Boston council hearing spotlights expanding internships for students with disabilities in BPS

Boston City Council Committee on Education Chair At-large Councilor Henry Santana convened a Sept. 11 hearing on docket 0551 to examine “expanding internship opportunities for students with disabilities in Boston Public Schools,” bringing together Boston Public Schools (BPS) staff, the city’s youth employment office, and the Boston Private Industry Council to review data and surface barriers to inclusion. The panel and councilors heard program data, discussed transportation and accommodation needs, and stressed employer supports and external partners as ways to increase placements.

The hearing assembled lead sponsor Councilor Aaron Murphy, BPS assistant superintendent Brett Dickens, Kate Seale, chief of specialized services for BPS, Rashad Cope of the city’s Worker Empowerment Cabinet, Katie Gao of the Office of Workforce and Policy Development, and Neil Sullivan, executive director of the Boston Private Industry Council (PIC). Parent and advocate Kelsey Brendel gave public testimony urging explicit planning for students with severe and medically fragile disabilities.

The discussion centered on evidence that while students with disabilities are participating in career-technical and city-managed placements, gaps remain in outreach, employer readiness and capacity, and back-end logistics such as transportation and individualized accommodations. BPS reported roughly 45,000 students across 125 schools, about 21 percent of whom receive special education services. In BPS career and technical education programs, 25 percent of enrollees are students with disabilities; in the class of 2024, 46 percent…