ADMISSION OF STUDENTS PARTICIPATING UNDER OPEN ENROLLMENT | Administrative Guideline Manual

5113 - ADMISSION OF STUDENTS PARTICIPATING UNDER OPEN ENROLLMENT

The School District will participate in the Wisconsin Public School Open Enrollment Program in accordance with applicable law and the relevant policies and rules of the District, all as amended from time-to-time. More specifically, the District, in administering its participation will:

harmonize to the extent possible Sections 118.145(4), 118.51, 118.52;
take account, as appropriate, of individual rights under the Wisconsin and United States Constitution.

Full-Time Open Enrollment

Application Procedures for Nonresident Students

Applications from nonresidents for full-time open enrollment into a District school must:
1. be submitted on the form provided by the Department of Public Instruction ("DPI"); and
2. be received between the first Monday in February and the last weekday in April, unless otherwise provided by the DPI or as described in Section K, below - Alternative Application Procedures.

If a student submits applications to more than three (3) nonresident school districts, all applications submitted are invalid.

Untimely applications will not be processed nor will the review process be delayed by failure to submit supporting documentation. Copies of all nonresident student applications will be sent to the resident school district of each nonresident student and the DPI no later than the first weekday after the last weekday in April, unless otherwise provided by the DPI.

The District shall provide to any nonresident district to which a resident student with a disability has applied for open enrollment a copy of the student’s Individualized Education Program no later than the first Friday following the first Monday in May.

Timetable for Decisions on Applications

District decisions on full-time open enrollment applications will be made after April 30th and no later than the Friday following the first Monday in June, unless otherwise provided by the DPI.
Procedure for Processing of Open Enrollment Applications

If there are more applications than spaces, the Board will fill the available spaces by random selection, provided that first priority will be given to nonresident students already attending District schools and their siblings.

If the District determines that space is not otherwise available for open enrollment students in the grade or program to which an individual has applied, the District may nevertheless accept an applicant, who is already attending school in the District.
Decisional Criteria for Nonresident Applications

Decisions on nonresident open enrollment applications will be based only on the following criteria:
1. The availability of space in the schools, programs, classes, or grades within the District. In determining the amount of space available, the District will count resident students, students attending the District for whom tuition is paid under 121.78(1)(a), Wis. Stats. and may include in its counted occupied spaces students and siblings of students who have applied under Section 118.51(3)(a) or (3m)(a) and are already attending public school in the District. Other factors the District Administrator may consider include:
  1. District practices, policies, procedures or other factors regarding class size ranges for particular programs or classes.
  2. District practices, policies, procedures or other factors regarding faculty-student ratio ranges for particular programs, classes, or buildings.
  3. Enrollment projections for the schools of the District which include, but are not limited to, the following factors: the likely short and long-term economic development in the community, projected student transfers in and out of the District, preference requirements for siblings of nonresident open enrollment students, the required length of K-12 attendance opportunities for open enrollment students and current and future space needs for special programs, laboratories (e.g. in technology or foreign languages) or similar District educational initiatives.
2. Whether an applicant for a pre-kindergarten, four (4) year old kindergarten, early childhood or school operated day care program resides in a district which offers the program for which application is made.
3. Whether the nonresident student has been expelled from any school district within the current school year or the two (2) preceding school years, or has any pending disciplinary proceeding, based on any of the following activities:
  1. Conveying or causing to be conveyed any threat or false information concerning an attempt or alleged attempt being made or to be made to destroy school property by means of explosives.
  2. Engaging in conduct while at school or under school supervision that endangered the health, safety or property of others.
  3. Engaging in conduct while not at school or while not under the supervision of a school authority that endangered the health, safety, or property of others at school or under the supervision of a school authority or of any school employee or Board member.
  4. Possessing a dangerous weapon (as defined in Section 939.22(10), Wis. Stats.) while on school property or under school supervision.
    
    Notwithstanding the Board’s acceptance of a nonresident student’s application, the Board may withdraw acceptance if, prior to the beginning of the first school year in which the nonresident student will attend a school in the District, s/he is determined to fall under any of the above.
    
    The Board may request a copy of a nonresident student’s disciplinary records from the resident School Board.
4. Whether the special education program or related services described in the nonresident student’s individualized education program ("IEP") are available in the District.
5. Whether there is space available in the District to provide the special education or related services identified in the nonresident student’s IEP, after consideration of class size limits, student-teacher ratios, and enrollment projections.
6. Whether the non-resident student has been referred to his/her resident school board under Wis. Stat. § 115.777(1) or identified by his/her resident school board under Wis. Stat. 115.77(1m) (a), but not yet evaluated by an individualized education program team.
  
  If a nonresident student’s IEP is developed or changed after starting in the District, and it is then discovered that the District does not have necessary programs available or does not have space in the special education program, the District may notify the student’s parent and the student’s resident school board. If such notice is provided, the nonresident may be transferred to his/her resident school district.
7. If the Board has made a determination that a non-resident student attending the District under the Open Enrollment Program is habitually truant from the District during either semester of the current school year, the Board may prohibit the student from attending in the succeeding semester or school year.
  
  The truancy determination shall be made on the sole basis of enrollment in the nonresident district. Open enrollment may not be denied based on the student’s truancy from any other district.
Notice of Decisions

Written notice of acceptance or denial of nonresident applications must be sent to all applicants on or before the first Friday following the first Monday in June. Nonresident students whose applications are accepted shall be notified of the specific school or program that the student may attend the following school year.

The District shall notify any resident student and the nonresident school district if the Board denies enrollment in the nonresident district in writing by the second Friday following the first Monday in June.

Notices of denial will include a reason for the determination.
1. Additional Notices When a Nonresident Student is Accepted
  
  If the Board approves an open enrollment application of a nonresident student it will also send the following notices:
  1. written notice to the applicant no later than the first Friday following the first Monday in June of the specific school or program that the applicant may attend during the following school year; and
  2. notice to the resident School Board no later than July 7th stating the name of the student.
    
    The parents or guardians of an accepted nonresident student must notify the Board no later than the last Friday in June of the student’s intent to attend school in the District during the following school year.

If an accepted nonresident student has not attended school in the district by the third Friday in September, the open enrollment is terminated.

Additional Notice When a Nonresident Student is Not Accepted but Placed on the Established Waiting List

If space becomes available, the student on the waiting list will be notified in the order in which s/he appears on the list. The student will be sent notice that space is now available and the school to which the student will be placed. The notice will also state that the applicant has ten (10) days to accept the offer of open enrollment from the postmarked date on the notice.

When a selected applicant notifies the District that the open enrollment position is being rejected or fails to respond within ten (10) days, the offer will be rescinded and the space will be offered to the next applicant on the waiting list. The District will continue to notify students on the waiting list of available spaces up to the third Thursday in September of the school year for which the waiting list applies, provided that the student will begin attendance no later than the third Friday in September. A non-resident student accepted for enrollment once the school year has begun may attend the District even if the student has already attended school in the resident school district, but not if the student has enrolled in the current term in another non-resident school district.

Disciplinary Records

The District shall provide the disciplinary records of any resident student that applies for enrollment in a non-resident school district. Such disciplinary records should include, but are not limited to: A copy of any expulsion findings and orders pertaining to the student; a copy of any records of any pending disciplinary proceedings and the length of term of the expulsion; or the possible outcomes of the pending disciplinary proceedings. Such records shall be provided no later than the first Friday following the first Monday in May or within ten (10) days of an application under the Alternative Application Procedures (Section K below).

Reapplication Procedures

The Board will not require accepted non-resident students to reapply under the open enrollment policy as long as the student is continuously enrolled in the District.
Transportation

The parents or guardians of a student attending a nonresident school district will be solely responsible for providing transportation to and from the school site. The District will provide transportation for a non-resident student with an identified disability for whom transportation is required by his/her IEP.
Tuition Waivers

Students are eligible for tuition waivers as follows:
1. Current Year Permissive
  
  When the student was:
  1. a resident of the School District on July 1st;
  2. enrolled in the School District on July 1st of the current school year; and
  3. after July 1st changes residence by moving to a new school district.

The District may permit the student to complete the school year. The school district of attendance (the nonresident school district) counts the student in membership.

Current Year Mandatory

When the student:
1. was a resident of the School District and enrolled on either the third Friday in September or the second Friday in January of the current school year;
2. was enrolled in the School District for at least twenty (20) school days during the current school year; and
3. changes residence by moving to a new school district.

The District must permit the student to complete the school year. The school district of attendance (the nonresident school district) counts the student in membership.

"Additional Year" Mandatory

When the student:
1. was a resident of the School District on the second Friday in January of the previous school year;
2. was enrolled in the School District continuously from the second Friday in January of the previous school year to the end of the school term of the previous school year;
3. ceased to be a resident of the School District after the first Monday in February of the previous school year; and
4. continues to be a resident of Wisconsin.

The District must permit the student to attend the school year following the year in which the criteria are met. The resident district counts the student in membership and DPI transfers the open enrollment amount to the nonresident district.

Rights and Privileges of Nonresident Students

Nonresident students attending school in the District on a full-time basis will have all of the rights and privileges of resident students and will be subject to the same rules and regulations as resident students.
Alternative Application Procedures
1. Basis for Open Enrollment Outside Regular Deadlines:
  
  The parent of a non-resident student who wishes to attend a school in the District may apply at any time throughout the year by submitting an application under this alternative application procedure if the student satisfies at least one of the following criteria and has not applied to more than three (3) non-resident school districts:
  1. The resident school board determines that the non-resident student has been the victim of a violent criminal offense, as defined by the Department of Public Instruction. An application is not valid unless the District receives the application within thirty (30) days after the determination of the resident school board.
  2. The student is or has been a homeless student in the current or immediately preceding school year. In this subdivision, "homeless student" means an individual who is included in the category of homeless children and youths, as defined in Policy 5111.01 – Homeless Students.
  3. The non-resident student has been the victim of repeated bullying or harassment and all of the following apply:
    1. The student’s parent has reported the bullying or harassment to the resident school board.
    2. Despite action taken by the parents and/or the resident school district the repeated bullying and harassment continues.
  4. The place of residence of the student’s parent or guardian and of the student has changed as a result of military orders. An application is not valid unless the District receives the application no later than thirty (30) days after the date on which the military orders changing the place of residence were issued.
  5. The student moved into the state, but resides in another District. An application made on the basis is not valid unless the District receives the application no later than thirty (30) days after moving into this state.
  6. The place of residence of the student has changed as a result of a court order or custody agreement or because the student was placed in a foster home or with a person other than the student’s parent, or removed from a foster home or from the home of a person other than the student’s parent. An application is not valid unless the District receives the application no later than thirty (30) days after the student’s change in residence.
  7. The parent of the non-resident student, the resident school board, and the Board agree that attending school in the District is in the best interests of the student.
  8. The parent of a non-resident student and the Board agree, upon application by the parent, that attending school in the District is in the best interests of the student. The District shall immediately forward a copy of the application to the student’s resident district and shall inform the parent of its decision regarding the student’s best interests within twenty (20) days of receipt of the application. If approved, the written decision shall include a designation of which school and/or program the student may enroll in.
2. Decisions Regarding Resident Students Seeking Enrollment out of the District under the Alternative Procedure
  
  The Board shall review all applications received for Open Enrollment out of the District under this section upon receipt. The District shall allow such student’s enrollment in a non-resident district unless the District determines that the criteria relied on by the applicant to qualify for the alternative application procedure does not apply to the student.
3. Appeal Procedures
  
  If the District rejects the application of a resident student despite agreement by the parent and a nonresident school district that the interests of the student are best served by enrollment in the non-resident school district, the parent may appeal the decision to the State Department of Public Instruction. The decision of the State Superintendent will be final.
  
  If the District rejects the application because a special education or a related service is not available, the student’s parent(s) may appeal the decision to the State Department of Public Instruction within thirty (30) days after the receipt of the notice.
4. If a non-resident student is notified that the Board has approved his or her application to enroll in the District because it is in the best interests of the student, the student may immediately begin attending the school or program in the nonresident school district and shall begin attending the school or program no later than the 15th day following receipt by the parent or the student of the notice of acceptance from the District. If the nonresident student has not enrolled in or attended school in the District by then, the District may notify the student’s parent in writing, that the student is no longer authorized to attend the school or program in the District.