FILE:  JBCE

 

PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE

 

 

PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE

 

The Acadia Parish School Board is required by both Federal law and the Louisiana 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 would result, 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.

  3. A transfer request was received from the parent between March 1 and March 28, annually.

 

As used in this policy, the term “capacity” for each school means that such school has an anticipated enrollment of less than 80% of its optimal total student capacity in the grade in which the student seeks to enroll, provided that a school utilizing portable or modular buildings shall be considered at capacity.  Capacity determinations may also be adjusted downward due COVID-19 social distancing requirements, damage resulting from natural disasters, or other factors of a similar nature.

 

NOTICE

 

School choice is governed by the provisions of La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:4035.1 which may be viewed at https://legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=920128.

 

Prior to the March 1 of each year, the School Board shall post on its website a listing of those schools which received a D or F school performance letter grade.  Transfer applications which also set out the transfer request process may be obtained at the front desk of the Central Office during normal business hours.  School performance data may be accessed at https://www.louisianabelieves.com/resources/library/performance-scores.

 

OTHER PROVISIONS

 

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.

 

Revised:  August, 2004

Revised:  November 5, 2018

Revised:  December 6, 2021

Revised:  October 3, 2022

 

 

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, 11-5-18, 12-6-21, 10-3-22

 

Acadia Parish School Board