You asked if there is any legal obstacle to vocational-technical (V-T) schools requiring that at least 80% of the students they admit meet minimum academic criteria based on their chances of succeeding at the school.

The Office of Legislative Research is not authorized to issue legal opinions and the following should not be considered one.

Connecticut law does not prohibit entrance examinations for public high schools, so long as public educational opportunities are available for all high school students. If a V-T school wants to establish minimum academic criteria for admission to its program, the statutes would appear to allow it. Admission criteria would also probably pass muster under federal law as long as they are objective in their application and do not distinguish or discriminate against classes of applicants based on prohibited characteristics, such as disabilities. Section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of a disability or handicap and entitles disabled people to an equal opportunity for participation.

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