The Virginia Board of Education on Thursday unanimously endorsed an application for a math- and science-focused charter school in Loudoun County, a move that means the proposal will now go to the local school board for final approval.

If approved, the Loudoun Math and IT Academy would open in 2013 and provide intensive math and science courses for students in grades six through 12. It is patterned on a charter school in Anne Arundel County that has some of the highest test scores in Maryland but struggled to keep its doors open this year after allegations of management problems, including consistently negative cash flow.

The disproportionately low number of black and Latino students admitted to Fairfax County’s prestigious Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology — long a subject of debate — has triggered a federal civil rights complaint.

The 17-page complaint was filed with the U.S. Department of Education on Monday by the Coalition of The Silence, an advocacy group led by former county school board member Tina Hone, and the Fairfax chapter of the NAACP.

Fairfax school system officials could not comment because they had not had a chance to review the complaint, said spokesman John Torre.

The complaint alleges that black and Latino students, as well as students with disabilities, are being shut out of Thomas Jefferson long before they apply in eighth grade because of Fairfax County Public Schools’ systematic failure to identify them for gifted education programs that begin in elementary school.

“The solution to the problem of the lack of diversity in TJ admissions is not necessarily a fix just to the TJ admissions process,” Hone said in an interview. “There has to be a fix to the pipeline that feeds into the process.”

One key group that has shaped the debate over overhauling the admissions policy at the prestigious Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology: The Fairfax County Association for the Gifted.

FCAG is a group of parents pushing for a system that would give more weight to math test scores in the admissions process and less to essay-writing — a general approach endorsed by the majority of board members Thursday night.

The heart of FCAG’s argument is that TJ shouldn’t be a school for kids who want to go to the best college-prep school in Fairfax. It should be a place for kids who are passionate at — and really really good at — math, science and technology.

The current admissions process doesn’t reflect that single-minded mission, said FCAG President Grace Chung Becker.

“TJ is not a school focusing on developing a well-rounded kid,” she said. “It’s focused on preparing kids in science, engineering, technology and math.”

Not every TJ parent agrees with that argument, but it resonated with at least several board members Thursday. The admissions process now, said board member Elizabeth Schultz (Springfield) is “not based on science, it’s not based on aptitude, it’s based on what they write — which is a liberal arts approach.”

There is perennial debate over TJ admissions because of the longstanding underrepresentation of some minority groups and more recent concern about the rising number of students who need extra help to keep up with the school’s rigorous academics.

FCAG has buttressed its call for change with an analysis of detailed admissions data retrieved under a Freedom of Information Act request. School board members received a presentation of FCAG’s analysis before Thursday’s meeting, and it’s worth a look [PPT] for anyone interested in how TJ students should be selected.

Among the most counterintuitive findings: Downplaying math test scores may contribute to the continued underrepresentation of some minority groups at TJ.

More than 100 parents, teachers and activists turned out Tuesday night for an informational meeting about the Fairfax Leadership Academy, which would be the first charter school in Northern Virginia if it’s approved by the county school board in October.

The gathering, held at Fairfax County Public Schools’ Gatehouse office building, was meant to introduce the community to the proposed 7th-12th grade school. And certainly some parents were there to learn about the idea. But the meeting also became something of a protest venue for parents from Falls Church High School, who have argued that the Fairfax Leadership Academy will drain students and resources from Falls Church, delaying a badly needed renovation.

Some parents wore green and gold Falls Church T-shirts to the meeting; others planted yard signs outside Gatehouse proclaiming support for Falls Church. “Go Jaguars!” the signs read.

“We’re not trying to stand in the way,” said Falls Church parent James Stocking after the meeting. “We’re just trying to do the right thing for our community.”

Backlash from Falls Church will be one of the key issues that the school board must address as it considers whether the charter school should go forward.

But equally pressing is the persistent achievement gap that divides affluent, white and Asian students from their poor, black and Latino peers. Proponents of the Fairfax Leadership Academy say that the charter school model, which allows for more flexibility and experimentation than a traditional public school, will give the county a new way to attack that stubborn gap.

“It’s important we look at the greater good for the community,” said parent Suzie Phipps, whose children attend Bailey’s Elementary, a diverse school that draws from some of Fairfax’s poorest neighborhoods. When the Fairfax Leadership Academy presented its idea at Bailey’s earlier this year, Phipps said, one parent stood up and thanked God for the possibility of an alternative that might work for his child.

For the eighth time in 24 years, the Fairfax County School Board is studying whether high schools should open later in the morning to accommodate teens’ natural sleep cycles.

At a work session Monday, board members appeared to be headed toward hiring a consultant to identify how to push back high-school start times without breaking the budget and with minimal disruption to families’ lives.

Board Chairwoman Jane K. Strauss (Dranesville) tapped four of her colleagues to serve on an ad-hoc committee that will craft a description of the work that the board will expect of a consultant.

The four are Sandy Evans (Mason), a longtime advocate for later start times; Ted Velkoff (At Large), who has been skeptical about whether bell-schedule changes are practical; Patty Reed (Providence), who has supported later start times, and who is also a fiscal conservative known for her concern with reining in spending; and Ryan McElveen (At Large).