NORTHAMPTON — A debate is brewing between a group of legislators calling for a lottery system to determine who gets into vocational schools statewide and the state association of administrators that represents those schools who believe changing the way students are accepted won’t solve the underlying capacity problem in which thousands are left on the outside looking in.

The legislators floating the change are collectively known as the Gateway Cities Legislative Caucus, and include members such as Rep. Patricia Duffy of Holyoke and Sen. Jo Comerford of Northampton. In a Dec. 23 letter to Healey, the caucus said that current selection criteria for vocational school admissions, as determined by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, is discriminatory against certain groups, such as students of color and students with disabilities. A solution, they propose, would be to institute a blind lottery system to randomly select which students would be accepted.

“We respectfully request you mandate lottery admissions at vocational schools to hold these institutions to the same equity standard our charter schools have successfully met for the past three decades,” the letter reads. “A standard where every applicant within a municipality, regardless of race, national origin, disability, or household income, has the same chance at admission to these public high schools.”

The Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators (MAVA), however, said in a letter to Gov. Maura Healey that the proposed change “paints a picture of our schools that does not reflect DESE data or the reality we see in our hallways every day.” The association, which represents 61 member schools which enroll more than 51,300 students, calls on the governor to reject the concept of a one-size-fits-all blind lottery.

Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School Superintendent Andy Linkenhoker is one of six MAVA leaders to sign the letter. In an interview with the Gazette, he disagreed with the notion that current selection criteria discriminates against certain student groups.

“On the surface, if you listen to that argument, it makes sense, it sounds good, right?” Linkenhoker said. “We’re drilling in to say, it’s not that simple. It’s much deeper than simply thinking a lottery is going to solve the problem. It’s not going to solve the problem. It’s not going to get us more seats.”

The most recent data from the DESE shows that although 42% of eligible students who apply for vocational schools across the state are students of color, only 37% receive an offer. Similar gaps exist for students who are English language learners, low income backgrounds and with disabilities.

At Smith Vocational, there is only a 1% gap between students of color who apply and who are accepted and who are made an offer, and 40% of students who accept have a disability, a greater percentage than of all students who applied. However, there remains a 4% gap between the percentage of low-income applicants and offers made to low-income students.

MAVA argues that the demographics of students eligible for vocational school largely align with enrollment rates, and that a lottery system would not solve the current problem of having thousands of students on waiting lists to enroll in schools.

“That demand won’t change with a lottery. It will just rearrange which students are excluded, with 6,000-11,000 kids still on the outside looking in,” the letter states. “Our schools are committed to the proposition that any student who wants access to a vocational-technical education should have it.”

The organization also contends that vocational schools have made many improvements to improve its admission policies since admissions regulations were revised in 2021. Grades are now less of a factor, as are disciplinary issues. Additionally, most schools require a recommendation, typically from a guidance counselor, and a brief interview to gauge a student’s interest in vocational education.

For Smith Vocational, the school has 150 seats available for an incoming class and generally receives 300 applications each year, according to Linkenhoker. But he also stated that not every student who is sent an offer letter accepts it, meaning that several put on a waiting list do manage to enroll in the school. Some of the more competitive programs at the school include plumbing, criminal justice and animal science.

Linkenhoker told the Gazette that rather than implement a lottery system, a more effective way to allow greater access to vocational schools would simply be to provide more funding to vocational schools to reduce waitlists.

“As an educator and a former school counselor myself, I never want to say no to a student,” Linkenhoker said. “Ideally, I’d like to have more seats, and if we have 300 applicants, why can’t we take all 300?”

In its letter to the governor, MAVA encourages support of proposed legislation that it believes would provide the resources schools need to add more seats by expanding existing schools and building new ones. It also would ensure unfettered access to our middle schools so vocational schools can inform students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, about the value of vocational education.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.