School District of Winter
Bylaws & Policies
 

5113 - OPEN-ENROLLMENT PROGRAM (Inter-District)

The School District ("District") will participate in the Wisconsin Public School Open Enrollment Program in accordance with applicable law and the relevant policies and rules of the District, all as amended from time-to-time.

DEFINITIONS

The following definitions will apply to the District's Open Enrollment Program.
 

A.

Nonresident District
 
 

A school district located in Wisconsin which is not a student's district of residence.
 
 

B.

Nonresident Student
 
 

A student who does not reside within the geographic boundaries of the District and who seeks admission to this District under the Open Enrollment Program.
 
 

C.

Tuition Student
 
 

A nonresident student who attends school in the District and pays tuition in accordance with State law.
 
 

D.

Full-time Enrollment
 
 

A student is enrolled for the entire school day and receives all of his/her required education in this District.
 

E.

Class Size
 
 

The District's determination of the maximum number of students who can be accommodated properly in a particular classroom without jeopardizing the quality of the instructional program and mitigating circumstances for a particular school, class, or program, including enrollment projections established by the District Administrator.
 
 

F.

Program Size
 
 

The enrollment or size restrictions in a specific program within a class or building. The District reserves the exclusive right to establish program size and to limit enrollment based upon the capability to properly allocate available resources, create and maintain a proper learning environment, and comply with contracts, grants, and applicable laws and regulations.
 
 

G.

Resident Student
 
 

A student who is a resident of this District and is consequently entitled to attend school in this District in accordance with Policy 5111 - Eligibility of Resident/Nonresident Students.

FULL TIME OPEN ENROLLMENT
 

A.

Procedures for Processing of Open Enrollment Applications
 
 

If there are more applications than spaces, the Board will fill the available spaces by random selection, provided that first priority will be given to nonresident students already attending District schools and their siblings and, if the district is a union high school district, to students who are attending an underlying elementary school district.
 

If the District determines that space is not otherwise available for open enrollment students in the grade or program to which an individual has applied, the District may nevertheless accept a student or the sibling of a student who is already attending school in the District and if the district is a union high school district an applicant who is attending an underlying elementary school district.
 
 

The District will establish a numbered waiting list of all applicants. When all available slots have been filled by randomly selecting names from all applicants, the remaining names will be drawn randomly and placed on the waiting list in order of selection.
 
 

B.

Decisional Criteria for Nonresident Applications
 
 

Decisions on nonresident open enrollment applications will be based only on the following criteria:
 
 

1.

The availability of space in the schools, programs, classes, or grades within the District. The School Board shall determine during a regular meeting each January the number of regular education and special education spaces available In determining the amount of space available, the District will count resident students attending the District for whom tuition is paid under 121.78(1)(a), Wis. Stats., and may include in its counted occupied spaces students and siblings of students who have applied under Section 118.51(3)(a) or (3m)(a) and are already attending public school in the District.
 
 

Other factors the District Administrator may consider in determining the availability of space include,:
 
 

a.

District practices, policies, procedures or other factors regarding class size ranges for particular programs or classes.
 
 

b.

District practices, policies, procedures or other factors regarding faculty-student ratio ranges for particular programs, classes or buildings.
 

c.

Enrollment projections for the schools of the District which include, but are not limited to, the following factors: the likely short and long-term economic development in the community, projected student transfers in and out of the District, preference requirements for siblings of nonresident open enrollment students, the required length of K-12 attendance opportunities for open enrollment students and current and future space needs for special programs, laboratories (e.g. in technology or foreign languages) or similar District educational initiatives.
 
 

d.

If the district is a union high school district, the number of students who have applied under 118.51(3)(a) or (3m)(a), Wis. Stats., and are currently attending an underlying elementary school district.
 
 

2.

Whether an applicant for a pre-kindergarten, four (4) year old kindergarten, early childhood or school operated day care program resides in a district which offers the program for which application is made.
 
 

3.

Whether the nonresident student has been expelled from any school district within the current school year or the two (2) preceding school years, or is pending any disciplinary proceeding, based on any of the following activities:
 
 

a.

Conveying or causing to be conveyed any threat or false information concerning an attempt or alleged attempt being made or to be made to destroy school property by means of explosives.
 
 

b.

Engaging in conduct while at school or under school supervision that endangered the health, safety or property of others.
 

c.

Engaging in conduct while not at school or while not under the supervision of a school authority that endangered the health, safety, or property of others at school or under the supervision of a school authority or of any school employee or Board member.
 
 

d.

Possessing a dangerous weapon (as defined in Section 939.22(10), Wis. Stats.) while on school property or under school supervision.
 
 

Notwithstanding the Board’s acceptance of a nonresident student’s application, the Board may withdraw acceptance if, prior to the beginning of the first school year in which the nonresident student will attend a school in the District, s/he is determined to fall under paragraph B. 3.
 
 

The Board may request a copy of a nonresident student’s disciplinary records from the resident School Board.
 
 

The resident Board shall provide to the nonresident Board a copy of any expulsion order or findings, a copy of any pending disciplinary proceedings, a written explanation of said proceeding, the length of the expulsion or possible outcomes of a pending proceeding, and/or such records as permitted by law.
 
 

4.

Whether the special education program or related services described in the nonresident student’s individualized education program ("IEP"), are available in the District. Funding for the education of students with disabilities will be made to the non-resident school district by the Department of Public Instruction in accordance with State law.

 
 

5.

Whether there is space available in the District to provide the special education or related services identified in the nonresident student’s IEP, after consideration of class size limits, student-teacher ratios, and enrollment projections
 

6.

Whether the non-resident student has been referred to his/her resident Board under Wis. Stat. 115.777(1) or identified by his/her resident school board under Wis. Stat. 115.77(1m)(a), but not yet evaluated by an individualized education program team.
 
 

(Note: If a nonresident student’s IEP is developed or changed after starting in the District, and it is then discovered that the District does not have necessary programs available or does not have space in the special education program, the District may notify the student’s parent and the student’s resident Board. If such notice is provided, the nonresident may be to resident school district.)
 
 

7.

If the Board has made a determination that a non-resident student attending the District under the Open Enrollment Program is habitually truant from the District during either semester of the current school year, the Board may prohibit the student from attending in the succeeding semester or school year.
 

C.

Procedure for Evaluating Applications by District Residents to Transfer to Another District
 
 

The Board will deny resident applications if the resident student is a special education student and the implementation of his/her IEP in the other district would impose an undue financial burden on the District.
 
 

Financial burden is determined through review of actual increased expenses relative to providing services specific to the student in question, not including pro-rated costs of facilities and materials and including expenses for instructional faculty only if those faculty are added as a result of the student and devoted primarily to that student.
 
 

(Note: Notwithstanding the Board’s approval of a resident student’s application, the Board may withdraw approval if, after the District student has begun in the other school district, the IEP as implemented by the nonresident school district would impose an undue financial burden on the District.)
 
 

D.

Reapplication Procedures
 
 

The Board will not require accepted non-resident students to reapply under the open enrollment policy when the non-resident student enters middle school or high school. A non-resident student may be required to reapply only once.
 
 

E.

Transportation
 
 

The parents or guardians of a student attending a nonresident school district will be solely responsible for providing transportation to and from the school site or to a scheduled in-District bus stop, unless the nonresident student is a special education student and transportation is required by his/her IEP.
 

The Board may provide transportation to non-resident students from his/her resident district provided the student's resident district approved. The District Administrator shall develop procedures for implementing this provision.
 
 

The Board will not permit a neighboring District to bus resident students from within its boundaries for attendance at the nonresident neighboring District. The District Administrator shall develop procedures for implementing this provision.

ALTERNATIVE APPLICATION PROCEDURES

The parent of a non-resident student who wishes to attend a school in the District may apply at any time throughout the year by submitting an application under the alternative application procedure if the pupil satisfies at least one of the statutory criteria and has not applied to more than three non-resident school districts. Applications for open enrollment under the alternative application procedures for enrollment in 2015-2016 school year will be evaluated based on the District’s policy and administrative guidelines in place prior to July 1, 2015, which may be accessed here. (See AG 5113 and AG 5113B – Open Enrollment for Students with Disabilities.

ANNUAL REVIEW

The Board shall review its Open Enrollment Program annually.

General Provisions
 

A.

A student, who has been accepted under this program, who has not met the academic prerequisites for participation in a particular program in which the student wishes to enroll shall not be placed in that program.
 
 

B.

The District's Policy 2260 – Nondiscrimination and Access to Equal Educational Opportunity shall apply to all applicants under this program. In addition, the District will not discriminate on the basis of an applicant's intellectual, academic, artistic, athletic, or other ability, talent, or accomplishment, or based on a mental or physical disability, except as provided for in the statute authorizing this program.
 

C.

The District Administrator shall be responsible for developing and promulgating administrative guidelines to implement this policy. (See accompanying pages.) Such guidelines shall address at least the following matters:
 
 

1.

participation in interscholastic athletics
 
 

2.

District transportation services
 
 

3.

transfer of academic credit
 
 

4.

payment of fees and other charges

118.51, Wis. Stats.
Wis. Adm. Code Ch P.I. 36

Revised 10/16/06
Revised 5/16/11
Revised 2/20/12
Revised 10/27/14
Revised 11/16/15
Revised 5/16/16

© Neola 2015