World | Thu Jan 28, 2016 5:26pm EST

College application questions about police contact under scrutiny

BY LETITIA STEIN

U.S. colleges and universities that ask applicants to disclose run-ins with law enforcement including stops and detentions are facing scrutiny from a legal advocacy group concerned the practice discriminates against minorities.

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law said it began contacting 17 schools in the South on Thursday about their practice of asking prospective students to detail interactions with the criminal justice system even if they have not been convicted.

The organization believes schools nationally have similar policies that may disproportionately affect minority males.

"Inquiries regarding stops and detentions and arrests pose unnecessary barriers for vast numbers of African Americans, given the racial disparities that we see across our criminal justice system," said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.

She said asking about such interactions, some of which may have been dismissed by courts, has "no predictive value whatsoever on whether or not a kid can succeed in a classroom."

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