FILE:  JBCE

PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE

Public School Choice allows eligible students to transfer to an academically acceptable school within identified capacity limits.  Once schools eligible to receive students have been identified, a school-site utilization study shall be conducted as needed in all schools to determine the extent to which capacity exists to accommodate potential student applicants from schools offering choice, including students with disabilities.  Only those schools that are labeled academically acceptable shall be considered eligible to receive students under school choice.

The Superintendent and staff shall be responsible for developing and managing a School Choice Plan, which shall determine the schools to which students may transfer, how transfer requests will be processed and prioritized, and other administrative procedures for the supervision of school choice within the school district.

The authority to enroll a student in the public school of choice shall not be permitted and shall not be exercised if doing so violates the order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

Eligibility of Students

Students enrolled in a school required to offer choice shall be eligible for transfer consideration.

LOUISIANA PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE

The parent or legal guardian of any eligible student may seek to enroll his/her child in the public school of his/her choice, without regard to residence, school system geographic boundaries, or attendance zones, provided that:

1. The public school in which the student was most recently enrolled, or would otherwise attend, received a school performance letter grade of D or F for the most recent school year, and
   
   

2. The school to which the student seeks to enroll received a school performance letter grade of A, B, or C, for the most recent school year, and has sufficient capacity at the appropriate grade level.

“Capacity” for each school shall be defined as “any school which has an anticipated enrollment of greater than 80% of its optimal total student capacity, in the grade in which the student seeks to enroll, will be deemed to have insufficient capacity to allow for an Act 853 enrollment.”  The transfer request period shall begin on March 1st and end on April 15th, annually.

Prior to the transfer request period, parents and legal guardians of students enrolled in schools that received a D or F school performance letter grade pursuant to the state's school and district accountability system for the most recent school year shall be notified of the following:

1. The provisions of La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:4035.1, Louisiana Public School Choice law;
   
   

2. The schools under the jurisdiction of the School Board that received an A, B, or C school performance letter grade, if any;
   
   

3. The process for submitting student transfer requests; and,
   
   

4. The page on the Louisiana Department of Education’s website that contains school performance data.

If there are no choice options available for a given school year, this information shall be included in the notification sent to parents.

If the School Board denies the enrollment request of a prospective student for an intradistrict transfer, the parent or legal guardian of the student may request a review of the denial of the transfer requested by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE).

Transportation shall not be provided to a student who enrolls in a public school that is located outside the geographic boundaries of the School Board in which the student resides, if providing such transportation will result in additional cost to the School Board.

The Superintendent shall be authorized to develop relevant administrative procedures governing students seeking enrollment under the Louisiana Public School Choice section of this policy.  Such procedures shall include entering into interdistrict agreements with other city, parish, or local School Boards to provide for the admission of students, and the transfer of school funds or other payments by one School Board to another for, or on account of, any such authorized transfers.

Ref:    La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:105, 17:4035.1

Louisiana School, District, and State Accountability System, Bulletin 111, Louisiana Department of Education

Board minutes, 4-4-06, 7-8-08, 1-13-22

Caldwell Parish School Board