The Board of Trustees believes that students should attend school in their district of residence. Unlike most other districts, Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District receives nearly all its funding based on property taxes, not based on student attendance. Therefore, out-of-district students reduce the educational resources available to resident students and increase class size without compensation.
Additionally, neighboring school districts that receive funding based on student attendance are impacted by loss of funding when resident students do not attend their schools.
However, the Board of Trustees recognizes that under certain conditions students who reside in one district may request to attend school in another district and that such choices are made for a variety of reasons.
(cf. 5118 - Open Enrollment Act Transfers)
Upon request by students' parents/guardians, the Superintendent may approve interdistrict attendance permits with other districts on a case-by-case basis.
The Superintendent shall ensure that interdistrict permits specify the terms and conditions agreed to by both districts for the granting, denial, or revocation of the permit as well as the standards for reapplication. The Superintendent may deny the granting of an interdistrict attendance permit because of overcrowding within district schools or limited district resources.
The Superintendent may approve an interdistrict attendance permit for a student only for the following reasons:
1. When the student has been determined by staff of either the district of residence or district of proposed attendance to be a victim of an act of bullying as defined in Education Code 48900(r). Such a student shall be given priority for interdistrict attendance under any existing interdistrict attendance agreement or, in the absence of an agreement, shall be given consideration for the creation of a new permit. (Education Code 46600)
2. Students who are currently enrolled in district high schools but who move outside the district boundaries prior to the last school day of their 10th grade year will be allowed to complete the semester in which the move occurred. At the end of that semester students will be automatically disenrolled from the district.
3. Students who have earned 165 credits and move at any time after the last school day of their junior year will be permitted to complete their senior year, provided that they conform to the district's attendance, behavior and credit requirements.
4. Children of current employees of the Mountain View Los Altos Union High School district will be permitted to attend school in the district on an interdistrict transfer agreement while their parents are employed by the district. Children of current partner school district employees will be permitted to attend school in the MVLA district ONLY if there is a reciprocal agreement with that district, and all other conditions are met. In both instances, this privilege extends to attending school in the district, but does not guarantee placement at a particular school.
5. When the student has a sibling attending school in the receiving district, to avoid splitting the family's attendance.
6. The Superintendent may grant an interdistrict transfer if extraordinary circumstances prevail.
Each permit shall stipulate the terms and conditions established by both districts under which interdistrict attendance shall be permitted, denied or revoked, and any standards for reapplications. (Education Code 46600).
All interdistrict transfers are subject to agreement by the student's home district, and must be renewed annually. However, existing interdistrict attendance permits shall not be rescinded for students entering grade 11 or 12 in the subsequent year. (Education Code 46600)
The Superintendent may deny initial requests for interdistrict attendance permits if school facilities are overcrowded at the relevant grade level or based on other considerations that are not arbitrary. However, once a student is admitted, the district may not deny him/her continued attendance because of overcrowded facilities at the relevant grade level.
While on an interdistrict transfer, students must maintain satisfactory academic performance, be on target to graduate and maintain good attendance and behavior. Students who fail to meet these expectations may have their interdistrict attendance permit revoked and may be disenrolled at the end of the semester in which performance falls below expectations provided that both student and parent/guardian receive prior notification. This provision will be uniformly applied to all students, including those who are granted senior privilege.
Within 30 days of a request for an interdistrict permit, the Superintendent shall notify the parents/guardians of a student who is denied interdistrict attendance regarding the process for appeal to the County Board of Education as specified in Education Code 46601. (Education Code 46601)
(cf. 5145.6 - Parental Notifications)
Students who are under consideration for expulsion or who have been expelled may not appeal interdistrict attendance denials or decisions while expulsion proceedings are pending or during the term of the expulsion. (Education Code 46601)
(cf. 5119 - Students Expelled from Other/Districts)
(cf. 5144.1 - Suspension and Expulsion/Due Process
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
48350-48361 Open Enrollment Act
48900 Grounds for suspension or expulsion; definition of bullying
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
Walnut Valley Unified School District v. the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, (2011) 192 Cal.App.4th 234
Crawford v. Huntington Beach Union High School District, (2002) 98 Cal.App.4th 1275
Management Resources:
CSBA PUBLICATIONS
Transfer Law Comparison, Fact Sheet, March 2011
WEB SITES
CSBA: http://www.csba.org
California Department of Education: http://www.cde.ca.gov
Policy MOUNTAIN VIEW-LOS ALTOS UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
adopted: December 10, 2018 Mountain View, California