SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2312        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 257

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

John J. Cronin

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to end discriminatory outcomes in vocational school admissions.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2312        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 257

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 308 OF 2021-2022.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act to end discriminatory outcomes in vocational school admissions.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Chapter 74 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 5B the following section:-

Section 5C. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

“Eligible applicant”, a student that meets the requirements to be promoted to the applicable grade. Any admission offered to an applicant before having been promoted to the applicable grade shall be contingent only upon promotion.

“Department”, the department of elementary and secondary education.

(b) If there are more eligible applicants than spaces available for admission to a vocational-technical school or vocational-technical program within a vocational-technical school or comprehensive high school, whether or not the program is approved under this Chapter and including exploratory programs, the school shall hold a blind lottery to determine which applicants shall be admitted. No eligible applicant shall be required to submit anything to participate in the lottery other than the school the eligible applicant is currently enrolled in and contact information as determined relevant by the school.

(c) Each school shall place eligible applicants who entered the lottery but were not admitted on a waitlist, the order of which shall be determined by the lottery. The waitlist shall include the names, home address, telephone number and grade level of such students and any other information the department deems necessary. The school shall forward the waitlist to the department of education no later than June 1 in the year in which the lottery is held. The department shall maintain a consolidated waitlist in order to determine the number of individual students in each city or town seeking admission to vocational-technical education schools and programs. If a school fills a vacancy after the initial admissions cycle is completed, said school shall fill the vacancy with the next available student on the waitlist and shall continue through the waitlist until a student fills the vacant seat.

(d) The commissioner shall collect application, admission, enrollment, and waitlist data pertaining to at a minimum race, ethnicity, students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged students, and English language learners. The commissioner shall also collect data on the number of students enrolled in each vocational technical education program receiving services pursuant to chapter 71A, chapter 71B or both. The commissioner shall annually file said data with the clerks of the house and senate and the joint committee on education and make said data available to the public online not later than November 1.

(e) The board shall promulgate regulations for implementation and enforcement of this section.