Minorities Excluded at Fullerton College by Tests, Suit Claims

Entrance exams are being used to illegally exclude minorities from courses at Fullerton College, Latino rights groups charged Wednesday in a Superior Court lawsuit filed in Sacramento.

At issue is whether the college is using the exams to exclude students from college-level courses that are transferable to four-year institutions and restrict them instead to remedial classes, attorneys for the plaintiffs said. They added that they believe the policies under attack at the Fullerton campus also are in effect at other California community colleges, each of which does its own testing.

The attorneys also contend that scheduling of remedial classes at the Fullerton campus is so restrictive that some minority students are unable to attend at all.

Two of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Martin R. Valdez of La Habra and Christopher Romero-Frias of Fullerton, took entrance exams at the Fullerton campus in 1986, said Richard P. Fajardo, an attorney for the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Valdez “was forced to take remedial English but because the number of remedial classes offered was so limited, he couldn’t attend because of a work schedule conflict and had to drop out,” Fajardo said. “He was not allowed to take any other course until he completed the English class, which is contrary to specific provisions in the state’s Matriculation Act passed in 1986.”

Romero-Frias was in a similar position, Fajardo said. But, the attorney added, he eventually enrolled at Rancho Santiago College in Santa Ana and is succeeding in the same courses to which he was denied access at Fullerton College.

“This matriculation policy has developed a segregated system with less (Latino) students at Fullerton Community College and more students being forced or sent to attend school in Santa Ana” at Rancho Santiago, Fajardo said.

The lawsuit formally draws attention to what has been a hotly debated issue on many of the 106 community college campuses statewide, John D. Randall, interim state community college chancellor, said in a telephone interview from Sacramento. That issue is whether entrance test results should be only advisory in the matriculation process.

Act Called Vague

“In my opinion, the Matriculation Act left that issue very vague,” Randall said.

Fullerton College president Philip W. Borst denied Fajardo’s discrimination allegations but indicated that his school might not be in compliance with the Matriculation Act. He added, however, that by the fall, term entrance test results will be used only for advisory purposes at his campus.

Susan E. Brown, MALDEF’s lead attorney for educational issues, argued that the law clearly says the test results should be weighed as only “advisory tools” and never as academic barriers preventing low-scoring students from gaining access to community colleges.

“In fact,” she said, “if a student decided they wanted to take a class despite the advice or test results, they could do so under the act. This is not what is happening at Fullerton College, and I think it is very widespread throughout the state.”

Interim chancellor Randall conceded that other campuses may have the same entrance-exam problems as those at Fullerton.

Ironically, Brown said, the Legislature’s intent in passing the Matriculation Act in 1986 was to ensure equal educational opportunity.

“It was not intended to exclude (students) but to be culturally and linguistically sensitive and to help students,” Brown said.

Other Plaintiffs in Suit

In addition to Valdez and Romero-Frias, plaintiffs in the lawsuit include MALDEF, the Latino Alumni Assn. of North Orange County, Los Amigos of Orange County and MEChA, a statewide organization of Latino students.

Named as defendants are Fullerton College, Borst, Randall, the North Orange County Community College District and its trustees and the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges.

The lawsuit also accuses Fullerton College of failing to carry a broad spectrum of courses for low-scoring students, as required by the Matriculation Act.

“But these policies are being changed,” Randall said.

Although the Matriculation Act is in effect, it will not be fully implemented until it has been funded, Randall said, “and we’re in the process of just starting that now.”

Valdez, who was graduated from La Habra High School in 1986, missed a passing score on an English placement exam at the Fullerton campus by one point, Fajardo said.

“He had to take remedial English, which the college offered but on a very limited basis,” Fajardo said. “As a result of his work schedule, he had to drop out. We don’t think that’s the intent of the law or the community college system.”