- J
- Students
File: JECC (pdf)
Adopted: January 10, 1991
Revised: February 27, 2024
SCHOOL ASSIGNMENT AND SCHOOL CHOICE
The Board of Education supports a variety of high quality educational programs. The Board’s enrollment policies, including open enrollment, are intended to:
- Encourage all students residing in the School District to attend BVSD schools
- Provide clear, accessible and proactive information about schools and choice
- Assure equitable access to school choice and promote diversity across schools
- Support stability for schools and households
- Enable employees to enroll their students as an employee benefit
- Offer opportunities for enrollment by out of district students
School Assignment
BVSD students may attend their designated neighborhood school (based on home address), or their parent/guardian may submit an application for open enrollment to another BVSD school.
Other than as assigned through open enrollment, students are expected to attend the school that lies within the attendance area in which they live, with the following exceptions:
- If a school is overcrowded, the School District may assign students to other schools where space is available.
- If needed to address appropriate working and learning environments, the School District may administratively place students in accordance with Board Policy.
- If requested by a parent/guardian, the School District may grant an administrative transfer in accordance with Board Policy.
School Choice
To provide equitable access to school choice, the School District shall strive to proactively deliver information to all members of our community through multiple modalities, including direct outreach to under-represented community members, online materials, and in-person opportunities. Information and application materials will be offered in as many community languages as possible. Students who reside outside BVSD also may apply for open enrollment in accordance with this Policy.
Approval of open enrollment is based on available space, programming, and staffing at the requested school. Some schools/grade levels may have no spaces to offer, and BVSD reserves the right to retain space for projected student enrollment.
In implementing open enrollment, the School District is not required to:
- Make alterations in the structure of a requested school or make alterations to the arrangement or function of rooms within a requested school
- Allocate additional staff within a particular program or school requested
- Establish and offer any particular program in a school if such program is not offered currently in such school
- Alter or waive nondiscriminatory eligibility criteria for participation in a particular program
Open enrollment requests granted will be approved for the duration of that school level (elementary, middle level, or high school), and the selected school becomes the “school of attendance” through the highest grade offered at the school, unless school assignment under this Policy necessitates adjustments to enrollment at particular schools or programs. Students must reapply when moving from one school level to the next, if still seeking assignment under open enrollment.
Students with Disabilities
Students with an active Individual Education Plan (IEP) have the same opportunity to open enroll as all students. The open enrollment application and lottery process does not request or consider information about disability status prior to admission through the lottery. Once a student has been admitted and completes the online enrollment process, the School District will convene, as necessary, an IEP team to determine whether the selected school can deliver a free appropriate public education (FAPE) and to consider the parent/guardian’s input on location. If the IEP team determines that FAPE is not available in the school of choice, the School District will issue a prior written notice in accordance with federal and state law.
Athletic and Activities Eligibility
Students assigned to schools through choice will have the same curricular and extracurricular status as all other students attending the school, as determined by applicable law, bylaws of the Colorado High School Activities Association, and the School District´s eligibility requirements.
Bilingual/Dual Language Programs
When applying to Bilingual and Dual Language Programs, native English speaking students should have an educational background in a bilingual program and will be assessed by the school to determine program appropriateness prior to final acceptance.
Data
The Superintendent shall create data systems that provide information on open enrollment, discern trends, help families make decisions, and facilitate program improvement and planning.
LEGAL REF:
C.R.S. § 19-1-115.5 (foster home establishes residence)
C.R.S. § 22-1-102 (2) (definition of resident of district)
C.R.S. § 22-20-106 (designation of general and special education responsibilities for students with disabilities)
C.R.S. § 22-20-107.5 (district of residence for students with disabilities)
C.R.S. § 22-20-109 (tuition for special education services)
C.R.S. § 22-32-109 (1)(ll) (Board duty to adopt policies requiring enrollment decisions to be made in a nondiscriminatory manner)
C.R.S. § 22-32-110 (1)(k) (protection against discrimination on racial or ethnic background, includes hair)
C.R.S. § 22-32-110 (1)(m) (power to fix boundaries)
C.R.S. § 22-32-115 (2)(b) (open enrollment for Colorado residents)
C.R.S. § 22-32-116 (non-resident right to continue semester, if in 12th grade may finish year, special rules for elementary students)
C.R.S. § 22-33-103 (resident right to attend district school)
C.R.S. § 22-33-106 (3) (grounds to deny admission)
C.R.S. § 22-36-101 (open enrollment policy must have timeline and reasons to deny enrollment) 1 CCR 301-8, Rules 4.03 and 8.07 (prohibiting consideration of disability in admissions)
CROSS REF.:
EEA, Student Transportation Services
JC, School Attendance Areas
JECC, School Assignment and School Choice
JECC-R, School Choice Procedure (Open Enrollment)
End of File: JECC
- JECC