FILE:  JBCE

PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE

FEDERAL PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE

The St. John the Baptist 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.
   
   

3. The authority to enroll a student in the public school of choice shall not be permitted and shall not be exercised if doing so violates the order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
   
   

4. If the district denies the enrollment request of a prospective student for an intra-district transfer, the parent or legal guardian of the student may request a review of the denial of the transfer requested by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.  Within ninety days of receipt of a request for review, the state board shall determine if the capacity policy established for the school was followed.  If the state board determines that the school's policy was not followed, the district shall reconsider the transfer request.  However, the state board shall not approve any transfer request that would exceed the enrollment capacity of a school or classroom, as established by the school's governing authority.
   
   

5. For purposes of determining capacity, as determined by School Board staffing policy, a school which has an anticipated enrollment of 80% or greater of its optimal total student capacity, in the grade in which the student seeks to enroll, shall be deemed to have insufficient capacity to allow for a School Choice enrollment.  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.
   
   

6. The transfer request period, which shall begin no later than March first and end no earlier than March twenty-eighth, annually.
   
   

7. Prior to the transfer request period, the district shall notify parents and legal guardians of students enrolled in a school that received a "D" or "F" school performance letter grade pursuant to the state's school and district accountability system for the most recent school year of the following:

8. District schools' performance scores may be accessed on the Louisiana Department of Education website via the below link:
   
   https://www.louisianabelieves.com/resources/library/performance-scores

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.

New policy:  August, 2004

Approved:  October 15, 2009

Revised:  October 2, 2014

Revised:  May 12, 2022

Ref:    La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:105, 17:4035.1

Louisiana School, District, and State Accountability System, Bulletin 111, Louisiana Department of Education

Board minutes, 10-15-09, 10-2-14, 5-12-22

St. John the Baptist School Board