Massachusetts is systematically denying at-risk students entrance to its vocational and technical programs, according to a federal civil rights complaint expected to be filed Thursday.
The complaint, filed by the Boston-based Lawyers for Civil Rights and the Center of Law and Education, argues the state’s use of “exclusionary criteria” — including grades, attendance and disciplinary records — is discriminatory, resulting in students of color, with disabilities, and those still learning English being admitted to career vocational schools and programs at disproportionately lower rates than their peers.
Among applicants for the 2022-23 school year:
- 55 percent of students of color received admissions offers, compared to 69 percent of white students.
- 44 percent of English language learners, compared to 64 percent of non-English language learners.
- 54 percent of special education students, compared to 65 percent of students without disabilities.
“Students with the passion and talent for a trade, who have successfully completed eighth grade, should have a fair shot at admission at their regional vocational high school. However, that is not the reality under (the state’s) current policies and regulations,” said Mirian Albert, staff attorney for Lawyers for Civil Rights.
Seen as an alternative for students struggling in the traditional school setting, vocational programs historically have served as a workforce springboard for students who otherwise would not enroll in college. For many low-income students, the programs have created a pathway to the middle class.
More students want to attend vocational programs than there’s room for. According to the complaint, more than 18,000 rising ninth graders in 2020-21 applied for less than 11,000 available seats.
Increasingly, seats at the state’s vocational programs — many of which have state-of-the-art facilities — have gone to an outsized share of white and advantaged students, a 2020 Globe review found.
Under pressure from civil rights groups, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in 2021 voted to change admissions policies, no longer requiring schools to consider students’ academic and behavioral records in their selection process. Even then, advocates balked: Just because admissions officials wouldn’t be required to consider a student’s past, the new rule didn’t preclude them from doing so voluntarily.
Consequently, nearly all of the state’s regional vocational programs continue to use criteria-based point systems to cherry pick top-ranked applicants, the complaint said. Recommendations and interviews are often among those criteria.
Only admitting top students is “antithetical” to the purpose of vocational education, said Andrea Sheppherd Lomba of the Vocational Education Justice Coalition, which is comprised of 20 community, civil rights, and union groups and is one of the parties on whose behalf the complaint was filed.
The other parties, four students from Chelsea and Gardner, were either denied admission to vocational schools in their areas or chose not to apply for fear of an unfair process, the complaint said. Though first names are included, the students’ full identities are not disclosed in the filing.
The complaint calls for the Office of Civil Rights to withhold all federal funding for the state’s vocational programs until the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education prohibits criteria-based admissions. In 2020-21, DESE received nearly $13 million in federal career and technical grants, the complaint said.
Additionally, the advocacy coalition, formed in 2019, is asking Governor Maura Healey to intervene.
The community, civil rights and educator groups want Healey to ask the state education board to institute a lottery system, making admission decisions random. Meanwhile, Senator John Cronin and Representative Antonio Cabral have filed legislation to engrain the lottery system in state law.
There are 28 regional vocational technical high schools across the state, in addition to other local programs.
The Great Divide team explores educational inequality in Boston and statewide. Sign up to receive our newsletter, and send ideas and tips to thegreatdivide@globe.com.
Mandy McLaren can be reached at mandy.mclaren@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @mandy_mclaren.
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Mass. vocational schools policy violates student civil rights, complaint says - The Boston Globe
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