Policy 5117 - Interdistrict Attendance

Interdistrict Attendance

The Board of Education recognizes that students who reside in one district may choose to attend school in another district and that such choices are made for a variety of reasons.

The Board may enter into an agreement with any other school district, for a term not to exceed five school years, for the interdistrict attendance of students who are residents of the districts.

The agreement shall specify the terms and conditions under which interdistrict attendance shall be permitted or denied. It also may contain standards agreed to by both districts for reapplication and/or revocation of the student’s permit.

Upon receiving a permit for transfer into the district that has been approved by the student’s district of residence, or upon receiving a written request from the parent/guardian of a district who wishes to enroll in another district, the Superintendent or designee shall review the request and may approve or deny the permit subject to the terms and conditions of the interdistrict attendance agreement.

Rule 5117

Rule Approved 06/02/1998

In accordance with an agreement between the Governing Board and the board of another district, a permit authorizing a student’s attendance outside his/her district of residence may be issued upon approval of both the district of residence and the district of proposed attendance.

The Superintendent or designee may approve an interdistrict attendance permit for a student for any of the following reasons when stipulated in the agreement:

1. When a student has been determined by personnel of either the district of residence or the district of proposed enrollment, as verified through documented incidents, to have been a victim of an act of bullying as defined in Education Code 48900(r), committed by a pupil of the district of residence shall, at the request of the person having legal custody of the student be given priority for interdistrict attendance under any existing interdistrict attendance agreement or, in the absence of an agreement, shall be given consideration for the creation of a new interdistrict attendance agreement;
2. To permit students (K-12) whose parent(s) are employed, within the boundaries of the District to attend Lodi Unified Schools;
3. To meet the mental or physical health needs of the child as certified by a physician, school psychologist or other appropriate school personnel and recommended by the superintendent of district of residence;
4. When the student has a sibling attending school in the receiving district to avoid splitting the family's attendance;
5. To complete a school year when the parents have moved out of the district during the school year;
6. When the parent/guardian provides written evidence that the family will be moving into the district in the immediate future and would like the student to start the year in the district;
7. When the student will be living out of the district for one year or less;
8. When recommended by the school attendance review board or by county child welfare, probation, or social service agency staff in documented cases of serious home or community problems which make it inadvisable for the student to attend the school of residence.

Each Interdistrict attendance permit shall stipulate the terms and conditions established by both districts under which interdistrict attendance shall be permitted, denied, or revoked, and any standards for reapplication.

The Superintendent or designee may deny initial requests for interdistrict attendance permits for the following reasons:

1. School facilities are overcrowded at the relevant grade level;
2. The cost of education the student will exceed the increase in state revenue;
3. The request is based solely on a desire to participate in athletics or extracurricular activities;
4. The student has a history of failure to meet reasonable standards of behavior, attendance or diligence to academics or based on other considerations that are not arbitrary.

However, once a student is admitted, the district may not deny him/her continued attendance because of overcrowded facilities at the relevant grade level.

Within 30 days of a request for an interdistrict permit, the Superintendent or designee shall notify the parents/guardians of a student who is denied interdistrict attendance regarding the process for appeal to the County Board of Education. This notice shall be provided by the district denying the request, or, in the absence of an agreement between the districts, by the district of residence.

Pending a decision by the two districts or an appeal by the County Board, the Superintendent or designee may provisionally admit a student who resides in another district for a period not to exceed two school months.

Students who are under consideration for expulsion or who have been expelled may not appeal interdistrict attendance denials or decisions while expulsion proceedings are pending, or during the term of the expulsion.

Once a student is admitted to a school on the basis of an interdistrict attendance permit, he/she shall not be required to reapply for an interdistrict transfer and shall be allowed to continue to attend the school in which he/she is enrolled, unless reapplication standards are otherwise specified in the interdistrict attendance agreement. Existing interdistrict attendance permits shall not be rescinded for students entering grade 11 or 12 in the subsequent year.