Leveling the Playing Field in College Admission for Students with Disciplinary History
/by Marisa M. Halm, J.D.
The Center for Children’s Advocacy strongly supports House Bill 5339, An Act Prohibiting the Consideration of School Disciplinary History During the Admissions Process at an Institution of Higher Education, to ensure that all of Connecticut’s students can have a clear pathway to higher education, free from unnecessary barriers embedded in the application process.
The Center for Children’s Advocacy (CCA) is the largest children’s legal rights organization in New England. Our mission is to promote and protect the legal rights and interests of our state’s most vulnerable children and young adults who are dependent upon the judicial, child welfare, health and mental health, education, and juvenile justice systems for their care. CCA provides holistic legal representation to these youth and young adults through individual representation and systemic advocacy.
By mandating that public institutions of higher education in Connecticut remove questions concerning school discipline history from their application process, H.B. 5339 will help to increase the number of college applications submitted by students of color. It is well established both here in Connecticut and nationwide that students of color disproportionately experience discipline compared to their White peers.
Recent research shows that this harsh reality also impacts college applications submitted by students of color. Black and LatinX students with discipline histories are frequently deterred from completing the college application process when they learn that they must submit this information.1 By removing these questions from Connecticut’s college applications, H.B. 5339 will also eliminate the chilling effect that this practice has on applications of students of color.
“...all students should have equal access to Connecticut’s institutions of higher education, regardless of their discipline history.”
H.B. 5339 will also ensure that students with disabilities aren’t hindered or discouraged from engaging in the college application process by having to report past behavioral incidents that should be addressed by the confidential Individual Education Plan (IEP) and program.
Through our work at CCA, we represent countless youth with disabilities who are receiving inappropriate supports and services in school. These youth are youth who are often disciplined without proper consideration of their needs or acknowledgement of their state and federal rights. Through our representation, we work to address the school’s failings and make sure that our clients receive the supports to which they are entitled in school.
This advocacy often eliminates instances leading to future discipline. Students with discipline histories inextricably connected to their disabilities should not be put in a situation of having to report those histories to their disadvantage. H.B. 5339 will eliminate that possibility.
CCA strongly believes that all students should have equal access to Connecticut’s institutions of higher education, regardless of their discipline history. H.B. 5339 will level the playing field in the applications process to ensure that is the case.
Marisa M. Halm, J.D. is Director of the Youth Justice Project for The Center for Children’s Advocacy, a nonprofit law firm which fights for the legal rights of Connecticut’s most vulnerable children, based in Hartford. This testimony was submitted to the state legislature’s Committee on Higher Education & Employment Advancement earlier this month.
