Three Virginia school districts are under fire after admitting they did not notify high schools seniors about National Merit award commendations until after early college application deadlines had passed. 

In all, students at 14 high schools in Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties have been impacted. 

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said over the weekend the recognition “seems to have been withheld from them for the purpose of not wanting to make people feel bad who didn't achieve it.” Officials at all three school districts have denied the commendations were withheld intentionally.

State Attorney General Jason Miyares has announced his office is investigating Fairfax County Public Schools for possible violations of Virginia’s Human Rights Act. 

“It’s concerning that multiple schools throughout Fairfax County withheld merit awards from students ,” Miyares said in a statement. “My office will investigate the entire Fairfax County Public Schools system to find out if any students were discriminated against and if their rights were violated.”

Miyares has said he plans to include Loudoun in his investigation, the Washington Examiner reported. He has not yet indicated whether Prince William County will also be scrutinized.

About 50,000 of the top performers on the PSAT/NMSQT standardized exam are recognized each year by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. More than 16,000 are selected as semifinalists for National Merit scholarships, with about 15,000 of those advancing as finalists after meeting other criteria. Approximately 7,250 finalists are awarded National Merit scholarships.

The problems in Virginia, however, center on students who received letters of commendation but did not qualify as semifinalists. While the commendation does not guarantee students a scholarship, it could improve their chances of being admitted to their university of choice and receiving a corporate- or college-sponsored scholarship.

The issue first came to light at Fairfax County’s Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, which U.S. News & World Report ranks as the nation’s top high school. 

A parent there, Shawnna Yashar, said she learned that the National Merit Scholarship Corp. sent a letter to Thomas Jefferson Principal Ann Bonitatibus in mid-September notifying her that 240 students were recognized as commended students or semifinalists, but the commended students did not learn of the recognition until two months later, after college early-application deadlines had passed.

Seven Fairfax County schools have since admitted they didn’t notify students of their commended status in a timely manner, either. 

Last week in Loudoun County, interim Superintendent Daniel Smith said three schools there did not promptly notify students of the recognition. On Monday, WJLA-TV in Washington reported that a fourth school also did not notify its students. 

And two high schools in Prince William County did not notify their students of their National Merit commendations in time for important scholarship and admissions deadlines, the school district told WJLA. 

At Thomas Jefferson High School, Bonitatibus told Yashar in an email that she signed the certificates within 48 hours of receiving them before they were sent to the student services office to be distributed.

According to Yashar, Brandon Kosatka, director of student services, told her the school wanted to inform students in a low-key way about the recognition because it didn’t want to “hurt” the feelings of students who did not receive it. While many schools around the country celebrate students who receive National Merit recognition, teachers at Thomas Jefferson unceremoniously dropped the certificates on students’ desks, Yashar said.

The school district has blamed the notification delays on “human error.” It added, “To suggest a deliberate intent to withhold this information would be inaccurate and contrary to the values of FCPS.”

But Youngkin and others have blamed Fairfax County Division Superintendent Michelle Reid’s focus on, in her own words, “equal outcomes for each and every student.”

“The reality is that we have a superintendent in Fairfax schools who has explicitly stated that her top objective is equal outcomes for all students, regardless of the price,” Youngkin told WJLA. “Now we know the price includes paying $450,000 to a liberal consultant to come in and teach the administrators in Fairfax County how to do this. 

“What it appears happened is that principals in schools decided that they were going to systematically withhold accolades and a path to college admission and scholarships from high-performing students,” Youngkin added.

Youngkin called Reid’s focus on equal outcomes “maniacal.”

About three-quarters of the student body at Thomas Jefferson High School is Asian American. 

It’s not clear if Youngkin’s comments were directed only at Thomas Jefferson. As a whole, 37% of students at Fairfax County Public Schools are white, 27% are Hispanic, 20% are Asian or Asian Pacific Islander, and 10% are Black.

One Fairfax County principal, from Annandale High School, said in a letter to staff, students and family that the school “did not receive their Commended Scholar certificates from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.” In similar letters, the other principals said the students were not notified by the school or that the notifications were delayed.

Fairfax County said an independent, third-party review is being conducted. Reid has reportedly met with parents to discuss the situation, and school officials have sent emails and made phone calls to colleges where the impacted students have applied. 

Smith said there is no indication in Loudoun County that commendations were intentionally withheld. He, too, said staff are contacting colleges on behalf of students. The superintendent announced last week he has worked with the Student Office of Mental Health Services to create a standardized recognition process for all of the school district’s 17 high schools.

Prince William County Public Schools blamed “accidental administrative oversight” on 16 students at two of its 13 high schools received delayed notification of their achievement.