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Judge to decide lawsuit alleging admissions discrimination at Thomas Jefferson High School

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A judge has heard arguments on whether an elite public high school in Northern Virginia discriminated against Asian American families when it overhauled its admissions policies amid a push to increase Black and Hispanic representation there.

The hearing Tuesday in federal court in Alexandria debated the constitutionality of the new admissions policy at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.

The policy requires geographical diversity in who’s admitted.

But plaintiffs say geographical diversity is just a proxy for racial quotas.

The Fairfax County school system says it had no intent to discriminate.

The school is routinely ranked as one of the nation’s best public schools, and admission is highly competitive.

1 dead, driver charged in Franconia collision

The Fairfax County police say a woman was killed and three other people were hurt after a car crash in Franconia just after midnight Thursday. The car crashed while heading east on Manchester Boulevard near Silver Lakes Boulevard just before 12:30 a.m. when it left the roadway and crashed into a telephone pole, the Fairfax County police said in a statement.
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