Policy

5111.1

 

Students

 

Option Enrollment

 

A.         Process and Time Lines to Option In

 

            For a student to attend Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools as an option enrollment student, the student’s parent or legal guardian must submit an application to the Board of Education of the Ashland-Greenwood Public School District between September 1 and March 15 for enrollment during the following and subsequent school years (the “application period”).   

 

Upon receipt of an application, the Superintendent or the Superintendent’s designee shall provide the resident school district with the name of the applicant on or before April 1 or, in the case of an application submitted after March 15, within sixty days after submission.

 

Provisions for Waiver of Application Deadline: 

 

The application deadline will be waived by the School Board for applications to option into the Ashland-Greenwood Public School District, provided that the application contains a release approval from the resident district and satisfies any other requirements of law.  Further, the application deadline shall not be waived if the application is for enrollment in any program, class, grade level or school building or in any special education programs operated by this School District which have been determined by the School Board to be at capacity in accordance with the capacity standards as set annually by the School Board, and no waiver of the deadline shall be made for such an application regardless of whether such capacity determinations are declared invalid for any reason.

           

B.         Rejection of Applications; Reasons

 

            1.         Capacity: An option enrollment application shall be rejected in the event the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or school building or the availability of appropriate special education programs operated by the School District would be exceeded by acceptance of the application, and an option enrollment application shall be rejected in the event the application is for enrollment in a program, class, grade level, or school building which has been declared unavailable to option students due to lack of capacity.

 

            2.         Timeliness: An option enrollment application shall be rejected in the event the application is not filed on a timely basis and the filing deadline has not been waived.

 

            3.         Previous Option Enrollment: An option enrollment application shall be rejected in the event the student has previously filed an option enrollment application for enrollment in any School District and has had such application accepted, unless a statutory exception to the “one-time” rule is applicable to the student’s circumstance.

 

            4.         Other Reasons: An option enrollment application may be rejected in the event the Superintendent, the Superintendent’s designee, or the School Board determines: The application is not submitted on a form prescribed by the State Department of Education, is not completely and accurately filled in, is not received within the time required by law, or any additional information requested to be supplied is not supplied to the School District within the time lines indicated; or in the event acceptance of the application is not required by law.  Matters which are legally prohibited from being considered as standards for acceptance or rejection of applications (including “previous academic achievement, athletic or extracurricular ability, disabilities, proficiency in the English language, or previous disciplinary proceedings” and further including, without limitation, race, national origin, and gender) shall not be considered as reasons for acceptance or rejection.

 

C.         Priority of Acceptance

 

            Priority shall be accorded in the following order: (1) first, to those applications required to be given priority by law, (2) second, to those with a sibling in attendance at Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools, with priority within this group being given to those who had earliest filed applications, and (3) third to those without an option student sibling in attendance at Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools, with priority to those within this group to those who had earliest filed applications. 

 

Filing date determinations are made by the Superintendent, or the Superintendent’s designee.  In the event applications within a group are received at the same or substantially the same time, priority as between such same-date applications shall be determined on the basis of random drawing. 

 

D.         Determination of Capacity

 

            The School Board will determine and set, on an annual basis, the maximum number of option enrollment applications the School District will accept in any program, class, grade level or school building or in any special education programs operated by this School District, based upon available staff, facilities, projected enrollment of resident students, projected number of students with which this School District will contract based on existing contractual arrangements, and availability of appropriate special education programs, and may declare a program, class or school unavailable to option students due to lack of capacity.  The determination and declaration made for any school year shall continue in effect for the next and subsequent school years unless otherwise determined and/or declared.

 

E.         Releases for Options Out

 

Provisions for Release (Choose one or modify as desired): 

 

A request for release of a resident student of the Ashland-Greenwood Public School District who submits an enrollment option application after March 15 or any other statutory deadline will be granted unless the release shall not be granted if the administration is considering or has recommended expulsion of the student at the time the application is filed, and the administration determines it is appropriate to complete the expulsion process. 

 

The Superintendent or the Superintendent’s designee is hereby authorized to execute such releases on behalf of the School Board and the School District, subject to subsequent ratification by the School Board.

 

F.         Notification of Acceptance or Rejection

 

In the case of an application to option enroll into the Ashland-Greenwood Public School District, the Superintendent or the Superintendent’s designee shall notify, in writing, the parent or legal guardian of the student, the resident school district, and the State Department of Education whether the application is accepted or rejected on or before April 1 or, in the case of an application submitted after March 15, within sixty days after submission.

 

If an option enrollment application or a request for release is rejected by the Ashland-Greenwood Public School District, the Superintendent or the Superintendent’s designee shall provide written notification to the parent or guardian stating the reasons for the rejection and the process for appealing such rejection to the State Board of Education. Such notification shall be sent by certified mail.

 

G.         Applications Subsequent to Relocations or Mergers

 

            An option enrollment application does not require a release and shall be accepted or rejected within forty-five days after filing in the following circumstances:

1.             the student relocated to a different resident school district after February 1, or

2.             the student’s option school district merged with another district effective after February 1,

      and,

3.             the application is for attendance during the immediately following and subsequent school            years.

 

H.         Status of Option Student

 

            A student who is admitted under the enrollment option program shall be treated as a resident student, and in such regard shall be required to provide such enrollment information and documentation as is required for enrollment of other students (e.g., certified birth certificate and evidence of physical examination, visual evaluation and immunization), shall be required to be enrolled on a full-time basis, and shall be required to adhere to student conduct rules.  The building assignment for an option student, as well as classroom and grade level assignments, shall be determined by the administration. 

 

            An option student shall not be entitled to transportation except as required by law.  The school district will allow option students to ride on school bus if the option student(s) meet the school bus at a designated stop that is on the established route for the bus for resident students provided that no option student will be provided transportation if the bus is at capacity as established and determined by the school district.

 

  I.        Information Regarding Schools, Programs, Policies and Procedures.

 

            As part of the option enrollment program, the administration shall make information about the Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools and its school, programs, policies and procedures available to all interested persons and shall have a copy of the option enrollment policy and regulations available at each school building. 

 

 

Legal Reference:           Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 79-232 to 79-246

 

 

Adopted 12-3-2001

Revised: August 17, 2009    

Revised: July, 15th, 2013