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.
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.
Adopted: November 1, 2010
Revised: October 3, 2016
Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:105, 17:4035.1
Louisiana School, District, and State Accountability System, Bulletin 111, Louisiana Department of Education
Board minutes, 10-3-16
To see more of this school board policy and others please head to our school board policy website.
CAPS: http://www.ppsb.org/ourpages/district_info/PlaqueminesCAPS.htm