Justice in the vocational high schools admissions policy
A campaign of the Vocational Education Justice Coalition (VEJC) of community, civil rights, and labor unions that is organized and staffed by Massachusetts Communities Action Network.
For reforming the vocational school admissions policy which currently allows the schools to rank students applying by grades, attendance, discipline, guidance counselor recommendations, and the option to also rate Interviews, even though these are public schools. This admissions policy has resulted in less students of color, less English Language Learners, less special needs students, and less low income students being admitted. We have documented this from data from the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)
We are working to change this admissions policy to a lottery with a three pronged strategy:
Organizing to engage Governor Healey in supporting a lottery admissions system and conveying that to the State Board of Education that can make this policy change.
Organizing for passage in state legislation that would change this to a lottery;
House 440 by Representative Cabral and others, House 524 by Representative Kushmerek and others, Senate 257 by Senator Cronin and others
Legal action—On February 1, 2023 the Vocational Education Justice Coalition filed a civil rights complaint against this state policy with the US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights