(cf. 0520.3 - Title I Program Improvement Districts)
(cf. 5111.12 - Residency Based on Parent/Guardian Employment)
(cf. 5116.1 - Intradistrict Open Enrollment)
School District of Choice Program
The Board has designated the district as a "school district of choice" and shall accept students who reside in other California districts but wish to attend a district school. Each year, the Superintendent or designee shall recommend to the Board the number of transfer students that the district will be able to accept and shall identify the schools, grade levels, and programs that will be able to accept these students.
Upon receiving the Superintendent's report, the Board shall annually determine the number of students who will be accepted for admittance into the district through this program. This number shall be reflected in the minutes of the Board's meeting.
(cf. 9324 - Minutes and Recordings)
The Superintendent or designee shall establish a selection process which ensures that students applying through the program are admitted to district schools through a random, unbiased process that prohibits evaluation of whether a student should be enrolled based upon his/her academic or athletic performance. If the number of student applications exceeds the number of transfers the Board has designated for acceptance under the program, the Superintendent or designee shall conduct a random drawing in public at a regularly scheduled Board meeting. (Education Code 48301)
Because the district admits students in accordance with the school district of choice program, the Superintendent or designee may admit a student based on an individual interdistrict attendance permit pursuant to Education Code 48300-48316 only in situations of extreme need and upon the request of the district of residence.
The Superintendent or designee shall maintain a record of requests for admittance under the program that contains all of the following: (Education Code 48313)
1. The number of requests granted, denied, or withdrawn and, for denied requests, the reason for the denial
2. The number of students transferred out of and transferred into the district pursuant to this program
3. The race, ethnicity, gender, self-reported socio-economic status, and the district of residence for each student in item #2 above
4. The number of students in item #2 above who are classified as English learners or students with disabilities
The Superintendent or designee shall report to the Board, at a regularly scheduled meeting, the information specified in items #1-4 above. By May 15 of each year, the Superintendent or designee shall provide the same information, as well as information regarding the district's status as a school district of choice in the upcoming school year, to each geographically adjacent school district, the county office of education, the California Department of Education, and the Department of Finance. (Education Code 48313)
The reports to the Board and other agencies shall also include a summary of audit exceptions, if any, resulting from the compliance review of components of the district of choice program conducted as part of the annual district audit. (Education Code 48301, 48313)
Transportation
The district shall not provide transportation outside any school attendance area. However, upon request, the Superintendent or designee may authorize transportation for students living outside an attendance area to and from designated bus stops within the attendance area if space is available. Priority for such transportation shall be based on demonstrated financial need.
Limits on Student Transfers out of the District to a School District of Choice
The Superintendent or designee may limit the number of student transfers out of the district to a school district of choice based on the percentages of average daily attendance specified in Education Code 48307.
In addition, transfers out of the district may be limited during a fiscal year when the County Superintendent of Schools has given the district a negative budget certification or when the County Superintendent has determined that the district will not meet the state's standards and criteria for fiscal stability in the subsequent fiscal year exclusively as a result of student transfers from this district to a school district of choice. (Education Code 48307)
(cf. 3100 - Budget)
(cf. 3460 - Financial Reports and Accountability)
The district may deny a transfer of a student out of the district to a school district of choice if the Board determines that the transfer would negatively impact a court-ordered or voluntary desegregation plan of the district. (Education Code 48301)
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
41020 Annual district audits
46600-46611 Interdistrict attendance agreements
48204 Residency requirements for school attendance
48300-48316 Student attendance alternatives, school district of choice program
48915 Expulsion; particular circumstances
48915.1 Expelled individuals: enrollment in another district
48918 Rules governing expulsion procedures
48980 Notice at beginning of term
52317 Regional Occupational Center/Program, enrollment of students, interdistrict attendance
ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINIONS
87 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 132 (2004)
84 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 198 (2001)
COURT DECISIONS
Crawford v. Huntington Beach Union High School District, (2002) 98 Cal.App.4th 1275
Management Resources:
WEB SITES
CSBA: http://www.csba.org
California Department of Education: http://www.cde.ca.gov
Policy COLLEGE SCHOOL DISTRICT
adopted: March 9, 2010 Santa Ynez, California