Choice Enrollment - 3131

The Board of Directors establishes attendance boundaries to support the neighborhood school concept, yet the Board recognizes the need for flexibility and increased options for students for whom attendance at another school is desirable.  Therefore, students shall be allowed to make application to and attend the school of their choice based upon space availability.

Availability of space in the school or program will be determined by the Chief Financial Officer/designee, using the program capacity of the school and projected enrollment.  The number of spaces available for Choice Enrollment for each school or program will be published by the Chief Financial Officer/designee.

A "choice enrollment school" is any school whose geographical attendance area does not include the student's residence.

All students, resident and non-resident, must reapply for Choice Enrollment at each level of instruction (elementary, middle school and high school).

By accepting a Choice enrollment placement, a student forfeits their space in their residential service area school. Should a student desire to return to the school in their assigned attendance area after accepting a Choice placement, they MUST make application through Choice enrollment as outlined within Procedure 3131P.

Students who received placement through Choice Enrollment on or before April 15, 2003 are considered “grandfathered” in their placement.

Resident applicants:

Students residing within the boundaries of the Federal Way School District shall have priority over non-resident students.

The district shall permit the children of full-time certificated and classified intra-district school employees to enroll in the school to which the employee is assigned; or a school forming the district’s K through 12 continuum which includes the school to which the employee is assigned.  “Full time employee” means employees who are employed the full number of hours or days for their job description.

Non-resident applicants:

A Release of Attendance (waiver of claim of attendance reimbursement) from the student’s resident district must accompany the application.

If the student qualifies for Special Education, s/he must be released by the resident district’s Special Education Director/designee and accepted by the Federal Way School District’s Special Education Director/designee.

Non-residents students accepted for placement, who applied during the open enrollment period, shall be allowed to remain at that school or in that program for the grade span of the school or the duration of the program.  Non-resident students receiving placement in a full-time IB or full-time Cambridge program must remain full-time IB or full-time Cambridge students as defined by the school or their placement shall be revoked.

The Superintendent/designee shall provide the non-resident applicant and their resident district written notification of the approval or denial of the application. 

If the application is denied the parent/guardian will be informed of the right to appeal the decision to the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction or his/her designee and the right to appeal to the Board of Directors, if desired, before appealing to the State Superintendent.

The Board of Education shall review this policy annually and reserves the right to deny continued Choice placement to non-resident students based upon the needs of all schools and programs in the district.

The application of a non-resident student may be rejected if:

The student has been expelled or suspended from a public school for more than ten consecutive days; or

The student’s disciplinary records indicate a history of violent or disruptive behavior or gang membership.  (For the purposes of this policy, “gang” means a group, which consists of three or more persons, has identifiable leadership, and on an ongoing basis regularly conspires and acts in concert mainly for criminal purposes.)

Except for students who reside out-of-state, the districtshall accept applications from non-resident students who are the children of full-time certificated and classified school employees, and those students shall be permitted to enroll unless:

The student’s disciplinary records indicate a history of convictions for offenses or crimes, violent or disruptive behavior, or gang membership; or

The student has been expelled or suspended from school for more than ten consecutive days; or

Enrollment of a child would displace a child who is a resident of the district (the child must be permitted to remain enrolled until s/he completes his or her schooling).

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

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

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

Provide transportation to the school of choice.

Communication

All students and parents will be notified of the choice  enrollment policy and procedures using information distributed in all major languages and through a variety of media which may include newspapers, radio, guidance counselors, and school and district newsletters; and

The Superintendent shall submit to the Board annually a report describing the student migration pattern resulting from choice enrollment.

The district reserves the right to base final decisions upon the needs of all schools in the district. 

Legal References:
RCW 28A.225.225     Applications from Non-resident students
RCW 28A.225.270     Intra-district enrollment options
RCW 28A.225.300     Information to Parents
C 36 L03                    Enrolling children Of certificated and classified school employees

Adoption Date:  10/24 /06