Sometimes even the best intentions can have serious drawbacks.
The N.C. Board of Community Colleges’ amendment to its “Admission to Colleges” policy may be intended to keep students safe, but the amendment is too vague and, even more importantly, could pose legal challenges for the system.
The amendment, which goes into effect April 1, allows campus officials at North Carolina’s 58 community colleges to deny admission to any applicant that they deem a potential threat to campus security.
The policy states that community colleges can refuse admission to any applicant who poses a “health or safety threat.” What the board considers a “threat” is up for debate.
The policy allows each college campus to determine what constitutes a threat, which could lead to inconsistent or even arbitrary enforcement of the amendment.
Having to provide a detailed rationale for denying admission and even offering an appeals process doesn’t change the fact that students could be denied admission simply because of a benign mental disability.
This amendment could also lead to legal action on the basis of discrimination. It is dangerously preemptive to label somebody as a threat just by what is written on an application.
Denying an applicant because of a mental disability could also potentially violate federal laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires state entities to give people with disabilities equal opportunities to services.
This decision was passed just two weeks after the Jan. 8 shooting in Arizona in which the suspect, Jared Loughner, appears to have been mentally unstable.
