FILE:  JBCE

PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE

PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE

The Richland 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 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.

Capacity for each school shall be defined as eighty percent (80%) of the adequate total student capacity at schools and grade levels at which the students seek to enroll, provided that a school is utilizing portable or modular buildings shall be considered at capacity.  The School Board shall not be obligated to hire additional teachers or staff to grant enrollment requests under public school choice.  For purposes of determining capacity, as determined by School Board staffing guidelines, a school which as an anticipated enrollment of greater than eighty percent (80%) of its adequate student capacity in the grade in which the students seek to enroll shall be deemed to have insufficient capacity to allow for enrollment under public school choice.  Capacity may also be adjusted downward due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements, damage resulting from natural disasters, or other factors of a similar nature.  The transfer request period shall begin March 1st and end March 28th, 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.

Transportation shall not be provided to a student who enrolls in a public school that is located outside the geographic boundaries of the School Board in which the student resides, if providing such transportation will result in additional cost to the School Board.

The Superintendent shall be authorized to develop pertinent administrative regulations and procedures governing students seeking enrollment under the Louisiana Public School Choice section of this policy.  Such regulations and procedures shall include entering into interdistrict agreements with other city, parish, or local School Boards to provide for the admission of students, and the transfer of school funds or other payments by one School Board to another for, or on account of, such attendance.

Enrollment under Louisiana Public School Choice shall only be for one school year, or applicable portion thereof if a student enrolls after the start of the school year.

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.

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, 10-12-04, 10-8-13, 4-10-18, 10-7-21, 4-12-22, 9-13-22

Richland Parish School Board