The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 3 - 24

Bradley D . Custer

and universities can collect data and conduct
careful analyses of their CBC practices by following the steps of the discriminatory effect
test. institutions should monitor the demographics of students who are denied housing
to observe any patterns suggesting discriminatory effects, keeping in mind that documentation of such could be subject to public records
requests and discovery by a plaintiff. in addition, institutions can examine alternative practices for achieving campus safety goals that are
less likely to have discriminatory effects, such
as the evidence-based strategies described
above. finally, rigorous evaluation of the need,
logic, impact, and cost efficiency of CBC policies in campus housing may yield the strongest evidence required in an fha lawsuit.
if the results of any of these activities
suggest that the use of criminal history in
campus housing is either discriminatory
or nonessential to the university, it may be
prudent to reconsider the practice altogether.
the ban-the-box movement is making significant gains in eliminating policy barriers
for people with criminal history, and just as
the u.s. Department of education (2016) denounced the use of criminal history in college
admissions, the 2016 huD guidance may be
writing on the wall that the use of criminal
history in housing, including campus housing,
eventually may be prohibited.
in addition to legal implications, campus
housing officers may be well-situated to advocate for justice-involved students. since most
institutions are not required by state laws to
conduct CBCs, administrators may have influence over implementing alternatives to current
policies, if not eliminating them. for example,
20
instead of bans on all sex offenders, a policy
24

that requires a fair review of each housing
21
applicant's history likely would show that
many registered sex offenders do not pose any
safety risk to other campus residents. or, while
certain students may be ineligible for traditional residence halls, perhaps justice-involved
students could reside in apartment-style buildings that offer additional security and privacy
to residents. no matter the policy, offering a
well-developed appeals process gives students
22
due process in challenging decisions. in addition, because nearly two thirds of people in
prison have substance abuse disorders (national Center on addiction & substance abuse,
2010), many justice-involved students may
benefit from collegiate recovery programs.
housing officers can advocate that justice-involved students with recovery needs be eligible

The ban-the-box movement
is making significant gains in
eliminating policy barriers for
people with criminal history, and
just as the U.S. Department of
Education (2016) denounced the
use of criminal history in college
admissions, the 2016 HUD guidance
may be writing on the wall that
the use of criminal history in
housing, including campus housing,
eventually may be prohibited.

T h e J o u r n a l o f C o l l e g e a n d U n i v e r s i t y St u d e n t H o u s i n g

The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 3