You wanted to know (1) if sending districts can mandate which vocational-agricultural center (now known as agriculture science and technology education centers) a child must attend; (2) how a town's racial balance factors into the equation if there are several schools in the area; (3) if sending districts can limit the number of students who attend a center; and (4) if there is any recourse if students are denied the opportunity to attend a center.

SUMMARY

Pursuant to CGS § 10-64, any board of education that does not provide vocational-agricultural training must (1) designate a school or schools which any student who has completed the eighth grade may attend and (2) pay the tuition and reasonable cost of attendance. Therefore, sending districts can mandate which center its students can attend. (Presumably, if another school agrees to enroll the student, he or she could attend, but the sending district would not be responsible for tuition. )

The law allows sending districts to limit the number of students attending a designated center. Prior law required a school district that does not maintain a center to allow its students to enroll in another district's center in numbers that are at least equal to (1) the number specified in any written agreement it has with a center or (2) if there is no written agreement, the average number of its students enrolled in the center during the three previous school years. However, this was interpreted by some districts to mean that they did not need to provide enrollment opportunities for new students (i. e. 9^th graders) every year. Section 20 of PA 08-170 requires districts to, in addition, provide enrollment opportunities for 9^th graders in each center it designates that are at least equal to (1) the number of 9^th graders specified in its written agreement with each center or (2) the average number of 9^th graders that enrolled in each designated center or centers over the preceding three years. A town's racial balance does not figure into this equation, at least statutorily. However, it is possible that a town would take this issue into consideration.

The statutes do not appear to require school districts to accommodate every student wishing to attend a center (which could potentially be every student in the district). However, if a district fails to designate a center, a parent could make a complaint with the local board, and if he or she is unsuccessful, file a complaint with the State Board of Education pursuant to CGS § 10-4b.

SC: dw