin’s request, Miyares has been conducting his own investigation. He filed a petition to request a subpoena ordering FCPS to hand over the full Sands Anderson report along with recorded interviews and other background materials.

On June 13, FCPS filed a formal legal objection to the subpoena, “because we strongly feel this is unjustified,” said Superintendent Michelle Reid in a video posted online.

Related story: Investigation finds FCPS did not intentionally withhold notification to Commended Students

Teachers and staff were interviewed as part of that investigation. “We owe it to them to do everything we can to protect their privacy and personal security,” Reid said. “Multiple teachers and staff were harassed and threatened over this issue.”

FCPS has already released thousands of documents related to the notification delays to Miyares. “The attorney general’s office has all the facts it needs to complete its investigation,” Reid said. Releasing the full FCPS report to the public “would put teachers and staff at risk, which we cannot accept.”  

Looking at the bigger picture, Reid said, turning over the report and interviews “would set a troubling precedent” and would discourage others from cooperating with similar inquiries in the future.

A statement posted by FCPS says, “It is regrettable that the AG is continuing to devote public resources and funds to this issue. . . . As a matter of principle and in order to protect our valued teachers and staff, we are opposing this unreasonable legal action.”

Miyares’ investigation is driven by the contention of some parents that the delayed notifications were part of a broader attack on “merit” that led to discrimination against high-achieving Asian American students.

While the controversy over delayed notifications of Commended Students started at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, FCPS soon learned the delays also happened at Annandale and other high schools.

Related story: FCPS to investigate TJ controversy 

The Sands Anderson report attributed the delayed notification to logistical factors that differed among schools and also cited the lack of a uniform FCPS-wide policy, process, or deadline for notifying students.

On March 29, FCPS announced the adoption of a standardized notification regulation for all high schools.

And while some parents complained that the delayed notification of students’ commended status would hurt their chances of getting into college or prevent them from getting scholarships, college admissions officials said that was not the case.