3120.1P: Attendance Area Transfers

 

It is expected a student will enroll in their attendance area school unless they have been approved to attend a different school within the District. Attendance area transfers include all transfers between schools within the District and can be requested through Open Transfer, Request to Remain forms or by submitting a Transfer Request Waitlist Application. 

Criteria for Attendance Area Transfers 

All transfers between schools may be approved or denied based on the following criteria: 

1. Enrollment numbers (or projected enrollment numbers) for the building and specific grade level at both the attendance area and requested schools. 

2. Staffing levels (or projected staffing levels) at both the attendance area and requested schools. 

3. Building or program capacity. 

4. A school’s ability to meet the educational needs of its existing students as well potential transfer students at both grade level and program level.  Each year, the District shall determine each school’s threshold for accepting transfer students by both grade level and program, to include capacity to provide Student Health Services, Special Education Services, Multilingual Learner services, and Advanced Learning services. If the student has an active truancy petition or has obtained the number of absences required for a truancy petition. Generally, no in-school suspensions, emergency expulsions, long-term suspensions, or expulsions. 

Considerations 

1. Transportation for elementary and middle school students approved for Attendance Area Transfers is the responsibility of the parent. High school students may be provided with a bus pass to access public transportation. 

2. Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) eligibility rules apply to all high school students who transfer between schools. 

3. A student who has been attending a school for a minimum of two years as a resident student and moves within the boundaries of the District to a new attendance area may continue to attend the same school if the applicable Request to Remain form (secondary or elementary) is submitted to and approved by the Student Placement office. 

4. Students with an approved request to remain to complete the school level, may continue in the approved school feeder pattern through graduation. If the approved school feeds to two schools at the next school level, the next level school assignment will be determined by the District, depending on capacity at the time when changing school levels.

Limitations 

1. Approved Attendance Area Transfers are discontinued at the time the student leaves the school for any reason or if the student withdraws or is withdrawn from the District. 

2. Attendance Area Transfers may be discontinued based on the “Criteria for Attendance Area Transfers” above. 

3. Students approved to attend a school through an Attendance Area Transfer may be required to return to their attendance area school or transfer to another school if the enrollment in the school or grade level at the school in which they are enrolled increases to the point where there would be inadequate space for transfer students. Enrollment increases may be caused by an influx of new students within a school’s existing boundaries or by the addition of new resident students to the school as the result of a boundary change or movement or expansion of a District Program. 

Any parent or student aggrieved by a decision under this procedure may file a written appeal with the Superintendent or designee. 

Request to Remain 

Students who wish to remain at their initial enrollment school after moving to a different attendance area within the District may continue enrollment. These transfer requests for the current school year will be considered based on the “Criteria for Attendance Area Transfers” above; with the specific considerations by enrollment level stated below. 

Elementary 

Each elementary request will also be considered and acted on by the Student Placement Office based on actual or projected enrollment numbers, staffing levels and the building or program capacity of both schools. 

Secondary 

Secondary students enrolled in a Choice Program or self-contained Advanced Learning services who wish to opt out may do so and remain at their initial secondary enrollment school and in the feeder pattern. 

A. Time Schedule 

1. Request to Remain applications will be accepted for the current school year. 

2. Requests may be submitted at any time during the school year but will typically be in conjunction with the change of residence notification. The parent must notify the District within five (5) days of changing residence. 

B. Process 

1. Submit the applicable Request to Remain application (elementary or secondary) to the Student Placement office at StudentPlacement@bsd405.org. 

2. Parents will be notified of the decision via the email address provided on the form. 

C. Limitations 

Once approved, a Request to Remain may be revoked for the following reasons - based on the "Criteria for Attendance Area Transfers."

     1.  Enrollment numbers, staffing levels and building or program capacity.

2. If it is found that the move to a different attendance area occurred prior to the start of the entry grade level (kindergarten for elementary, 6th grade for middle school and 9th grade for high school). 

Open Transfer 

Transfer Requests for the next school year are primarily requested through the Open Transfer process. Students who miss the Open Transfer process may submit a Transfer Request Waitlist Application. This process is also for nonresident children of eligible District employees. 

A. Application Process 

1. Annually, a period of approximately six weeks will be established and communicated by the Student Placement office via the district website. All eligible submissions received will be acted upon at the close of the Open Transfer application period. 

2. The "Criteria for Attendance Area Transfers" are used to determine if students will be admitted to the requested school. 

3. Applications are accepted through an online process via the district website. Families who do not have internet access may use a kiosk at any school or at the district office. Assistance is available to complete the online application.

4. A separate application will be submitted for each student, even in the case of twins and other siblings in the same grade level. These students will be considered together if placement is offered. 

5. Students may only apply to one school, and only one application will be accepted. 

B. Priority Levels

1. Students who are children of eligible employees or students with a sibling placed at the requested school in a Special Education centered program have first-tier priority. Students with a sibling at the requested school by Attendance Area Transfer, Choice Language programs or Advanced Learning have second-tier priority. 
2. If the student who is applying has a sibling at the requested school the applying sibling will have priority in admission providing that both siblings will attend the school together for a minimum of one year. The incoming sibling must apply during the Open Transfer application period or submit a Transfer Request Waitlist application if they wish to invoke sibling preference. However, admission is not guaranteed. 

C. Lottery Procedure

1. All Open Transfer applications received during the application period will be considered equally and all eligible applicants will be placed in a general lottery following the close of the application period.
2. All lotteries will be conducted by Student Placement and are closed to the public. Lottery numbers will be assigned using a random number generator.
3. Qualified applicants will then be placed on the requested school list by grade level in the order of their general lottery number. Applicants with priority, children of eligible District employees and those having sibling preference, will be moved to the top of each list.
4. Available spots will be offered to students by their list order, those not offered placement will be placed on a waitlist.

D. School Acceptance

1. If a student is accepted to a school, the parent will have one week to accept the placement offer. If there is no reply or if the offer is declined, it will be rescinded, and placement may be offered to the next student on the waitlist.
2. New students will need to enroll within 2 weeks of acceptance or within the time frame communicated by Student Placement. Failure to do so in the time- frame communicated may result in the offer to the school being rescinded
3. If granted, the transfer will commence on the first day of the next school year.

 

E. Waitlists 

It is important to remember, waitlists are dynamic, your student may move up or down on the list depending on priority levels and decisions of all other applicants on the list. If a student is placed on a waitlist, the parent should plan on the student attending their attendance area school.

1. Students not accepted through Open Transfer will be placed on a waitlist in the order of their general lottery number. 
2. If a student is offered placement from the waitlist, the parent will typically have one week to accept the placement offer. Quick turnaround offers require a next day reply and immediate enrollment for new students.
3.  If there is no reply or the offer is declined, it will be rescinded, and placement may be offered to the next student on the waitlist.
4. Student Placement will continue to look at enrollment numbers and may offer placement through the second week of the upcoming school year. If space becomes available, families will be contacted immediately as it is important to get students placed in school as soon as possible. 
5. Additional placements (typically in late August) may be offered to alleviate overcrowding at a school; in this case, students from the overcapacity school will be offered placement to their requested school without regard to their waitlist number.
6. Open Transfer waitlists will close on October 1st and will not be carried over from year to year. 

 

F. Limitations

1. All students accepted through Open Transfer must attend their new school by the day of the state-wide enrollment count – the 4th day of school. Open Transfer students not at school by that day may have their Open Transfer placement rescinded, and the placement may be offered to the next student on the waitlist. 
2. Students may return to their attendance area school but, once an Open Transfer offer is declined or an accepted offer is canceled it is rescinded and placement may be offered to the next student on the waitlist; therefore, not available for later consideration.
3. Parents of students placed in a District centered program (Advanced Learning or Special Education) who wish to change schools must work with the appropriate department – Advanced Learning or Special Education. These requests are not Attendance Area Transfer requests. 

Transfer Request Waitlist Application

Students who would like to change schools for the upcoming school year but missed the Open Transfer application period, may follow this process. 

A. Process 

1. Applications are accepted through an online process via district website. 

2. Applicants will be added to the bottom of the Open Transfer waitlist of the requested school by grade level in the order received for future Open Transfer consideration (see “Open Transfer, B. Waitlists” above for waitlist procedure). 

3. Sibling preference will apply as described in the Open Transfer process above. 

4. If there is capacity, parents will be notified via the email address provided with the request.