Public School Open Enrollment Technical Assistance Workshops

1. Public School Open Enrollment Technical Assistance Workshops Policy Review

2. General Policy Review Questions* • Are the open enrollment policies/procedures consistent with relevant state laws and regulations, provisions of current collective bargaining agreements, current school district practice and other school district policies? as recommended by WASB in DPI’s January 1999 workshops

3. Are the OE policies/procedures reasonable and nonarbitrary? • Do the OE policies/procedures meet the community’s needs? • Do the OE policies/procedures actually serve their intended purpose? • Can the OE policies/procedures be implemented effectively in the district?

4. Do the OE policies/procedures reflect current district views on the subject? • Are the OE policies/procedures reasonably clear and specific enough to provide necessary guidance for implementation?

5. Required OE Policy Areas • Nonresident acceptance/rejection criteria: • space • expulsion, including after initial acceptance • special education space/availability/referral • Transfer limitations (% limit), if any • A statement of required preferences • Reapplication requirements, if any • Transportation

6. Space • Include only criteria permitted by law. • Availability of space in schools, programs, classes or grades, including any: • class size limits • pupil-teacher ratios • pupils for whom tuition is paid by other districts • applicants and siblings currently attending school in the nonresident school district • enrollment projections

7. Criteria sometimes included in district policies that are not permitted by law: • Cost for space, equipment & staff • Special space criteria for open enrollment • Chapter 220, except as it relates to district space • Be sure your space policies (esp. if they contain actual class sizes/ratios) still meet your needs and actual practice

8. Expulsion • Include only criteria permitted by law: • Expulsion or pending expulsion proceeding within current or 2 preceding years for: • bomb threat • conduct at school that endangers health, safety or property • conduct not at school that endangers health, safety or property of others at school or school employees • possessing a dangerous weapon

9. Criteria sometimes included in district policies that are not permitted by law: • expanding period beyond current or 2 preceding years • expanding policies to include other expulsion criteria • expanding policies to include suspensions and other disciplinary actions that do not carry an expulsion penalty

10. Note: Under s. 120.13 (1) f., you may deny a student who is currently servingan expulsion that extends into the next school year, regardless of the reason for the expulsion. No OE policy is required.

11. Special Education Space/Availability • Include only criteria permitted by law: • Whether special education/related services required by IEP are available in the district; • whether there is space to provide special education/related services required by IEP, including: • class size limits • pupil teacher ratios • enrollment projections

12. Criteria sometimes included in district policies that are not permitted by law: • Cost of special education/related services • Special space criteria for open enrollment • Section 504 plan or other special programming not required by an IEP

13. Percent Limit • Policy may allow more than statutory percent to leave, however: • If you allow more than statutory percent to leave while, at the same time, you deny special education students for UFB, you risk being overturned on appeal. • It is not required that district apply percent limit every year, but recommend school board action if policy will not be followed in a particular year.

14. Required Preferences • Policy must include statement of required preferences: • currently-attending students, regardless of reason for current attendance • siblings of currently-attending students • If district will grant guarantee to continuing students/siblings, policy should reflect this.

15. No other preferences are permitted: • no preference (positive or negative) for children of school district employees • no preference for academic or athletic achievement

16. Reapplication Requirements, if any • Reapplication permitted: • one time and only one time per student • and only at the beginning of middle school, junior high school or high school • Policy may provide for reapplication at different levels, but no more than one time per student: • i.e., students who first OE in elem. may be required to reapply at MS/JHS or HS, but not both; while students who first OE in MS may be required to reapply at HS

17. Reapplication is an area ripe for review: • Do you need to require reapplication? Are students ever denied? • If you don’t need it, consider eliminating it. • You are not permitted to require reapplication at any time other than the beginning of middle, junior high or high school. • Reapplication is not permitted on some other factor, such as changing space issues.

18. Transportation • Required policy: • Whether district will provide transportation under s. 121.54 (10) for all or some resident students attending other districts under OE, or • for some of all nonresident pupils attending the district under OE and the means, under s. 121.55, by which it will do so.

19. Transportation is another area ripe for policy review. • Does your policy address transportation? • If so, does it reflect current practice?

20. Mary Jo Cleaver Public School Open Enrollment Consultant Department of Public Instruction P.O. Box 7841 Madison, WI 53707-7841 608-267-9101 or toll free at 888-245-2732 email: maryjo.cleaver@dpi.state.wi.us