FILE: JBCE
Cf: JBCE-R
FEDERAL AND STATE REQUIREMENTS FOR IMPLEMENTING SCHOOL CHOICE
FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SCHOOL CHOICE
The Plaquemines Parish School Board is required by both Federal law and the Louisiana School Accountability Program to develop and maintain a School Choice policy for any school which has a School Performance Score (SPS) below levels set by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE). Federal school choice requirements allow eligible students to transfer from that school to an academically acceptable school within the district. Parents shall be notified of their child's eligibility for a School Choice option. If there are no choice options available, this information shall also be included in the notification sent to parents.
Once schools eligible to receive students have been identified, a school-site utilization study shall be conducted as needed in all schools to determine the extent to which capacity exists to possibly accommodate students from schools offering choice, including students with special needs and/or students with disabilities. Only those schools that are labeled academically acceptable shall be considered eligible to receive students. Priority for enrollment shall be given to students from the lowest performing schools.
The Superintendent and staff shall be responsible for developing and managing a School Choice Plan, which shall determine the schools to which students may transfer, which students shall have priority in transferring, and all other regulations and procedures for supervising school choice within the school district.
LOUISIANA REQUIREMENTS FOR SCHOOL CHOICE
In accordance with La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:4035.1, the parent or legal guardian of any student may seek to enroll his/her child in the public school of his/her choice, without regard to residence, school system geographic boundaries or attendance zones, provided that:
The public school in which the student was most recently enrolled, or would otherwise attend, received a school performance letter grade of D or F for the most recent assessment, and
The school to which the student seeks to enroll received a school performance letter grade of A, B, or C, for the most recent assessment, and has sufficient capacity at the appropriate grade level. Capacity shall be defined as eighty percent (80%) of a particular grade level's (program's) optimal total student capacity at the particular school and particular grade level at which the student seeks to enroll.
The School Board shall define “capacity” for each school, and determine a transfer request period which shall begin no later than March first and end no earlier than March twenty-eighth, annually. Prior to the transfer request period, the School Board shall notify parents and legal guardians of students enrolled in schools that received a D or F school performance letter grade of the following:
The provisions of the Louisiana Public School Choice policy;
Schools under the jurisdiction of the School Board that received an A, B, or C school performance letter grade, if any;
The process for submitting student transfer requests; and,
The page on the Louisiana Department of Education’s website that contains school performance data.
Parents and guardians who do not reside within Plaquemines Parish shall be responsible for the transportation of students to and from school and shall sign an appropriate document acknowledging that responsibility.
The Superintendent shall be authorized to develop pertinent administrative regulations and procedures governing students seeking enrollment under the Louisiana School Choice section of this policy. Such regulations and procedures shall include entering into interdistrict agreements with other city, parish, or local School Boards to provide for the admission of students, and the transfer of school funds or other payments by one School Board to another for, or on account of, such attendance.
Enrollment under Louisiana School Choice shall only be for one (1) school year or applicable portion thereof if a student enrolls after the start of the school year. At no point shall the School Board be obligated to hire additional teachers or staff to comply with requests for enrollment under Louisiana School Choice.
PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM OF CHOICE
For the purposes of this policy, a program of choice shall mean a public high school program that allows a student to concurrently pursue a high school diploma and one of the following:
A postsecondary degree, credential, or certificate.
A state-registered apprenticeship or pre-apprenticeship.
A student may enroll in a program of choice offered within his/her school system, without regard to attendance zones, provided that both of the following apply:
The program of choice and the high school offering the program have available capacity at the appropriate grade level.
The program of choice is not offered at the public high school in which the student was most recently enrolled or would otherwise attend.
Capacity for each high school and each program of shall be determined as provided above under Louisiana Public School Choice, and the transfer request period shall be the same as for Louisiana Public School Choice.
The School Board shall determine and make available the process for submitting a transfer request, admission requirements, if any, for each program of choice, and the process for requesting review by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in accordance with La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:4035.1 of a denial of a request to transfer to a program of choice.
The School Board shall partner with local businesses and public postsecondary education institutions to grow programs of choice that are relevant to the school's local area and to the state and that lead to careers in high-demand, high-paying fields, and work to ensure that programs of choice are evenly distributed, to the greatest extent possible, among the high schools in the school system.
The authority to enroll a student in a program of choice shall not be permitted and shall not be exercised if doing so violates an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
The provisions of this policy shall not be construed as requiring a high school or a program of choice with selective admission requirements to enroll a student who does not meet the admission requirements, regardless of whether the school or program of choice has available capacity.
Adopted: November 1, 2010
Revised: October 3, 2016
Revised: December 6, 2021
Revised: November 7, 2022
Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:105, 17:4035.1, 17:4035.2
Louisiana School, District, and State Accountability System, Bulletin 111, Louisiana Department of Education
Board minutes, 10-3-16, 12-6-21, 11-7-22
Plaquemines Parish School Board