| The School Board of Collier County |
| Bylaws & Policies |
5120 - OUT-OF-ZONE SCHOOL ASSIGNMENT
Pursuant to Florida statutes, the School Board shall designate attendance areas for each school. The school serves a geographic area from which resident children shall be assigned.
The assignment of a child attending a school for Exceptional Student Education may be on a basis other than a residential area and, therefore, is not a subject of this policy. A child who is enrolled in an Exceptional Student Education program shall be assigned pursuant to the adopted plan for Exceptional Student Education.
The assignment of a child to a school (not to include an exceptional student program assignment) in a geographic area other than the school normally designated is referred to as an "Out-of-Zone" school assignment.
Implementation of this policy is subject to the conditions herein set forth. The Superintendent, or designee, shall be responsible for processing applications for student assignment changes and for the implementation of this policy.
The place of residence for the child is deemed to be that place, with address specific, where the parents, parent or guardian eats and sleeps on a continuous basis. In the case of a parental legal separation or divorce, the residence is considered to be the residence of the person awarded primary custody. In the absence of a legal separation, divorce or custody orders, the residence is the residence of the parent, or other adult person upon whom the child is legally dependent and with whom the child lives for the majority of the school year.
A student who has attained the age of eighteen (18) and is acting as a legal adult, may establish the residence location without reference to either parent or other adult.
Out-of-Zone Assignment
A child may be assigned to an Out-of-Zone school under the circumstances stated herein upon petition of the parents or responsible individual and wherein the best interests of the child shall be served. For purposes of this policy a responsible individual shall be defined as a parent, guardian, or student of legal age. Transportation is not provided by the Board.
| A. | A student may be granted permission to attend school Out-of-Zone when the residence of the responsible individual changes during the school year. Such permission may be granted under the following conditions: |
| 1. | If the student has attended the school prior to the change in residence (as assigned) for at least fifteen (15) school days and the responsible individual petitions for permission to remain at that school for the balance of the school year. | ||
| 2. | If the place of residence will change within six (6) months and documentary evidence in the form of a construction contract, a lease or sales agreement is presented to indicate the change and the responsible individual petitions for permission to attend the school of the attendance zone of the new residence area. | ||
| 3. | If the place of residence is to change temporarily (less than six (6) calendar months) during the course of the school year and the responsible individual petitions for permission to remain in the assigned school without interruption occasioned by the temporary change in residence. |
| B. | An elementary school child may be granted permission to attend an Out-of-Zone school if the responsible individual presents evidence that a problem in supervision exists before or after school which can be corrected by circumstances involved at another school such as a provision for transportation or adult supervision. Typical evidence includes letters from employers documenting work days and hours and letters from child care providers documenting location, days, and hours of care. This documentation is required before the application is considered active. | |
| C. | A child may be granted permission to attend an Out-of-Zone school upon petition of the responsible individual supported with the written recommendation of a licensed psychologist or medical practitioner who has professional knowledge of the child's condition and who thereby attests that in his/her professional opinion: |
| 1. | The child has a specifically diagnosed medical or psychological problem. | ||
| 2. | The specifically diagnosed medical or psychological problem is sufficiently severe to cause significantly debilitating effects on the child's physical or psychological health. | ||
| 3. | The medical or psychological problem is likely to be significantly relieved if the school assignment is made as requested. | ||
| 4. | The medical or psychological problem is of such a nature that the effects of regular school assignment on the problem cannot reasonably be expected to be controlled by the child or responsible individual. | ||
| The responsible individual shall be required to sign a statement granting permission for school system personnel and the recommending psychologist or medical practitioner to exchange all information deemed by the Superintendent’s designee, to be relevant to a decision regarding the petition. |
| D. | If evidence is presented indicating an extenuating family circumstance in which it is necessary for a child to live with an adult other than the parent or guardian, the child may be granted permission to attend the Out-of-Zone school serving the area of residence of the adult with whom the child is living, if all of the following conditions are met: |
| 1. | the responsible individual permits the living conditions or circumstances; | ||
| 2. | the adult accepts the responsibility by executing a Statement of Acceptance and Liability and Responsibility form agreeing to function in the role of parent with matters pertaining to the relationship of the student and school; and, | ||
| 3. | no evidence exists to indicate the provisions of this policy are being circumvented. |
| E. | A child may be assigned to an Out-of-Zone school upon the request of a State student welfare agency, the juvenile court, or similar agency maintaining a jurisdiction over the child. | |
| F. | A child who is the (legal) dependent of a District employee, living in or out of the District, and who resides with such employee, may be assigned to the school in which the employee is working. | |
| G. | A high school student may be permitted to attend a high school Out-of-Zone for the portion of the day required for enrollment in an "advanced placement" course if the course is not offered in the high school to which the student is assigned. | |
| H. | Middle and high school students residing in the Everglades City School attendance area may be permitted to attend another school when parents or guardians request such assignment for curriculum reasons and agree to provide for transportation to and from the Out-of-Zone school or the closest bus stop for that school. Mileage reimbursement shall not be paid by the Board. | |
| I. | A high school senior may be assigned to an Out-of-Zone school upon petition of the responsible individual if a change in residence occurs during the year immediately preceding the senior year that would cause a change in the school assignment. Permission may be granted so the student may complete the high school program at the school to which the student was assigned at the beginning of the junior year. | |
| J. | If a student's residence shall change during the school year, but subsequently is changed again to the original residence, the child shall be permitted to remain in the second school only if the change of residence occurs during the last grading period of the year. | |
| K. | A high school student may request an Out-of-Zone assignment for the purpose of enrolling in a Career Academy that is unavailable in the zoned school if there is space in the academy and school. | |
| L. | A child who is the (legal) dependent of a District employee, living in or out of the District, may request an Out-of-Zone assignment to attend school in Collier County. This request will only be approved if there is space available after decisions are rendered on all other Out-of-Zone requests received by January 15th. This clause pertains to situations not included above. |
Restrictions
Assignment of a child to an Out-of-Zone school is contingent upon the capacity of the school requested to accommodate the child appropriately. When projected enrollment exceeds capacity, approval of Out-of-Zone applications into a school will be limited to the number of students going out of that school through Choice or Out-of-Zone assignments.
At the elementary level, a petition for assignment to an Out-of-Zone school filed after the school year has begun shall be denied if the assignment would result in grade level average membership for the applicable grade level exceeding 110% of the base student teacher ratio established in the District staffing formula.
Restrictions as to operational capacity and grade level average membership shall not apply to applications based on changes of residence as specified above.
Once a petition is approved and a student is in attendance, approval shall not be rescinded during the current school year based on the school’s operational capacity or grade level average membership.
A scheduling difficulty or a circumstance arising from course conflicts in scheduling shall not constitute sufficient reason to grant a request for an assignment to an Out-of-Zone high school.
With the exception of out of zone requests granted for reasons A, E, F, H, I, and J
above, a student granted an out of zone assignment shall not be eligible to participate in interscholastic competitive athletics for one (1) calendar year from the first day of the student’s attendance at the out of zone school.Application Procedure
Application for requesting assignment to an Out-of-Zone school shall be addressed in writing, to the Superintendent’s designee. The request shall be signed by the responsible individual of the child for whom the application is made and accompanied by a notarized sworn statement that the information provided is accurate. The application shall be made for one (1) school year only. A new request is required for any subsequent school year on a year-by-year basis. Requests for the ensuing school year shall not be accepted prior to December 15th of the current school year. Evidence as stated herein shall be made available at the time of application.
In cases in which applications otherwise approvable under this policy must be limited due to operational capacities or grade level average membership of schools, such applications shall be approved on a first come, first served basis as received in writing complete with required documentation (i.e. child care letter and parents’ work schedules), by the Superintendent’s designee. Students approved to attend school on an Out-of-Zone basis during one year and children of the same immediate family shall have first priority for approval for the ensuing year when approvable requests for attendance at the school are received by January 15th.
If the application is approved and the assignment to an Out-of-Zone school is permitted, the assignment to the school shall remain in effect only as long as the conditions for which the permission was granted shall prevail. If it is discovered that misleading or false evidence was presented in support of the application, the child shall be reassigned immediately to the school within the appropriate attendance zone. Failure to report a change in address shall be deemed prima facie evidence of intent to circumvent this policy and any application for assignment to an Out-of-Zone school shall be denied.
The subject child shall not be enrolled in an Out-of-Zone school until notice of approval has been received. If approval is granted for assignment to an Out-of-Zone school, the responsible individual shall provide for the transportation of the child to the school, unless otherwise specified in this policy. The parent or guardian of the child granted approval to attend a school Out-of-Zone shall be responsible for any consequences affecting the eligibility of the student for school activities pursuant to the rules of the Florida High School Activities Association the rules of the Association shall prevail in any event.
Appeal
The responsible individual for a child who is denied approval for a change of assignment may appeal the decision to an appeal panel designated by the Superintendent by presenting a justification of unusual hardship or disservice to the child should the decision remain. The appeal panel shall consist of at least two (2) persons designated by the Superintendent. The decision of the Superintendent’s panel shall be final.
F.S. 1000.05, 1001.41, 1002.20, 1002.31
Revised 11/20/08