Boston Education Committee Targets Gap in Disability Internship Access for BPS Students

BOSTON -- September 11, 2025, Boston City Council education panel examines a widening internship gap for students with disabilities. Chair Henry Santana convened the September 11 hearing on Docket No. 0551, filed by Councilors Erin J. Murphy and Julia M. Mejia, drawing panelists from Boston Public Schools, the city's Office of Youth Employment and Opportunity, and the Boston Private Industry Council. Neil Sullivan, PIC executive director, disclosed that only 5.9 percent of roughly 700 employer-paid, career-oriented placements last year went to students with IEPs, against a district IEP rate of roughly 21 percent; the PIC's sponsored-jobs program fared better at 17.2 percent. Rashad Cope, deputy chief of the Worker Empowerment Cabinet, reported that city-managed placements this past summer hired 223 young people with IEPs, calling that number incomplete. Kay Seal, BPS chief of specialized services, announced a new Roxbury-based program, NEXT, Navigating Employment and Transition, opening the week of September 15 with 60 students, targeting 120 by 2027-28. Parent Kelsey Brendell, the sole public commenter, urged the council not to overlook students with the most severe and profound disabilities, calling expanded access "a dignity moment for our city."