FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — Parents packed the room inside Langley High School Tuesday night.
Langley High School is one of three schools in Fairfax County accused of not sharing information about the National Merit Awards with students. The principals at Westfield High School and Langley High School sent emails apologizing to families over the weekend.
Attorney General Jason Miyares announced last week his office is launching two civil investigations into the prestigious Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology after allegations of National Merit Awards being withheld from students.
Earlier this month, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin sent a letter to Miyares expressing his concerns, saying he believes parents, along with students, deserve transparency when it comes to student achievements
"There were scholarships we were going to apply for," said Langley High School parent Wilson Kim. He told WUSA9 his daughter is a senior and is one of the students who didn't receive notification about her National Merit Award.
"What are they doing to remedy the situation?" he asked during Tuesday night's meeting with Fairfax County Schools Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid.
Dr. Reid told the crowd at Langley High School that she asked the Principal not to attend the meeting because she wanted to take accountability and answer the parents' questions directly.
"At this point, we're going to do everything we can to make it right. It was our error," said Dr. Reid.
Parents fired off questions for a full hour inside the school.
One parent asked, "will the county be reimbursing the children who didn't receive scholarships on time?"
"Are there going to be consequences for this error," asked another parent.
Dr. Reid told the crowd that in addition to the Attorney General's investigation, a law firm in Richmond is also reviewing what happened. She assured the crowd that the key findings of that will be shared with the parents.
One parent responded by asking "how can we be assured that this is a transparent process throughout?"
As for Kim, referring to the other children who weren't notified of the award, he told WUSA9 "I want to see the 46 people and what their demographic is. To have three schools now have this problem on a process that's been taking place for 68 years she said, it's a little heartbreaking."
His concern was echoed by many in the room.
In emails sent out over the weekend, both Westfield Principal Tony DiBari and Langley Principal Kim Greer said the information had just come to light.
Fairfax County Public Schools has said this was a "unique situation due to human error." When the error was recognized, FCPS says school staff reached out to colleges to update records where commended scholars had applied. There is no specific evidence released that school officials intentionally kept this from students.
One parent asked at Tuesday night's meeting "we're supposed to just believe that was just a coincidence this year?"
In response, Dr. Reid said "the review is not complete and as we learn more we will be able to share with you. The review is not complete, but there are times where the truth is difficult to believe and this may be one of those times".