A school in the notoriously woke Fairfax County school district, right next door to our nation's capital (imagine that), recently sent a letter to parents informing them of an opportunity for students to take college prep courses ... as long as the kids are black or Hispanic, have a disability, are "economically disadvantaged," or are the first in their family to attend college.
That's right, if you're black or Hispanic, you're automatically in. White or Asian? NOPE.
So the average white or Asian student who is able-bodied and whose parents went to college? Sorry kid, outta luck. Try harder to be a victim next time.
The median income for a household in the county is $102,460, and the median income for a family is $120,804, so I'm guessing there are a lot of kids whose parents went to college.
The Fairfax County school district has 66,263 white students, representing 37% of the total student population, and 34,392 Asian students, representing 19%.
The district has 51,048 Hispanic students, represneting 28% of the total student population, and 17,760 black students, representing 10%.
However, as the Fairfax Times notes,
The official school district website for the program uses racial categories to describe a "typical" student in the program as "African-American," "American Indian," "Alaskan Native" and "Hispanic." It also lists other identifiers and excludes any mention of Asian or white students as participants in the program.
Local father Glenn Miller, an attorney, got a copy of the email from a concerned parent and said the program raises many concerns for him. "This program excludes children based on race, and it seems to be in direct violation of the school district's own anti-discrimination policy."
If the "8th grader who WANTS to go to college" checks one of those boxes, they are invited to apply for the school district's "College Partnership Program," qualifying them for all sorts of perks, including academic counseling, "college experiences," "assistance with completing college and scholarship applications," "monthly meetings," "Family Information Sessions" and "news and information related to colleges and careers via Schoology," an online platform.
The perks also include monetary rewards: "A summer experiential learning opportunity (you actually visit a college and stay on their campus!)."
The Feb. 21 letter offers college prep lessons to "Students who are the first in their family to attend college in the U.S.," "Black or African American students," "Hispanic students, of one or more race," "Students with disabilities," "English learners," and "Economically disadvantaged students."
The school district's anti-discrimination policy states, "No applicant or employee on the basis of, of race, sex, color, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, genetic information, pregnancy status, childbirth or related medical conditions, marital status, veteran status, and disability shall be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under, any education program or activity, as required by law."
OK then.
