School leaders and Minuteman administrators told the Town of Needhams NEEM subcommittee on March 27 that proposed Board of Education regulations would change the admissions process for career and technical education (CTE) schools to a lottery-like model the presenters called effectively "blind."

Heidi Driscoll, superintendent, described the proposal as a move away from current practices that give priority to applicants demonstrably seeking CTE programs and explained practical consequences for Minutemans enrollment, scheduling and town assessments. "If we had a lottery," she said, "we would actually be lucky enough to have 9 lotteries, based on our slot allocations according to the new proposed regulations," an outcome she said would increase randomness in admissions and could raise uncertainty about committed enrollments and related town assessments.

The proposed regulations, Driscoll said, include a "weighted" or bonus-ball element that would, for example, give extra lottery weight to applicants with fewer than 27 unexcused absences. Presenters argued that a uniform threshold like that would disadvantage students and districts with higher historical unexcused-absence rates and would override district-level policy judgments about admissions priorities.

Minuteman officials said the regulations are out for public comment, the Board of Education vote is scheduled for May, and a bill introduced by state Rep. Adam Scanlon would pause the regulations and create a working group of educators to refine any changes. Driscoll said Minutemans leadership will host a Zoom information session on April 1 at 7 p.m. to explain the regulations and urged individuals to send separate public comments rather than rely on a single joint letter.

Officials noted that a blind or heavily weighted lottery does not increase the number of available seats, and observed that high-demand vocational schools around the state have wait lists where thousands seek a smaller number of slots. They said the most direct remedy to unmet demand is expanding seats rather than changing selection mechanics.

The subcommittee discussed coordinating local outreach: Minuteman staff said they had already circulated materials to parents, school committees and advisory-board members, and asked NEEM members to forward information to town managers and select boards so residents and municipal leaders could comment before the Board of Education meeting.

No formal action was taken by the subcommittee on the regulations during the meeting; presenters requested and encouraged written public comments and legislative contacts ahead of the anticipated vote.