FILE:  JBCE

PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE

The Lincoln Parish School Board is required by both state 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 Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE).  School Choice allows eligible students to transfer to an academically acceptable schools.

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 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.

PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE FOR ACADEMICALLY UNACCEPTABLE SCHOOLS

The parent or other legal guardian of any student may seek to enroll his or her child in the public school of his or her choice provided that:

1. the public school in which the student was most recently enrolled, or would otherwise attend, was determined to be academically unacceptable (AUS) for the most recent school year pursuant to the State’s school accountability system; and,
   
   

2. the school in which the student seeks enrollment has not received, for the most recent school year, a determination that it is AUS and has not been identified for school improvement 1 or higher for subgroup component failure pursuant to the State’s school accountability system.
   
   

3. The School Board reserves the right to determine which academically acceptable schools are available to receive students from schools identified as academically unacceptable.  If more than one school is eligible to receive students, the School Board shall offer at least two (2) choices to eligible students.

Notification

Notification of parents of their school choice eligibility and 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 due to their status as academically unacceptable.  If there are no choice options available, this information shall be included in the notification sent to parents.

Assignment of Students

If an eligible student exercises the option to transfer to another public school, the School Board shall permit the student to remain in that school until he or she has completed the highest grade in the school and shall provide transportation to the student.

All students in any academically unacceptable school shall be eligible to transfer.  However, the School Board shall give priority to students from the lowest performing schools.

The School Board shall take into account the parents’ preferences among any options offered in determining a student’s school assignment.

The School Board may consider health and safety factors in determining the transfer options available.

PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE FOR “D”- AND “F”- RATED SCHOOLS

The parent or legal guardian of any student may seek to enroll his/her child in the public school of his or 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 School Board shall define “capacity” for each school, and 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 Capacity

1. The primary obligation of the School Board is to provide for the enrollment of students who reside within Lincoln Parish and more specifically to provide for enrollment of students in Lincoln Parish in the schools aligned with duly established attendance zones.  Therefore, the School Board will not enroll Louisiana Public School Choice students 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, the School Board will verify whether the school to which the student is sought to be enrolled has sufficient capacity.
   
   

3. The capacity verification shall take into account grade level and special program requirement, such as gifted and talented or special needs and shall be made on a school by school basis after the official student count on October 1 of each school year.
   
   

4. For purposes of determining capacity, as determined by district staffing policy, and 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 would 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.

The Superintendent shall be authorized to develop pertinent administrative regulations and procedures governing students seeking enrollment under the provisions of the Louisiana Public School Choice Act and this School Board 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.

Student assignments made pursuant to this policy and the provisions of the Louisiana Public School Choice Act shall be for one school year or the remainder 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, 10-20-04, 10-7-14, 4-4-17, 5-2-17, 11-2-21, 9-6-22

Lincoln Parish School Board