Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School

FITCHBURG — Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School is one of two vocational schools in the state named in a federal civil rights complaint over admissions practices.

The complaint was filed Thursday morning against the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education with the federal Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights by the Lawyers for Civil Rights and the Center for Law and Education. It is on behalf of two students from Gardner, two students from Chelsea, and the Vocational Education Justice Coalition, which consists of 20 community, civil rights, and union groups.

According to the complaint, a student identified as Aaron Doe applied to Monty Tech during the 2019-2020 school year. The complaint states he is a student with disabilities and had an Individualized Education Program while attending middle school. He was determined to attend a school where he could thrive in a hands-on environment and struggled to envision himself in an environment where he was “glued to a desk.”

“Ultimately, he was denied admission. Ironically, his current teachers now note that he would benefit from a hands-on learning environment. Despite being denied admission, Aaron Doe remains interested in career and technical education, but he will now have to incur out-of-pocket expenses for a private specialized program if he enrolls in one after he completes high school,” the complaint states.

Similarly, Juan Doe applied to Monty Tech during the 2021-2022 school year. The complaint describes him as an English-language learner who believed he would benefit from being in an interactive learning environment. He has a particularly strong interest in carpentry and wanted to follow in his uncle’s footsteps owning a construction business.

“Juan maintained a B-grade point average and had no disciplinary or attendance issues. In the school year 2021-22, he applied to Monty Tech. Although he believed his interview process went well, he was ultimately denied admission to Monty Tech. He still hopes to obtain access to career and technical education during his time in high school and aspires to open his own business,” the complaint states.

When students are considered for admission to Monty Tech, they are given a “Total Rating Score” based on five criteria which informs who will fill the seats apportioned for each of the 18 source communities. Grades account for 25% of a student’s score; disciplinary history, attendance, and an interview each account for 20%; and a sending school recommendation accounts for 15%.

“All resident applicants are placed in order of their Total Rating Score and by town of residence. Resident applicants are then accepted in order of the Total Rating Score they have achieved. The resident applicant with the highest Total Rating Score is accepted first, the resident applicant with the second highest Total Rating Score is accepted second, and so on until all seats are filled,” Monty Tech’s admission policy states.

In a statement, Superintendent Thomas Browne said, “the long-standing practice of incorporating selective criteria in an admission policy is not intended to be discriminatory.” The criteria is used when there are more applicants than there are seats available.

Browne said vocational schools, like Monty Tech, were growing in popularity. Monty Tech had 850 students who wanted to attend the school as part of the Class of 2026, but only 370 spots were available and not all could be admitted.

“It is an unfortunate call we answer too often, and we hope that we handle their disappointments with the compassion and care that we would  expect should we find ourselves in a similar situation. Hence, we remain committed to finding solutions that  will successfully address the needs of all student populations,” Browne said.

Browne added Monty Tech had initiated steps to implement a new Partnership Program that will serve 80 students chosen by the Fitchburg Public Schools, Gardner Public Schools, and Narragansett Regional School District. The goal is to create a program that will train 40 juniors and 40 seniors each year in a Chapter 74 Carpentry or Electrical workforce training program.

Monty Tech had secured a Lab Modernization Grant to build out two state-of-the-art training facilities by utilizing the school’s students and instructors to renovate a vacant warehouse located 1.3 miles from campus. The school is leasing the property specifically for this purpose.

Complainants still say the admission practices must change and the data supports their position.

Spring 2022 final admissions data for Monty Tech, accessible through DESE, showed the school accepted 42% of the students of color who applied compared to 57% of white students; 38% of economically disadvantaged students compared to 65% of those who were not; 42% of students with disabilities were accepted compared to 54% of students without disabilities; and 18% of English-language learners were accepted compared to 53% of non English-language learners.

“Students with the passion and talent for a trade, who have successfully completed 8th grade, should have a fair shot at admission at their regional vocational high school. However, that is not the reality under DESE’s current policies and regulations,” said Mirian Albert, staff attorney for Lawyers for Civil Rights in a statement.

Data showed statewide 37% of the students of color received admissions offers, compared to approximately 49% of the white students; 30% of English-language learners received admissions offers compared to 45% of non English-language learners, 37% of students with disabilities received admissions compared to 45% of students who did not have disabilities.

Albert added that students who do not benefit in traditional school environments can be re-engaged through practical and hands-on instruction at vocational schools. She added students from marginalized communities can become more competitive in the job market with fair access.

While the complaint specifically involves students who were not admitted to Monty Tech and Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School, a similar ranked admissions process is used by 26 of 28 of the state’s vocational schools. Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School in Marlboro uses a lottery-based system, while Worcester Technical High School uses a modified lottery that places all students with 10 or fewer unexcused absences on equal footing.

In contrast to the admissions data for Monty Tech, Assabet Valley’s data shows the school accepted 75% of the students of color who applied compared to 73% of white students; 71% of economically disadvantaged students were accepted compared to 76% of those who were not; 68% of students with disabilities were accepted compared to 76% of students without disabilities; and 67% of English-language learners were accepted compared to 75% of non English-language learners.

State Sen. John Cronin, D-Fitchburg, said vocational schools like Monty Tech were actively discriminating against the most vulnerable eighth graders in the state. To change the process under state law, Cronin has filed legislation with state Rep. Antonio Cabral, D-Bristol.

In an interview Thursday, Cronin said he had heard pushback from superintendents that lotteries simply don’t work. However, he said the numbers proved otherwise and people were not entitled to their own set of facts.

“Our position is not radical. Public schools should no longer be able to use private school admissions criteria to systemically discriminate and keep the most vulnerable eighth graders in our state out of our trade schools,” Cronin later said during a press conference.

Under Massachusetts General Law chapter 71 section 89, public charter schools are required to use a blind lottery process when there are more more students than there are available seats.

According to VEJC, the fight for fairness in vocational education admissions is not new. After making a push in 2021, DESE implemented new regulations for vocational schools. However, the coalition said the changes were minimal and schools maintained substantial discretion over admission procedures.

In addition to Cronin’s legislation, VEJC said it was calling on Gov. Maura Healey to formally request the Board of Education shift admission policy to a lottery system. The complaint also calls on the federal DOE to suspend further funding disbursements to DESE until the process is changed.

Lowell Sun Reporter Cameron Morsberger contributed to this report.