Intradistrict Open Enrollment

District School of Choice Program RCSD Website Link for School of Choice Six of the district's innovative programs and its schools are considered non-boundary schools or Schools of Choice. This means that these schools do not use an address to determine priority. All students may apply for admission and they are then selected randomly by lottery. Parents must first register their child before applying for a School of Choice transfer. Please fill out the Registration Form first. Parents will then have the option to fill out a School of Choice transfer request. In addition, families may also transfer to other neighborhood schools. Priority is given to students who live within the school's neighborhood and, if there are spaces available after the neighborhood children are placed, students who have requested a transfer from another neighborhood are then placed via a random lottery. Should there be more interest than spaces available, waitlists are created after the lottery placements and students are placed at their requested school when a spot becomes available. If a student moves into the area after the open enrollment period and their neighborhood school is full, they will be placed at a school that has openings. Students will be placed at the top of their neighborhood school's waitlist and will be placed before any other non-neighborhood students on the waitlist. Transfers for Victims of a Violent Criminal Offense Within a reasonable amount of time, not to exceed 14 days, after it has been determined that a student has been the victim of a violent criminal offense while on school grounds, the student's parents/guardians shall be offered an option to transfer their child to an eligible school identified by the Superintendent or designee. In making the determination that a student has been a victim of a violent criminal offense, the Superintendent or designee shall consider the specific circumstances of the incident and consult with local law enforcement as appropriate. Examples of violent criminal offenses include, but are not limited to, attempted murder, battery with serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, rape, sexual battery, robbery, extortion, or hate crimes. The Superintendent or designee shall consider the needs and preferences of the affected student and their parent/guardian in making the offer. If the parent/guardian elects to transfer their child, the transfer shall be completed as soon as practicable. Transfers from a "Persistently Dangerous" School Upon receipt of notification from the California Department of Education (CDE) that a district school has been designated as "persistently dangerous," intradistrict transfers shall be granted as follows: - Within 10 days of receipt of the notification from CDE, the Superintendent or designee shall provide parents/guardians of students attending the school with notice of the school's designation. Along with this notification, or at least 14 calendar days before the start of the school year, the Superintendent or designee shall provide a list of other district schools to which any student of the school that is designated as persistently dangerous may transfer. - Parents/guardians who desire to transfer their child out of the school shall provide a written response to the Superintendent or designee and shall rank-order their preferences from among all schools identified by the Superintendent or designee as eligible to receive transfer students. - The Superintendent or designee shall consider the needs and preferences of students and parents/guardians before making an assignment, but is not obligated to accept the parent/guardian's preference if the assignment is not feasible due to space constraints or other considerations. The Superintendent or designee shall notify the parents/guardians of the assigned school. - For students whose parents/guardians accept the offer, the transfer shall be made as quickly as possible. If the parents/guardians decline the assigned school, the student may remain in the current school. The transfer shall remain in effect as long as the student's school of origin is identified as "persistently dangerous." The Superintendent or designee may choose to make the transfer permanent based on the educational needs of the student, parent/guardian preferences, and other factors affecting the student's ability to succeed if returned to the school of origin. The Superintendent or designee shall cooperate with neighboring districts to develop an interdistrict transfer program in the event that space is not available in a district school. Other Intradistrict Open Enrollment Except for transfers for victims of a violent crime and from a "persistently dangerous school," the following procedures shall apply to intradistrict open enrollment: - The Superintendent or designee shall identify those schools which may have space available for additional students. A list of those schools and open enrollment applications shall be available at each school site, the district office, and on the district's web site. - After the enrollment priorities have been applied in accordance with Board policy, if there are more requests for a particular school than there are spaces available, a random drawing shall be held from the applicant pool. A waiting list shall be established to indicate the order in which applicants may be accepted if openings occur during the year. Late applicants shall not be added to the waiting list for the current year but shall instead wait for a subsequent lottery. - The Superintendent or designee shall provide written notification to applicants as to whether their applications have been approved, denied, or placed on a waiting list. If the application is denied, the reasons for denial shall be stated. - Approved applicants must confirm their enrollment within 10 school days. Any student who is granted a transfer out of a school that had been identified by CDE for comprehensive support and improvement shall be allowed to remain in the school of enrollment until completing the highest grade offered at that school. (20 USC 6311) A student granted intradistrict enrollment under other circumstances shall not be required to reapply for readmission but may be subject to displacement due to excessive enrollment. Any complaints regarding the open enrollment process shall be submitted in accordance with the applicable complaint procedure. Notifications Notifications shall be sent to parents/guardians at the beginning of each school year, with school of choice information describing all current statutory attendance options and local attendance available in the district. Such notification shall include: (Education Code 35160.5, 48980) - All options for meeting residency requirements for school attendance. - Program options offered within local attendance areas. - A description of any special program options available on both an interdistrict and intradistrict basis. - A description of the procedure for application for alternative attendance areas or programs and the appeals process available, if any, when a change of attendance is denied. - A district application form for requesting a change of attendance. - The explanation of attendance options under California law as provided by the CDE.