The school district will participate in open enrollment as a sending district. As a sending district, the board will allow resident students who meet the requirements to open enroll to another public school district.
Parents requesting open enrollment out of the school district for their student shall notify the school district no later than March 1 in the year preceding the first year desired for open enrollment. The notice shall be made on forms provided by the Department of Education. The forms are available at the central administration office.
Parents of children who will begin kindergarten in the school district are exempt from the open enrollment March 1 deadline. Parents of children who will begin kindergarten shall file in the same manner set forth above by September 1. Parents who have good cause as defined by law for failing to meet the March 1 deadline may make an open enrollment request in the same manner set forth above.
Open enrollment requests out of the school district that, if denied, would result in students from the same nuclear family being enrolled in different school districts, will be given highest priority. Other open enrollment requests out of the school district shall be considered in the order received by the school district with the first open enrollment request given a higher priority than the second open enrollment request and so forth.
The board shall take action on the open enrollment request by March 15 in the year preceding the first year desired for open enrollment. The parents may withdraw the open enrollment request prior to the start of the school year.
The superintendent shall notify the parents by mail within three days of the board's action to approve or deny the open enrollment request. Approved open enrollment requests shall be transmitted by the superintendent to the receiving district chosen by the parents within five days after the board's action on the open enrollment request.
The board will not approve a student's request to allow the receiving district to enter the school district for the purposes of transportation.
Open Enrollment Out of the School District to an Alternative Receiving District
Parents of students attending the school district under open enrollment may make an open enrollment request to a different public school district, an alternative receiving district, within the time period of the original open enrollment request. This open enrollment request shall be filed in the same manner as other open enrollment requests no later than March 1 in the year preceding the first year desired for open enrollment in the alternative receiving district.
It shall be within the discretion of the board to approve or deny the open enrollment request to an alternative receiving district. In exercising that discretion, the board may consider several factors including, but not limited to, the potential impact of the transfer on the student, the effectiveness of the education program, the financial situation of the school district and other factors deemed relevant by the superintendent and the board. The board shall take action on the open enrollment request to the alternative receiving district at the next regular board meeting. Prior to the board's action, parents may withdraw the open enrollment request.
The superintendent shall notify the parents by mail within five days of the board's action to approve or deny the open enrollment request to an alternative receiving district. Approved open enrollment requests shall be transmitted by the superintendent to the alternative receiving district chosen by the parents within five days after the board's action on the open enrollment request.
Approved open enrollment requests to an alternative receiving district shall be effective the following semester or at the beginning of the next school year. It shall be within the discretion of the board to make the open enrollment request to an alternative receiving district effective immediately based upon the circumstances of the open enrollment request and with mutual agreement of the alternative receiving district's board.
Renewal of Open Enrollment Requests
An open enrollment request out of the school district from parents of a special education student shall be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The determining factor for approval of such an open enrollment request will be whether the special education program available in the receiving school district is appropriate for the student's needs. The area education agency director of special education serving the receiving district shall determine whether the program is appropriate. The special education student shall remain in the school district until the final determination is made. It shall be the responsibility of the superintendent to maintain open enrollment request applications and notice forms. It shall also be the responsibility of the superintendent to develop appropriate office procedures and administrative regulations necessary for open enrollment requests.
Legal Reference: Iowa Code 139.9; 274.1; 279.11; 282.1, .3, .8, .18; 299.1 (2005). 281 I.A.C. 17. 1990 Op. Att’y Gen. 75.
Cross Reference: 501 Student Attendance
506 Student Records
Approved Mar 12, 2007
Reviewed November 15, 2021
Revised November 14, 2016