SCHOOL BOUNDARY AREAS AND TRANSFERS

The Board believes that schools in the district offer a rich educational experience and that children have access to this through their boundary area school and district programs.  The Board recognizes that some families may want to attend a school outside their boundary area.  Families may utilize the transfer process set forth within the administrative regulations.

It is the Board’s responsibility to maximize the educational value of all district resources and to offer all students a comprehensive and equitable education.  The Board and superintendent are responsible for cultivating and maintaining a collaborative relationship among school administrators.  Resources and guidance will be provided to maintain a healthy diversity of educational options while ensuring the economic viability of all schools.

The superintendent will develop transfer guidelines that balance the district's responsibility to ensure an equitable, high quality education for all students with some families' desire to enroll their students in a school outside their boundary area.

END OF POLICY

Legal References:

            ORS 332.107                          ORS 339.010 - 339.090

STUDENT TRANSFERS

Attendance Boundaries/Assignment of Students to Schools

1.         Students living at least 50 percent of the school year within the attendance boundaries of individual schools have priority for attendance at that school.

2.         Students living within the Jefferson Elementary School boundary north of Circle Boulevard who attend Jefferson through completion of fifth grade may choose which middle and high school to attend.  This is a one-time option, which is available only at the fifth to sixth grade transition.  Written notice must be given to the district no later than the first Thursday in January of the fifth grade year.  E-mail notice is acceptable.

3.         Some attendance area boundaries were changed in November 2007 to take effect in September 2008.

            a.         If a student’s residence has been reassigned to a different school, that student may continue at the old school through completion of the highest grade.  If a student lives in a reassigned boundary area and wants to remain at the current school, parents must notify the district in writing no later than the district’s deadline.  Email notice is acceptable.  Elementary students living farther than one mile from the old elementary school will continue to receive transportation for the school years 2008-09 and 2009-10.

            b.         Any siblings entering school in the 2008-09 or 2009-10 school years will be allowed to attend the old elementary school if their attendance will overlap with the currently enrolled student.  A “Request for Student Transfer” form should be completed.

4.         The superintendent will set enrollment capacities at each school.

a.         The space available at elementary and K-8 schools is determined by a capacity number set for each school based on building size.  Space available at the secondary level will be limited by a need to balance student populations within a +/- seven percent of the average of the two schools.

            b.         Once that enrollment capacity has been reached, any student moving into the attendance area may be required by the superintendent or designee to attend another school as designated by the district.

            c.         Transportation will be provided if a student is assigned by the district to another school other than their home school.

            d.         If enrollment falls below the enrollment capacity, students who have been moved because of overcrowding will have first choice to return to their home school based on their placement on a waiting list.  Students may only return to a school at the end of a grading period for elementary school students or at the end of a semester for middle and high school students.

Student Transfers within District Schools

1.         Parents desiring to transfer a student to a district school in an attendance area other than the one in which they reside must complete a “Request for Student Transfer” form.

2.         Parents choosing to send their student to a school other than the school in their attendance area will be responsible for transportation to and from school unless space is available on a district bus that travels an appropriate route.

3.         The superintendent will set a transfer request period for grades 1-12 that is open for at least ten weeks.  The dates of that period will generally begin in November and end in January.  These requests will be approved unless the enrollment capacity in a grade or at the school has been met.

4.         For kindergarten programs, student transfer requests for the following school year in September will generally be accepted in February and ending mid-March.  The open period for kindergarten transfers will be at least six weeks.  These requests will be approved unless the enrollment capacity in a grade or at the school has been met.

5.         Siblings of students with placements in special programs such as Life Skills and English Language Learner/Dual Immersion will be treated as boundary area students at the school where the special program is housed while their sibling is attending that school.  The district currently provides transportation for the student in the special program; the district will also provide transportation for their siblings under the new rule while their sibling is enrolled in the special program at that school.

6.                  Transfer Priorities—When the total number of transfer requests exceeds the enrollment capacity in a grade or at the school, the district will determine which students will be enrolled using the following priorities:

a.         Siblings of local district students already at the school will be considered first.

            b.         All other in-district transfers will have next priority.

            c.         Transfer requests from out of district will be considered last, including siblings of students currently on out-of-district transfers.  Out-of-district transfer request forms must be resubmitted annually for approval and prior to the commencement of the school year.  Those new to the district will have ten days from date of enrollment to complete the process.

            d.         The district may reserve some spots for students who qualify for the free and reduced lunch program to keep socioeconomic demographics at a school within the range of other schools in the district.

            e.         If school enrollment reaches capacity, a transfer can be revoked before school starts or at the end of a school year.  Transfers will be revoked first for out-of-district students, and their siblings if applicable, and then for in-district students.  The district would exercise this only in the most critical situations.

            NOTE:   Students who have moved from the attendance area of their current school may choose to remain and complete the highest grade at that school providing that they resided in that attendance area for a minimum of one school year prior to moving and providing that their new residence is still in the district.  Although they will be grandfathered in, parents still will need to submit a transfer request form to notify the current school of their intent to remain enrolled there.

            NOTE:  The district reserves the right to make special placement decisions when warranted by special circumstances.

7.         The district will notify the parent by email, or mail, or telephone call as soon as possible after the decision is made.

8.         If there are more students requesting to transfer into a school than there are spaces provided by the enrollment capacity, then a lottery will be used to select students and determine the order of a waiting list.  Twins would be placed together on the waiting list as determined by the lottery.  The lottery will be held at the district level within two weeks after the transfer deadline.  If a student or parent believes there are special circumstances that the district should consider to allow a transfer, then requests may be made to district staff.  In the event a transfer request is denied, an appeal may be submitted in writing to the assistant superintendent.  Decisions on requests made by the assistant superintendent will be final.

            Students applying for transfers after the January deadline will be placed at the bottom of the waiting list in the order their applications are received.  A new waiting list will be created by lottery each year if honoring all of the transfer requests would cause the school to exceed its enrollment capacity.  In the event that a secondary school exceeds the limit needed to balance student population, the district may choose not to maintain a waiting list until such time when transfers will be accepted.

9.         If there is no waiting list, transfer requests submitted after the third Friday in January will be processed on a case-by-case basis and must be approved by the assistant superintendent.  Such transfers may continue to occur throughout the school year at the end of the grading period for elementary school.  All transfers at the middle and high school levels must be made prior to the beginning of the school year or at the end of the first semester.

            NOTE:  Transfers initiated by school administrators may occur at any time during the school year.

10.       Once approved, a transfer will ordinarily remain in effect until the student completes the highest grade in the school; the student's parent requests that the transfer be rescinded; or school administrators revoke the transfer for reasons such as erratic attendance, unsatisfactory academic performance, substantial misconduct, or exceeding capacity because of growth in the number of neighborhood students.  Transfers from outside the district must be approved on an annual basis.

            a.         When a student is promoted to a higher level grade outside the attending school, the student will enroll in the school in the attendance area in which his/her parents reside unless a new transfer request is submitted and approved.

            b.         Parents may request that a transfer be rescinded at any time.  Such requests will be effective at the end of the grading period for elementary school students and at the end of the semester for middle and high school students unless the assistant superintendent and the principals involved agree to implement the request sooner.  Transfers back to the home school during the school year will be subject to the enrollment capacity in a grade or at the school.  Return transfers between school years will not be subject to the enrollment capacity provisions.

11.       Students who transfer high schools will be eligible to participate in interscholastic athletics in agreement with procedures established by the superintendent in accordance with the OSAA.  The procedures are intended to prohibit recruiting of athletes without unjustly penalizing students.  The procedures in no way are to be interpreted as condoning the recruitment of any athlete from one high school to another since recruitment is a clear violation of the intent of this administrative regulation.

            Each school site, as well as the district office, will be actively involved in notifying parents and the community of this school attendance area /transfer policy.  Schools will be expected to make monthly announcements regarding this matter between October and February of each year (via the building newsletters, etc.).

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