By Geena Monahan—For the North Star Reporter
A new state policy requiring vocational schools to admit students through a lottery is drawing criticism from state Rep. Adam Scanlon (D-North Attleborough) and local families, who say the change could leave qualified students without seats at schools like Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical.
In a recent statement, Scanlon criticized the admissions changes approved by the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (MBESE) , arguing the policy replaces a merit-based admissions process with what he described as “a game of chance.”
“This lottery system is tearing families apart,” Scanlon said. “Siblings who have dreamed of attending the same school can be split up purely by chance, and students with special needs often lose out because the system doesn’t account for their unique challenges.”
One North Attleborough family is experiencing this firsthand after Tri-County held its first lottery under the new system on March 5. Rachel Bancroft said her son spent the past two years working toward one goal — attending Tri-County.
Now an eighth grader at Day Spring Christian Academy, her son had struggled during seventh grade at North Attleborough Middle School. Knowing Tri-County had historically used a merit-based admissions system, Bancroft said the family made a difficult decision to give him another chance to go to Tri-County by enrolling him at Day Spring and having him repeat the grade.
“We made a family decision to give him a second chance because he wanted to go so badly,” Bancroft said. “We sacrificed as a family so he could have another opportunity.”
Motivated by that goal, she said her son dramatically improved his academic performance.
“He went above and beyond. He got all A’s and B’s,” she said. “He was like a different student because he had that goal.”
Bancroft said her son hoped to explore skilled trades such as plumbing or electrical work through Tri-County’s technical programs.
“He’s not college-bound, and that’s totally fine with us,” she said. “He wants to learn a trade and start working after high school.”
But after the school adopted the new lottery admissions system, Bancroft said her son was not admitted and now sits 25th on the wait list.
According to Scanlon, 95 North Attleborough students applied to attend Tri-County for fall 2026, but only 47 were admitted.
“It feels like a bait-and-switch,” Bancroft said. “These kids were told in seventh grade that they needed to work hard to meet certain standards. They did that — and then the rules changed.”
State shifts admissions policy
The change stems from regulations approved in May 2025, when the MBESE voted 8-2 to require vocational schools with more applicants than seats to use a lottery, beginning with those entering high school in fall 2026.
State officials say the change is intended to make access to career technical education programs more equitable, as demand for vocational schools continues to grow across Massachusetts.
During the state’s review of admissions policies, officials found that about 18,500 eighth grade students applied for roughly 10,600 vocational school seats statewide during the 2020-21 admissions cycle.
Supporters of the policy argue that traditional admissions systems — which often considered grades, attendance and disciplinary records — could unintentionally limit opportunities for some students.
“While we continue to increase the number of seats in career technical education schools, we know that there are still more applicants than openings at many of the schools,” said Gov. Maura Healey in a 2025 press release. “Today’s vote will help give all eighth graders more knowledge of their options and a better chance at being admitted to these schools.”
In materials presented during the state’s policy discussions, education officials said lottery systems help ensure students are not excluded from vocational programs based on factors that may reflect circumstances outside their control. Prior to the change, most vocational schools in Massachusetts used selective admissions systems.
Questions tied to regional investment
The outcome has also raised questions for some families about the region’s recent investment in Tri-County.
Voters across the Tri-County district — 11 towns including North Attleborough, Plainville and Wrentham — approved plans in 2023 to build a new vocational high school to replace the aging facility, a project expected to cost about $286 million.
According to a FAQ sheet put out by town officials prior to the vote, 245 North Attleborough students in grades 9-12 attend Tri-County. Based on that enrollment number, North Attleborough can expect to pay approximately $3.6 million in tuition and an additional $3 million in school construction costs annually for the next 30 years.
“Fifty-nine percent of voters in North Attleborough who participated in the special election voted to build a new high school for Tri-County. Now, the students of those same voters are being rejected through a meritless lottery,” said Scanlon in his statement.
Bancroft said some voters may have viewed the project differently if they knew admissions system would change so soon.
Debate over fairness
Bancroft said she and other parents submitted feedback during the policy process but felt the decision had already been made.
“It’s one thing to say this will happen in three or four years,” Bancroft said. “But to change it so quickly, when students were already preparing for it, doesn’t seem fair.”
Administrators, including Tri-County Superintendent Karen Maguire, signed a letter opposing the change, arguing that a lottery system does not address the underlying issue of limited seats at career technical schools. Instead, the administrators wrote, the change could simply “shift which students are denied access” while demand for vocational programs continues to exceed available capacity.
“Proponents of a blind lottery say they are concerned with the ‘exclusion’ of students from Chapter 74 schools and programs. So are we,” reads the letter. “The reality is that DESE estimates there are 6,000-11,000 students on wait lists for our schools. That demand won’t change with a lottery. It will just rearrange which students are excluded.”
Bancroft said North Attleborough High School does not currently offer a vocational program, and many other technical schools have already completed their admissions processes.
“I don’t even know what the options are at this point,” she said.
For now, the family is hoping a spot may still open through the waitlist.
“You can tell a kid that the hard work still mattered,” Bancroft said. “But when you’re 14 and you had that one goal in mind, it’s really hard not to feel defeated.”