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 consideration of 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. If the student is in good standing. Good standing is defined as follows:
   • Attendance: Generally, no more than 10% (9) unexcused absences per semester and, no more than 10% (9) unexcused tardies per semester.
   • Discipline: Generally, no in-school suspensions, emergency expulsions, long-term suspensions, or expulsions.
   • Academics: Generally, Cs or better (2.0 GPA or better).
5. 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, English Language Learner services, and Differentiated Advanced Learning services.

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 during the last two grades of that grade span (grades 4 or 5 for elementary, 8 for middle or 11 or 12 for high school), may continue to attend the same school providing that the applicable Request to Remain form (secondary or elementary) is submitted to and approved by the Student Placement office.
4. Students in 12 grade who move out of an attendance area in the District will be allowed to stay through graduation even if they are not otherwise eligible, providing that the required documents are submitted to the Student Placement Office.

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 consideration of Attendance Area Transfers” above.
3. Before the transfer of a student is terminated for failure to remain in good standing, the parent will be notified that the student’s continued attendance at the school or program is in jeopardy. Should a decision be made to terminate the student’s transfer under this provision, the parent will be notified and may appeal that termination to the Superintendent’s designee within three days of the notification.
4. 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 with a complaint about compliance with this procedure may follow the
complaint process outlined in Procedure 4220P.

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 at the school provided that the student is in and remains in good standing. These transfer requests for the current school year will be considered based on the “Criteria for consideration of 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 supervisor 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 if in good standing.

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.
3. If the request to remain is denied, transfer to the new attendance area school will occur at the semester for secondary students and for elementary students at the next natural break or earlier if the parent so requests.

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. Considerations

1. Requests to remain will be approved or denied based on the “Criteria for consideration of Attendance Area Transfers” and the stated enrollment level specific considerations.
2. The student must be in good standing at their current school.
3. The family move must have occurred after the start of the entry level grade (kindergarten for elementary school, 6thgrade for middle school and 9th grade for high school).
4. To the extent allowed under Policy 3120, an approved request to remain, continues until the student completes the education level (elementary, middle, or high school).
5. If the student is not eligible to complete the school level, the request may be approved to complete the school year; transfer to the new attendance area will begin at the start of the new school year.

D. Limitations

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

1. The student is not in good standing.
2. Enrollment numbers, staffing levels and building or program capacity.
3. 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).

Transfer Requests for the next school year

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.

Open Transfer

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 consideration of Attendance Area Transfers" are used to determine if students will be admitted to a specific school.
3. Applications are accepted through an online process on the District website. Students may only apply to one school and only one application will be accepted. Multiple applications for the same student will result in all applications being rejected. Families who do not have internet access may use a kiosk at any school or at the District office. If additional assistance is needed families may contact Student Placement to ensure their student's information is entered into the online application.
4. 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. 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. Available spots will be offered to students by their list order, those not offered placement will be placed on a waitlist. All lotteries will be conducted by Student Placement and are closed to the public. The transfer, if granted, will commence on the first day of the next school year.
5. 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.
6. 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 sibling priority. Students with a sibling at the requested school by Attendance Area Transfer, Choice Language programs or Advanced Learning have second-tier sibling priority.
7. 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.
8. All students accepted to a school through Open Transfer will be required to establish residency. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.

B. Waitlists

1. Students not accepted through Open Transfer will be placed on a waitlist in the order of their general lottery number. If a student is placed on a waitlist, the parent should plan on the student attending their attendance area school. 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.
2. 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.
3. Open Transfer waitlists will not be carried over from year to year.

C. Limitations

1. All students accepted through Open Transfer must be in attendance at 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 will have their Open Transfer placement rescinded
   and the placement may be offered to the next student on the waitlist.

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 on the 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. Parents will be notified of the decision via the email address provided with the request.