EXCLUSIVE — The top-ranked public high school in the nation is facing a federal civil rights complaint over a summer program that only solicits applications from black, Hispanic, and Native American students.
The complaint, filed with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights by the parent activist group Parents Defending Education, accuses the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics of violating federal civil rights law by restricting eligibility for its summer “Step Up to STEM” program to only black, Hispanic, and Native American students.
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“As the Department of Education is no doubt aware, discrimination on the basis of race raises concerns that the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics has received federal funds in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which declares that ‘no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance,'” the complaint reads.
“Step Up to STEM” is a summer program put on by the high school for rising ninth and 10th graders to “build their skills in science, math, technology, and communications.” Students must apply and be accepted to the program, which says it is “open by application to eighth grade African American, Hispanic American, and Native American students who live in North Carolina.”
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics is consistently ranked as one of the most prestigious high schools in the nation. In 2022, the high school was ranked as the top public high school in the country by the Niche school rankings.
If the Department of Education opens an investigation in connection with the complaint, the school could lose federal funding if it is found that it violated federal law. The school did not respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
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In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Parents Defending Education vice president Caroline Moore said it was unsurprising that the school was restricting eligibility to a program based on the race of students, noting that the school was following in the footsteps of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia, which overhauled its admissions process in an attempt to accept more black students.
“Color me unsurprised — the #1 high school in the nation, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, only allows certain minorities of color to participate in their ‘Step Up to STEM’ feeder program,” Moore said. “This is discriminatory and administrators should be ashamed for following in the path that no longer recognizes merit with the likes of the previous #1 ranked institution, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.”
