FILE:  JBCE

 

PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE

 

 

PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE

 

The Iberville Parish School Board is required by both Federal law and the Louisiana School Accountability Program to develop and maintain a Public School Choice policy for any school with a School Performance Score (SPS) below levels set by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE).  School Choice allows eligible students to transfer to an academically acceptable school.

 

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 possibly accommodate students from schools offering choice, including students with special needs and/or students with disabilities.  Only those schools that are labeled academically acceptable shall be considered eligible to receive students.

 

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, which students shall have priority in transferring, and all other regulations and procedures for supervising school choice within the school district.

 

Notification

 

Notification of parents of their school choice options shall be sent as early as possible, but not later than the first day of the school year for the schools that are required to offer choice.  If there are no choice options available, this information shall be included in the notification sent parents.

 

Eligibility of Students

 

All students in a school required to offer choice shall be eligible to transfer.  However, the School Board shall give priority to the students from the lowest performing schools.

 

LOUISIANA PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE

 

Unless a violation of a court order, the parent or legal guardian of any 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.

 

The Iberville Parish School Board shall determine a transfer request period which shall begin no later than March first and end no earlier than March twenty-eighth, annually.  Prior to the transfer request period, the School Board shall notify parents and legal guardians of students enrolled in schools that received a D or F school performance letter grade of the following:

 

  1. The provisions of the Louisiana Public School Choice policy;

  2. 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.

 

Verification of Initial Eligibility

 

  1. Documentation of the prior school enrollment of the student shall be provided; such as report card or official correspondence.

  2. The system shall verify that the school of prior enrollment was most recently assessed as a “D” or “F”.

  3. The parent or guardian shall identify the school to which the student is seeking to be enrolled, and the School Board shall verify that such school was most recently assessed as a “C” or better.

 

Verification of Capacity

 

  1. The primary obligation of the School Board shall be to provide for the enrollment of students who reside within Iberville Parish and more specifically to provide for enrollment of students in Iberville Parish in the schools aligned with duly established attendance zones.  Therefore, the School Board shall not enroll students under Louisiana Public School Choice provisions to the extent that such enrollment may conflict with this primary obligation.

  2. Upon receipt of an application for enrollment under Louisiana Public School Choice provisions, the School Board shall verify whether the school to which the student is seeking to be enrolled has sufficient capacity.

  3. The capacity verification shall take into account grade level and special program requirements, such as gifted and talented and shall be made on a school by school basis.

  4. For purposes of determining capacity, any school which has an anticipated enrollment of greater than eighty percent (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 a Louisiana Public School Choice enrollment.  Any school that has portables or modular buildings shall be considered at capacity.

  5. Upon such a determination, the parent will be advised that the school to which enrollment is sought has insufficient capacity.

  6. The verification of capacity shall be an annual determination for the re- enrollment of Louisiana Public School Choice students for each subsequent year.

 

Excess Applications

 

  1. In the even the number of applications for enrollment exceeds the capacity in any particular school, students enrolled in the school for the prior year shall have preference.

  2. If, after enrolling all prior year student applicants exceed the remaining capacity, applicants will be selected at random until capacity is no longer available.

 

Athletic Eligibility

 

Parents and guardians shall be responsible for contacting the Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) to determine the eligibility of the student for participation in varsity sports. In order to participate in varsity sports sanctioned by the LHSAA, students must have written approval of the LHSAA.

 

Transportation

 

All transportation to the Schools of Choice shall be provided by the Iberville Parish School District.

 

Ineligibility

 

A student meeting any of the following shall be ineligible to enroll as a Louisiana Public School Choice student:

 

  1. The student was expelled for disciplinary reasons in the preceding school year;

  2. The student was suspended more than once in the preceding school year;

  3. The student was involved in more than one fight or other acts of violence on school grounds in the preceding school year;

  4. The student was found in possession of any illicit drug or narcotic on school grounds the preceding school year;

  5. The student has more than ten (10) unexcused absences during the preceding school year.

 

After enrollment a student shall be ineligible to continue enrollment as a Louisiana Public School Choice student if any of the following apply:

 

  1. The student is suspended more than once in the school year;

  2. The student is expelled for disciplinary reasons during the school year;

  3. The student is involved in more than one fight or other act of violence on school grounds during the school year;

  4. The student is found in possession of any illicit drug or narcotic on school grounds during the school year;

  5. The student has more than ten (10) unexcused absences during the school year.

 

Consent Of Home School District

 

No student may enroll without the written consent of the School Board, with which the student was previously enrolled, to both of the following:

 

  1. To make payment to the School Board in an amount equal to the Iberville Parish School Board local per student amount recognized in the Minimum Foundation Program for the school year in which the student seeks to enroll, in proportion to the portion of the school year during which the student is enrolled, and the appropriate local share of capital expenditures; and

  2. To provide records and information necessary for the School Board to determine the student’s eligibility/ineligibility.

 

Guidelines For Public School Choice

 

  1. Students who exercise the option of Louisiana Public School Choice shall adhere to all Iberville Parish School Board rules and regulations at the receiving schools.

  2. Students shall remain at the choice school for the entire school year.  They cannot return to the original school during the school year.

  3. Students shall wear the uniform of their new choice school.

  4. Students may remain at the choice school until they have completed the highest grade in the school.

  5. All Request for Transfer forms must be completed and returned to the student’s current school no later than time and date set by the School Board.

 

PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM OF CHOICE

 

For the purposes of this policy, a program of choice shall mean a public high school program that allows a student to concurrently pursue a high school diploma and one of the following:

 

  1. A postsecondary degree, credential, or certificate.

  2. A state-registered apprenticeship or pre-apprenticeship.

 

A student may enroll in a program of choice offered within his/her school system, without regard to attendance zones, provided that both of the following apply: 

 

  1. The program of choice and the high school offering the program have available capacity at the appropriate grade level.

  2. The program of choice is not offered at the public high school in which the student was most recently enrolled or would otherwise attend.

 

Capacity for each high school and each program of shall be determined as provided above under Louisiana Public School Choice, and the transfer request period shall be the same as for Louisiana Public School Choice.

 

The School Board shall determine and make available the process for submitting a transfer request, admission requirements, if any, for each program of choice, and the process for requesting review by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in accordance with La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:4035.1 of a denial of a request to transfer to a program of choice.

 

The School Board shall partner with local businesses and public postsecondary education institutions to grow programs of choice that are relevant to the school's local area and to the state and that lead to careers in high-demand, high-paying fields, and work to ensure that programs of choice are evenly distributed, to the greatest extent possible, among the high schools in the school system.

 

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

 

The provisions of this policy shall not be construed as requiring a high school or a program of choice with selective admission requirements to enroll a student who does not meet the admission requirements, regardless of whether the school or program of choice has available capacity.

 

Revised:  August 10, 2015

Revised:  October 11, 2021

Revised:  April 11, 2022

Revised:  September 12, 2022

 

 

Ref:    La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:105, 17:4035.1, 17:4035.2

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

Board minutes, 8-10-15, 10-11-21, 4-11-22, 9-12-22

 

Iberville Parish School Board