Does a private technical school have to admit a felon (especially a sex offender) if they have an open admissions policy?
I would think a private school can do as it sees fit.
It is good Public policy not to ask about criminal backgrounds on college applications. You can always check the sexual offender registry if you have a specific concern.
Colleges may or may not check sex offender registries, but many employers sure do. It would be a shame to spend several years and thousands of dollars to get a degree only to find that you can’t use the degree because employers in that field won’t hire you.
Before worrying about getting into college, do some serious thinking and research about the field in which you wish to work post-college. Many employers will not hire felons, and most employers are concerned about sex offenders. Know what is and isn’t possible for employment before investing in a degree or certification.
BTW, I disagree with the poster who states it is good public policy not to ask about criminal backgrounds on college applications. A criminal background shouldn’t automatically preclude a person from every activity, but there are definitely certain offenses that should give pause for certain college and employment situations.
Here is a useful article about colleges and criminal records. The reason it’s good policy is that many colleges do not distinguish between arrests and convictions and arrests proportionally impact people of color. https://www.brookings.edu/research/thinking-beyond-the-box-the-use-of-criminal-records-in-college-admissions/
Completely ignoring an applicant’s criminal record is just as extreme and silly as denying an applicant admission simply for an arrest that did not result in conviction. There is a sensible middle ground - consider criminal records on an individual basis and make admissions decisions taking into account factors such as recency of conviction, type of crime, relevance to the degree and/or living situation, demonstrated rehabilitation, potential for harm, etc.
It’s irresponsible to ignore past behavior and expose other students - potential roommates in a dorm situation even - to increased risk. It’s also irresponsible to the person with the felony conviction to allow him/her to commit to spending multiple years and thousands of dollars to obtain a degree if there is little chance that the person would be able to use the degree to find employment in that industry.
Juvenile records are sealed so there should be no consequences in seeking employment. For an older student, many states now have “ban the box” policies that prevent criminal records as being dispositive. I would be much more concerned about my child’s welfare if they joined a fraternity or sorority.
If you would be more worried about your child joining a fraternity or sorority than you would if your child was assigned a dorm roommate that was a convicted sex offender you are making decisions based on hopes, wishes, dreams, fears and impressions rather than logic or facts.
For the fearful: https://www.nsopw.gov/?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
However, if that is a concern, that can be handled at the dorm level (e.g. certain types of convictions may disqualify someone from living in a dorm, but not necessarily from attending the school). Of course, an open admission private technical school, as mentioned by the OP, may not have dorms at all.