Required Evaluation of Guidance Programs
All guidance and counseling programs of districts receiving federal financial assistance are subject to federal civil rights laws. School districts and BOCES must ensure that any student enrollment discrepancies, e.g., enrollments in classes where a preponderance of students are of one sex, race, color, national origin, or handicap, are not the result of unlawful discrimination in counseling activities. Guidelines for Eliminating Discrimination and Denial of Services on the Basis of Race, Color, National Origin, Sex and Handicap in Vocational Education Programs (34 CFR Part 100, Appendix B at V-B).
While many programs in New York State may have disproportionate enrollment, e.g., Cosmetology, Auto Mechanics/Body, Building Trades, Family and Consumer Science classes, it is not necessary to evaluate every possibility regarding why this has happened, but rather the school district/BOCES must evaluate the district/BOCES’ counseling activities to ensure that they are not the cause of the disproportionate enrollment.
Some suggested activities which a district/BOCES may take to ensure non-biased guidance and counseling include:
- Analyze enrollments to determine whether certain populations are disproportionately under- or over-enrolled;
- Use peer, student and/or parent surveys to identify whether all students’ needs are being met by the guidance program;
- Provide students with non-biased career materials;
- Organize a career day or other career programs with minority, handicapped and non-traditional occupational role models;
- Provide workshops for staff on how to identify biased attitudes, policies, materials and practices;
- Include goals, objectives and activities to address the needs of special populations in the district guidance plan;
- Visit the Nontraditional Employment and Training (The NET) Project at: www.theNetProject.org