Student Services
- Little Rock School District
- Student Handbook (Under Development)
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- Student Assignments
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School Assignments
School assignments are determined by the residential address. To determine your zone school, you may contact the Student Registration Office or visit the www.lrsd.org webpage and click on “school locator.” You may register your child at either the zone school or the Student Registration Office.
For additional information about the student registration process, visit the LRSD.org website.
STUDENT TRANSFERS
Transfer applications received by the District shall be placed on the Board’s next meeting agenda.1 At least five (5) days before the meeting where the transfer application appears on the agenda, the superintendent shall notify the Board regarding:
- All transfer applications received since the last meeting; and
- The superintendent’s recommendation concerning each transfer application.
Each transfer application shall be considered individually and receive a separate vote by the Board. The parent, legal guardian, person having lawful control of the student, or person standing in loco parentis to a student who submits a transfer application shall be given at least five (5) minutes to present the student's case for a transfer to the Board.
The Board may reject a non-resident application for admission if its acceptance would necessitate the addition of staff or classrooms, exceed the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or school building, or cause the District to provide educational services not currently provided in the affected school.2 The District shall reject applications that would cause it to be out of compliance with applicable laws and regulations regarding desegregation.
If the superintendent intends to recommend the Board deny the transfer application, the superintendent shall provide a written explanation of the reasons for the recommendation to the Board and the parent, legal guardian, person having lawful control of the student, or person standing in loco parentis to the student.
The parent, legal guardian, person having lawful control of a student, or person standing in loco parentis to the student who submitted a transfer application that was rejected may appeal the decision of the Board to the State Board of Education.
Any student transferring from a school accredited by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to a school in this district shall be placed into the same grade the student would have been in had the student remained at the former school. Any grades, course credits, and/or promotions received by a student while enrolled in the Division of Youth Services system of education shall be considered transferable in the same manner as those grades, course credits, and promotions from other accredited Arkansas public educational entities.
Any student transferring from a school that is not accredited by the DESE to a District school shall be evaluated by District staff to determine the student’s appropriate grade placement. A student transferring from homeschool will be placed in accordance with Policy on HOME SCHOOLING.
Any person who has been expelled from any other school district shall receive a hearing before the Board or superintendent designee at the time the student is seeking enrollment in the District. The Board reserves the right to not allow the enrollment of such students until the time of the person's expulsion has expired following the hearing before the Board.
Except as otherwise required or permitted by law, the responsibility for transportation of any nonresident student admitted to a school in this District shall be borne by the student or the student’s parents. The District and the resident district may enter into a written agreement with the student or student’s parents to provide transportation to or from the District, or both.
Student Legal Transfer Procedures:
Completion of a “Petition for Transfer of Students” form published by the Arkansas Department of Education;
Submission of the completed petition to the Senior Director of Student Services at the Student Registration Office (501 Sherman Street, Little Rock, AR 72202), not later than the 1st day of the month (July, August or December) in which the transfer is requested to take place. The petition may be submitted via FAX, email, or in hard copy.
Review of the completed petition by the Senior Director of Student Services.
Within five (5) days of reviewing the petition, notification by the Senior Director of Student Services of the District’s decision. A denial of the petition by the Senior Director of Student Services may be appealed to the Board. A written appeal request must be received by the Superintendent’s designee, the Senior Director of Student Services, at least five (5) business days prior to the next regularly scheduled Board meeting.
If all the above conditions are met, the Board will hear the appeal.
Legal References
A.C.A. § 6-15-504
A.C.A. § 6-18-316
A.C.A. § 6-18-317
A.C.A. § 6-18-510
A.C.A. § 9-28-113(b)(4)
A.C.A. § 9-28-205
State Board of Education Standards of Accreditation 12.05Date Adopted: August 24, 2017
Last Revised: June 9, 2023SCHOOL CHOICE
Standard School Choice
"Sibling" means each of two (2) or more children having a parent in common by blood, adoption, marriage, or foster care.
Capacity Determination and Public Pronouncement
The Board of Directors will annually adopt a resolution containing the capacity standards for the District. The resolution will contain the acceptance determination criteria identified by academic program, class, grade level, and individual school. The school is not obligated to add any teachers, other staff, or classrooms to accommodate choice applications. The District may only deny a Standard School Choice application if the District has a lack of capacity by the District having reached ninety percent (90%) of the maximum student population in a program, class, grade level, or school building authorized by the Standards or other State/Federal law.
The District shall advertise in appropriate broadcast media and either print media or on the Internet to inform students and parents in adjoining districts of the range of possible openings available under the School Choice program. The public pronouncements shall state the application deadline; and the requirements and procedures for participation in the program; and include contact information for the primary point of contact at the District for school choice questions. Such pronouncements shall be made no later than January 1.
Application Process
The student's parent shall submit a school choice application on a form approved by DESE to this District and the student’s resident district. Except for students who are transferring under Uniformed Service Member Dependent School Choice, the transfer application must be postmarked, emailed, or hand delivered on or before May 1 of the year preceding the fall semester the applicant would begin school in the District. The District shall date and time stamp all applications the District receives as both the resident and nonresident district as they are received in the District's central office. Except for applications from students who are transferring under Uniformed Service Member Dependent School Choice, applications postmarked, emailed, or hand delivered on or after May 2 will not be accepted. Statutorily, preference is required to be given to siblings of students who are already enrolled in the District. Therefore, siblings whose applications fit the capacity standards approved by the Board of Directors may be approved ahead of an otherwise qualified non-sibling applicant who submitted an earlier application as identified by the application's date and time stamp.
Except for students who are transferring under Uniformed Service Member Dependent School Choice, no earlier than January 1 of each year, the Superintendent will consider all properly submitted applications for School Choice. By July 1, the Superintendent shall notify the parent and the student’s resident district, in writing, of the decision to accept or reject the application.
Accepted Applications
Applications which fit within the District's stated capacity standards shall be provisionally accepted, in writing, with the notification letter stating a reasonable timeline by which the student shall enroll in the District by taking the steps detailed in the letter, including submission of all required documents. If the student fails to enroll within the stated timeline, or if all necessary steps to complete the enrollment are not taken, or examination of the documentation indicates the applicant does not meet the District's stated capacity standards, the acceptance shall be null and void.7
A student, whose application has been accepted and who has enrolled in the District, is eligible to continue enrollment until completing his/her secondary education. Continued enrollment is conditioned upon the student meeting applicable statutory and District policy requirements. Any student who has been accepted under choice and who fails to initially enroll under the timelines and provisions provided in this policy; chooses to return to his/her resident district; enrolls in a home school or private school voids the transfer and must reapply if, in the future, the student seeks another school choice transfer. A subsequent transfer application will be subject to the capacity standards applicable to the year in which the application is considered by the District.
A present or future sibling of a student who continues enrollment in this District may enroll in the District by submitting a Standard School Choice application. Applications of siblings of presently enrolled choice students are subject to the provisions of this policy including the capacity standards applicable to the year in which the sibling's application is considered by the District. A sibling who enrolls in the District through Standard School Choice is eligible to remain in the District until completing his/her secondary education.
Students whose applications have been accepted and who have enrolled in the district shall not be discriminated against based on gender, national origin, race, ethnicity, religion, or disability.
Rejected Applications
The District may reject an application for a transfer into the District under Standard School Choice due to a lack of capacity. However, the decision to accept or reject an application may not be based on the student’s previous academic achievement, athletic or other extracurricular ability, English proficiency level, or previous disciplinary proceedings other than a current expulsion.
An application may be provisionally rejected if it is for an opening that was included in the District's capacity resolution, but was provisionally filled by an earlier applicant. If the provisionally approved applicant subsequently does not enroll in the District, the provisionally rejected applicant could be provisionally approved and would have to meet the acceptance requirements to be eligible to enroll in the District.
Rejection of applications shall be in writing and shall state the reason(s) for the rejection. Unless the student’s application was rejected due to the application not being timely received by both the resident and nonresident districts, a student whose application was rejected may request a hearing before the State Board of Education to reconsider the application. The request for a hearing must be submitted in writing to the State Board within ten (10) days of receiving the rejection letter from the District.
Transfers Out of the District
All Standard School Choice applications for transfers out of the District shall be granted.
Facilities Distress School Choice Applications
There are a few exceptions from the provisions of the rest of this policy that govern choice transfers triggered by facilities distress. Any student attending a school district that has been identified as being in facilities distress may transfer under the provisions of this policy, but with the following four (4) differences:
● The receiving district cannot be in facilities distress;
● The transfer is only available for the duration of the time the student's resident district remains in facilities distress;
● The student is not required to meet the May 1 application deadline; and
● The student's resident district is responsible for the cost of transporting the student to this District's school.
Opportunity School Choice
Transfers Into or Within the District
For the purposes of this section of the policy, a “lack of capacity”11 is defined as when the receiving school has reached the maximum student-to-teacher ratio allowed under federal or state law, the DESE Rules for the Standards for Accreditation, or other applicable rules. There is a lack of capacity if, as of the date of the application for Opportunity School Choice, ninety-five percent (95%) or more of the seats at the grade level at the nonresident school are filled.
Unless there is a lack of capacity at the District’s school or the transfer conflicts with the provisions of a federal desegregation order applicable to the District, a student may transfer from the student’s assigned school to another school in the District or from the student’s resident district into the District if
Either:
a. The student’s resident district has been classified by the state board as in need of Level 5 — intensive support; or
b. The student’s assigned school has a rating of "F"; and
Except for students who are transferring under Uniformed Service Member Dependents School Choice, the student’s parent, guardian, or the student if the student is over eighteen (18) years of age has submitted an application of the student’s request to transfer by no earlier than January 1 and no later than May 1 of the school year before the school year the student intends to transfer to both the sending and receiving school districts.
Except for students who are transferring under Uniformed Service Members Dependent School Choice or seeking to transfer within the District, the Superintendent shall notify in writing the parent or guardian, or the student if the student is over eighteen (18) years of age, and the student’s resident district whether the Opportunity School Choice application has been accepted or rejected by no later than July 1 of the school year the student is seeking to enroll. If the student is seeking a transfer within the District, the Superintendent shall notify in writing the parent or guardian, or the student if the student is over eighteen (18) years of age, whether the Opportunity School Choice application has been accepted or rejected within fifteen (15) days from receipt of the student’s application. The notification shall be sent via First-Class Mail to the address on the application.
If the application is accepted, the notification letter shall state the deadline by which the student must enroll in the receiving school or the transfer will be null and void.
If the District rejects the application, the District shall state in the notification letter the specific reasons for the rejection.Unless the student's application was rejected due to the application not being timely received by both the resident and nonresident districts, a parent or guardian, or the student if the student is over eighteen (18) years of age, may appeal the District’s decision to deny the application to the State Board of Education . The appeal must be in writing to the State Board of Education via hand delivery or certified mail, return receipt requested, no later than ten (10) calendar days, excluding weekends and legal holidays, after the notice of rejection was received from the District.
Except for students who are transferring under Uniformed Service Member Dependent School Choice, a student’s transfer under Opportunity School Choice is effective at the beginning of the next school year and the student’s enrollment is irrevocable for the duration of the school year and is renewable until the student completes high school or is beyond the legal age of enrollment. This provision for continuing eligibility under Opportunity School Choice does not negate the student's right to apply for transfer to a district other than the student's assigned school or resident district under the Standard School Choice provisions of this policy.
The District may, but is not obligated to provide transportation to and from the transferring district.
Transfers out of, or within, the District
If a District school receives a rating of “F” or the District has been classified by the State Board as in need of Level 5 Intensive Support, the District shall timely notify parents, guardians, or students, over eighteen (18) years of age, as soon as practicable after the school or district designation is made of all options available under Opportunity School Choice. The District shall offer the parent or guardian, or the student if the student is over eighteen (18) years of age, an opportunity to submit an application to enroll the student: A school district that has not been classified by the State Board as in need of Level 5 Intensive Support; or
1. If there is more than one school within the District covering the grade level of the student seeking to transfer that does not have a rating of “F”, a public school within the District that is nearest to the student’s legal residence that does not have a rating of “F”; or
2. If there is not more than one school within the District covering the grade level of the student seeking to transfer that does not have a rating of “F”, a public school that does not have a rating of “F” within a School district that has not been classified by the State Board as in need of Level 5 Intensive Support.
Additionally, the District shall request public service announcements to be made over the broadcast media and in the print media at such times and in such a manner as to inform parents or guardians of students in adjoining districts of the availability of the program, the application deadline, and the requirements and procedure for nonresident students to participate in the program.
Uniformed Service Member Dependent School Choice
"Uniformed service member" means an active or reserve component member of the:
- United States Army, United States Navy, United States Air Force, United States Marine Corps, United States Space Force, or United States Coast Guard;
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps; or
- United States Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service.
"Uniformed service veteran" means a former uniformed service member who has been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.
A student shall be eligible for school choice under Uniformed Service Member Dependent School Choice if the student is a dependent of a:
- Uniformed service member in full-time active-duty status;
- Surviving spouse of a uniformed service member;
- Reserve component uniformed service member during the period six (6) months before until six (6) months after a Title 10, Title 32, or state active duty mobilization and service; or
- Uniformed service veteran who is returning to civilian status at the conclusion of the uniformed service veteran's active duty status.
A student's parent, legal guardian, person having lawful control of a student, or person standing in loco parentis to the student shall submit a school choice application by mail, e-mail, or in person to the student's nonresident district and resident district. The application shall be accompanied by:
- A copy of the identification card of the student's parent, legal guardian, person having lawful control of the student, or person standing in loco parentis that qualifies the student under this section; and
- A copy of the official orders, assignment notification, or notice of mobilization of the student's parent, legal guardian, person having lawful control of the student, or person standing in loco parentis.
The application deadline required under Standard School Choice and Opportunity School Choice shall not apply to uniformed service member dependents.
The superintendent of the nonresident district shall notify the parent, legal guardian, person having lawful control of the student, or person standing in loco parentis of the student in writing whether the student’s application has been accepted or rejected within fifteen (15) days of the nonresident district’s receipt of the application. A student’s transfer under the Uniformed Services Member Dependent School Choice is effective immediately upon the nonresident district’s written notification of an acceptance.
A student shall be permitted only one (1) school transfer per academic year.
The parent, legal guardian, person having lawful control of a student, or person standing in loco parentis to a student shall be responsible for transportation of the student.
Unsafe School Choice Program
Any student that becomes the victim of a violent criminal offense while in or on the grounds of a District school or who is attending a school classified by DESE as a persistently dangerous public school shall be allowed to attend a safe public school within the District.
Legal References:
A.C.A. § 6-1-106
A.C.A. § 6-13-113
A.C.A. § 6-15-2915
A.C.A. § 6-18-227
A.C.A. § 6-18-233
A.C.A. §6-18-320
A.C.A. § 6-18-510
A.C.A. § 6-18-1901 et seq.
A.C.A. § 6-21-812
DESE Rules Governing The Public School Choice Act of 2015Date Adopted: August 27, 2017
Last Revised: June 24, 2021HOMESCHOOLING
Enrollment in Home School
Parents or legal guardians desiring to provide a home school for their children shall give written notice to the Superintendent of their intent to homeschool. The notice shall be given:
1. At the beginning of each school year, but no later than August 15;
2. Five (5) calendar days prior to withdrawing the child (provided the student is not currently under disciplinary action for violation of any written school policy, including, but not limited to, excessive absences) and at the beginning of each school year thereafter; or
3. Within thirty (30) calendar days of the parent or legal guardian establishing residency within the district during the school year.
Written notice of the parent or legal guardian’s intent to homeschool shall be delivered to the Superintendent through any of the following methods:
● Use of the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) online system;
● Email; or
● Facsimile
The notice shall include:
a. The name, sex, date of birth, grade level, and the name and address of the school last attended, if any;
b. The mailing address and telephone number of the home school;
c. The name of the parent or legal guardian providing the home school;
d. Indicate if the home-schooled student intends to participate in extracurricular activities during the school year;
e. A statement of whether the home-schooled student plans to seek a high school equivalency diploma during the current school year;
f. A statement if the home-school student plans to seek a driver's license during the current school year;
g. A statement that the parent or legal guardian agrees that the parent or legal guardian is responsible for the education of their children during the time the parents or legal guardians choose to homeschool; and
h. A signature of the parent or legal guardian, which must be notarized if the home-schooled student plans to seek a driver’s license during the school year.
To aid the District in providing a free and appropriate public education to students in need of special education services, the parents or legal guardians home-schooling their children shall provide information that might indicate the need for special education services.
A student who has been temporarily issued items, resources, supplies, materials, or other property belonging to the District is eligible for enrollment in a home school during the school year after:
o The items, resources, supplies, materials, or other property belonging to the District have been returned to the District;
o The items, resources, supplies, materials, or other property belonging to the District have been paid for; or
o The semester has ended.
The superintendent or the board of directors may waive the required five (5) school day waiting period for a student’s enrollment in home school during a semester if the superintendent or the board of directors is satisfied with the return of temporarily issued items, resources, supplies, materials, or other District property
Enrollment or Re-Enrollment in Public School
A home-schooled student who wishes to enroll or re-enroll in the District school shall submit:
• A transcript listing all courses taken and semester grades from the home school;
• Score of at least the thirtieth percentile on a nationally recognized norm-referenced assessment taken in the past year; and
• A portfolio of indicators of the home-schooled student's academic progress, including without limitation:
o Curricula used in the home school;
o Tests taken and lessons completed by the home-schooled student; and
o Other indicators of the home-schooled student's academic progress.
If a home-schooled student is unable to provide a nationally recognized norm-referenced score, the District may either assess the student using a nationally recognized norm-referenced assessment or waive the requirement for a nationally recognized norm-referenced assessment score.
A home-schooled student who enrolls or re-enrolls in the District will be placed at a grade level and academic course level equivalent to or higher than the home-schooled student's grade level and academic course level in the home school:
1. As indicated by the documentation submitted by the home-schooled student;
2. By mutual agreement between the public school and the home-schooled student's parent or legal guardian; or
3. If the home-schooled student fails to provide the documentation required by this policy, with the exception of the nationally recognized norm-referenced assessment score, the District may have sole authority to determine the home-schooled student's grade placement and course credits. The District will determine the home-schooled student’s grade placement and course credits in the same manner the District uses when determining grade placement and course credits for students enrolling or re-enrolling in the District who attended another public or private school.
The District shall afford a home-schooled student who enrolls or re-enrolls in a public school the same rights and privileges enjoyed by the District’s other students. The District shall not deny a home-schooled student who enrolls or re-enrolls in the District any of the following on the basis of the student having attended a home school:
a. Award of course credits earned in the home school;
b. Placement in the proper grade level and promotion to the next grade level;
c. Participation in any academic or extracurricular activity;
d. Membership in school-sponsored clubs, associations, or organizations;
e. A diploma or graduation, so long as the student has enrolled or re-enrolled in the District to attend classes for at least the nine (9) months immediately prior to graduation; or
f. Scholarships.
Legal References
A.C.A. § 6-15-503
A.C.A. § 6-15-504
A.C.A. § 6-41-103
DESE Rules Governing Home SchoolsSTUDENTS WHO ARE FOSTER CHILDREN
The District will afford the same services and educational opportunities to foster children that are afforded other children and youth. The District shall work with the Department of Human Services (“DHS”), the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), and individuals involved with each foster child to ensure that the foster child is able to maintain his/her continuity of educational services to the fullest extent that is practical and reasonable.
The Superintendent or his/her designee shall appoint an appropriate staff person to be the local educational liaison for foster children and youth whose responsibilities shall include ensuring the timely school enrollment of each foster child and assisting foster children who transfer between schools by expediting the transfer of relevant educational records.1
The District, working with other individuals and agencies shall, unless the presiding court rules otherwise or DHS grants a request to transfer under Foster Child School Choice, ensure that the foster child remains in his/her school of origin, even if a change in the foster child’s placement results in a residency that is outside the district. In such a situation, the District will work with DHS to arrange for transportation to and from school for the foster child to the extent it is reasonable and practical.
Upon notification to the District’s foster care liaison by a foster child’s case worker that a foster child’s school enrollment is being changed to one of the District’s schools, the school receiving the child must immediately enroll him/her. Immediate enrollment is required even if a child lacks the required clothing, academic or medical records, or proof of residency.
A foster child’s grades shall not be lowered due to absence from school that is caused by a change in the child’s school enrollment, the child’s attendance at dependency-neglect court proceedings, or other court-ordered counseling or treatment.
Any course work completed by the foster child prior to a school enrollment change shall be accepted as academic credit so long as the child has satisfactorily completed the appropriate academic placement assessment.4
If a foster child was enrolled in a District school immediately prior to completing his/her graduation requirements while detained in a juvenile detention facility or while committed to the Division of Youth Services of DHS, the District shall issue the child a diploma.
Foster Child School Choice
If DHS approves a request from a foster parent, or the foster child if the foster child is eighteen (18) years of age, to transfer to another school in the District or into the district as being in the best interest of the foster child, the District shall allow the foster child to transfer to another school in the District or into the District if the foster parent, or the foster child if the foster child is eighteen (18) years of age, submits a request to transfer on a form approved by DESE that is postmarked by no later than May 1 of the year the student seeks to begin the fall semester at another school in the District or in the District.
By July 1, of the school year in which the student seeks to transfer under this section, the superintendent shall notify the foster parent, or the foster child if the foster child is eighteen (18) years of age, in writing whether the application has been accepted or rejected. If the application is accepted, the superintendent shall state in the notification letter a reasonable deadline for the foster child to enroll in the new school or the District and that failure to enroll by the date shall void the school choice acceptance. If the application is rejected, the superintendent shall state in the notification letter the reason for the rejection and that the foster parent, or the foster child if the foster child is eighteen (18) years of age, may submit a written appeal of the rejection to the State board within ten (10) days of receiving the notification letter.
The District shall only reject a Foster Child School Choice application if:
1. The public school or District has reached the maximum student-to-teacher ratio allowed under federal law, state law, rules for standards of accreditation, or other applicable rule or regulation; or
2. Approving the transfer would conflict with a provision of an enforceable desegregation court order or a public school district’s court-approved desegregation plan regarding the effects of past racial segregation in student assignment.
A foster child whose application is rejected by the District may submit a written request within ten (10) days following the receipt of the rejection letter from the superintendent to the State Board of Education for the State Board to reconsider the transfer.
A Foster Child School Choice transfer shall remain in effect until the foster child:
● Graduates from high school; or
● Transfers to another school or school district under:
● The Foster Child School Choice Act; Opportunity Public School Choice Act
● The Public School Choice Act of 2015; or
● Any other law that allows a transfer.
The District shall accept credits toward graduation that were awarded by another public school district.
When a foster child transfers from the foster child’s school of origin to another school in the District or into the District, the foster child or the foster parent is responsible for the foster child’s transportation to and from the school the foster child transferred to. The District and the foster parent, or the foster child if the foster child is eighteen (18) years of age, may enter into a written agreement for the District to provide the transportation to and from the school the foster child transferred to.
HOMELESS STUDENTS
The Little Rock School District will afford the same services and educational opportunities to homeless children as are afforded to Non-homeless children. The Superintendent or his/her designee shall appoint an appropriate staff person to be the local educational agency (LEA) liaison for homeless children and youth whose responsibilities shall include, but are not limited to:
● Receive appropriate time and training in order to carry out the duties required by law and this policy;
● Coordinate and collaborate with the State Coordinator, community, and school personnel responsible for education and related services to homeless children and youths;
● Ensure that school personnel receive Professional development and other support regarding their duties and responsibilities for homeless youths;
● Ensure that unaccompanied homeless youths:
● Are enrolled in school;
● Have opportunities to meet the same challenging State academic standards as other children and youths; and
● Are informed of their status as independent students under the Higher Education Act of 1965 and that they may obtain assistance from the LEA liaison to receive verification of such status for purposes of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid;
● Ensure that public notice of the educational rights of the homeless children and youths is disseminated in locations frequented by parents or guardians of such youth, and unaccompanied homeless youths, including schools, shelters, public libraries, and soup kitchens, in a manner and form that is easily understandable.
To the extent possible, the LEA liaison and the building principal shall work together to ensure no homeless child or youth is harmed due to conflicts with District policies solely because of the homeless child or youth’s living situation; this is especially true for District policies governing fees, fines, and absences.1
Notwithstanding Policy 4.1, homeless students living in the district are entitled to enroll in the district’s school that non-homeless students who live in the same attendance area are eligible to attend. If there is a question concerning the enrollment of a homeless child due to a conflict with Policy 4.1 or 4.2, the child shall be immediately admitted to the school in which enrollment is sought pending resolution of the dispute, including all appeals. It is the responsibility of the District’s LEA liaison for homeless children and youth to carry out the dispute resolution process.
For the purposes of this policy “school of origin” means:
● The school that a child or youth attended when permanently housed or the school in which the child or youth was last enrolled, including a preschool; and
● The designated receiving school at the next grade level for all feeder schools when the child completes the final grade provided by the school of origin.
The District shall do one of the following according to what is in the best interests of a homeless child:
1. Continue the child's or youth's education in the school of origin for the duration of homelessness:
● In any case in which a family becomes homeless between academic years or during an academic year; and
● For the remainder of the academic year, if the child or youth becomes permanently housed during an academic year; or
2. Enroll the child or youth in any public school that none homeless students who live in the attendance area in which the child or youth is actually living are eligible to attend.
In determining the best interest of the child or youth, the District shall:
● Presume that keeping the child or youth in the school of origin is in the child's or youth's best interest, except when doing so is contrary to the request of the child's or youth's parent or guardian, or (in the case of an unaccompanied youth) the youth;
● Consider student-centered factors related to the child's or youth's best interest, including factors related to the impact of mobility on achievement, education, health, and safety of homeless children and youth, giving priority to the request of the child's or youth's parent or guardian or (in the case of an unaccompanied youth) the youth.
If the District determines that it is not in the child's or youth's best interest to attend the school of origin or the school requested by the parent or guardian, or (in the case of an unaccompanied youth) the youth, the District shall provide the child's or youth's parent or guardian or the unaccompanied youth with a written explanation of the reasons for its determination, in a manner and form understandable to such parent, guardian, or unaccompanied youth, including information regarding the right to appeal. For an unaccompanied youth, the District shall ensure that the LEA liaison assists in placement or enrollment decisions, gives priority to the views of such unaccompanied youth, and provides notice to such youth of the right to appeal.
The homeless child or youth must be immediately enrolled in the selected school regardless of whether application or enrollment deadlines were missed during the period of homelessness.
The District shall be responsible for providing transportation for a homeless child, at the request of the parent or guardian (or in the case of an unaccompanied youth, the LEA Liaison), to and from the child’s school of origin.2
For the purposes of this policy, students shall be considered homeless if they lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and:
a. Are:
● Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
● Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
● Living in emergency or transitional shelters;
● Abandoned in hospitals; or
b. Have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
c. Are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
d. Are migratory children who are living in circumstances described in clauses (a) through (c).
In accordance with Federal law, information on a homeless child or youth’s living situation is part of the student’s education record and shall not be considered, or added, to the list of directory information.