Northern Virginia Community College’s blanket exclusion to prevent individuals with a criminal history to be accepted into the PTA program is archaic and should be repealed. 

People who make mistakes and who have broken the law should be able to serve their punishments and move forward with their lives. This ban creates an unjust barrier against education and the resulting personal, social and financial benefits to both the individual and the Commonwealth of Virginia.  It serves to perpetuate social biases and stigmas against those with a prior record thus reducing their ability to become contributing members of society. Contrary to basic premises of our U.S. constitution, it essentially forces individuals to serve a second punishment for the same crime.

In the employment world, many states have laws against blanket exclusions from employment based on prior criminal convictions.  It is both illegal and discriminatory. 

The standard college acceptance criteria should apply to all candidates, which generally view the candidate as a whole, considering a multitude of factors including GPA, standardized test scores, essays, community involvement, references, instructor recommendations and often a personal interview.  The decision should be made on who the individual is now, not on a prior mistake.