File: JFBA - Intra-District Choice/Open Enrollment

The Board of Education endorses the neighborhood school concept and makes many decisions based on student population within the attendance areas of residence. The Board recognizes, however, that resident students may wish to attend a school or participate in a program located in an area other than that of their assigned school. Therefore, in accordance with this policy and accompanying regulation, the district will allow students to attend any school or participate in any program of their choice on a space available, first-come, first-served basis.

Definitions

Admission:  Occurs upon completion of the open enrollment application process. Applicants are admitted based on the number of grade-level seats the district deems to be available at the school site at the time of application. Admitted students may be denied enrollment based on considerations set forth in state and federal law.

Conditional Enrollment:  Following admission, the district will obtain and review educational records including grades, attendance, safety, and discipline, and plans related to the student´s disability-based needs. After the appropriate records have been reviewed, and any required meetings for IDEA-eligible students concluded, the district will confirm or revoke the student´s enrollment. Following confirmation of enrollment, the student may register at the receiving school.

Overview

In implementing the open enrollment program, the district is not required to:

1.  Make alterations in the structure of a requested school or make alterations to the arrangement or function of rooms within a requested school.

2. Establish and offer any particular program in a school if such program is not offered currently in such school.

3. Alter or waive any established eligibility criteria for participation in a particular program including age requirements, course prerequisites, and required levels of performance.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this policy, a student may be assigned outside the attendance area by mutual agreement of the principals in the special interest of the student and/or school.

Open enrollment and transfers

Resident students and their parents/guardians will be notified on an annual basis of the options available through open enrollment in sufficient time to apply.

Students, including home-schooled students desiring to take classes on a part-time basis, within designated attendance areas will have priority in registering in that school. Students may apply for open enrollment in a school outside their attendance area and such applications will be approved if there is space available in the requested school and the application has been submitted on or before August 1 in accordance with the regulations accompanying this policy.

Parents and/or students who desire a change of school after August 1 must submit a letter together with the required form requesting a transfer. The request will be reviewed and acted upon in accordance with the regulation accompanying this policy.

Students granted permission to attend a school other than the school in their assigned attendance area will have the same curricular and extracurricular status as all other students attending the school, as determined by applicable law, bylaws of the Colorado High School Activities Association, and the district's eligibility requirements.

Any student enrolled pursuant to this policy will be allowed to remain enrolled in the school or program through the highest grade offered at the school or program unless overcrowding or other undesirable conditions develop, as described in the accompanying regulation.

Transportation

Transportation for students granted permission to attend school outside their attendance area must be furnished by their parents unless space is available in district buses without disruption of regular routes and loading areas. Homeless students, students in foster care, and students with disabilities will be transported, as necessary, in accordance with state and federal law.

Military children

The district will allow an inbound active duty military member to use the school liaison office address for the military installation to which the inbound active duty military member is or will be assigned in order to apply for open enrollment in a district school or program. No additional documentation of an inbound active duty military member's child's state address will be required to apply for open enrollment.

The district school or program in which the child of an inbound active duty military member is open enrolled will grant guaranteed automatic matriculation while the child remains in the district, including guaranteed automatic matriculation to the next grade, even if the next grade is in a different school level or building, in the same manner guaranteed automatic matriculation is provided to resident students. The district will also grant priority preference for the younger siblings of the child of an inbound active duty military member who is open enrolled for purposes of enrolling in subsequent school years.

Nondiscrimination

The Board, the Superintendent, other administrators, and district employees will not unlawfully discriminate based on a student's disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, national origin, religion, ancestry, or need for special education services in the determination or recommendation of action under this policy.

Special education students

Following Admission and during the period of Conditional Enrollment, the district´s review of the student´s education records may reveal that the student´s transfer to the receiving school would constitute a significant change of placement. In such cases, the district will consider whether a reevaluation is warranted and shall convene an IEP team after, as applicable, completing any warranted evaluation, to ensure the receiving school or program is an appropriate educational placement for the student in accordance with applicable state and federal laws. If the receiving school or program is not an appropriate educational placement, the district shall revoke Conditional Enrollment and provide parents/guardians with a specific explanation of its determination. For students presently attending a district school, such notice shall be provided in the student´s IEP. For students not presently attending a district school, such notice shall be provided in a separate prior written notice compliant with state and federal law.

Adopted: March 04, 2008
Revised and Adopted: January 13, 2009/ September 10, 2013/ January, 2018/ August 2018/ June 9, 2020/ August 11, 2020/ February 8, 2022/June 13, 2023

LEGAL REFS.: C.R.S. 22-1-102 (definition of district resident)

C.R.S. 22-32-109 (1) (ll) (Board duty to adopt policies requiring enrollment decisions to be made in a nondiscriminatory manner)

C.R.S. 22-32-110 (1) (m) (power to fix boundaries)

C.R.S. 22-36-101 et seq. (open enrollment)

C.R.S. 22-36-107 (inbound active duty military families open enrollment and registration)

1 CCR 301-8, Rules 4.03 and 8.07 (prohibiting administrative units from inquiring about a transferring child´s IEP or disability status until after the child has been admitted)

CROSS REFS.: EEA, Student Transportation

IHBG, Home Schooling

JC, School Attendance Areas

JFABD, Homeless Students

JFABE*, Students in Foster Care

JFBB, Inter-District Choice/Open Enrollment

JJJ, Extracurricular Activity Eligibility