A former School District official warned that tonight’s special School Board meeting to discuss student permits with the community — at 6 o’clock in the Robert Frost Auditorium on the Culver City High School campus — is not likely to be a slam dunk for the pros or the cons on this disputed concept.
“Public forums are a great way to get input from the public when you are looking for input from the public,” said the onetime officer.
“But everyone needs to proceed with caution.
“When holding a forum on a subject that is a matter of law, it is important to share that information and make it clear that laws can be changed only through the proscribed process, when the proposed changes are adopted by the particular legislative body that enacted the law.
“For example, the current law that defines the ‘open school enrollment policy’ is a matter of law.
“Changing the definition cannot be accomplished at the local level. Why? Because the law was enacted by the state legislature, not, in this instance, Culver City Unified School District.”
The former official went on to quote from the state Education Code a section pertinent to tonight’s community dialogue with the School Board — when speakers will be restricted to 3 minutes, just as at regular Tuesday night Board meetings.
For purposes of the present situation, the following definitions
Apply, as quoted from the Education Code:
48300.
(a) “School district of choice”means a school district for which
a resolution is in effect as described in subdivision (a) of Section
48301.
(b) “School district of residence” means the school district that
a pupil would be directed by this chapter to attend, except as
otherwise provided below.
“48301. (a) The governing board of any school district may accept
interdistrict transfers.
“A school district that receives an application for attendance under this article is not required to
admit pupils to its schools.
“If, however, the governing board elects to accept transfers as authorized under this article, it may, by resolution, elect to accept transfer pupils, determine and adopt the
number of transfers it is willing to accept under this article, and ensure that pupils admitted under the policy are selected through a andom, unbiased process that prohibits an evaluation of whether or not the pupil should be enrolled based upon his or her academic or athletic performance. Any pupil accepted for transfer shall be deemed to have fulfilled the requirements of Section 48204.
“(b) Either the pupil’s school district of residence, upon notification of the pupil's acceptance to the school district of choice pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 48308, or the school district of choice may prohibit the transfer of a pupil under this
article or limit the number of pupils so transferred if the governing board of the district determines that the transfer would negatively impact any of the following:
(1) The court-ordered desegregation plan of the district.
(2) The voluntary desegregation plan of the district.
(3) The racial and ethnic balance of the district.
(c) The school district of residence may not adopt policies that
in any way block or discourage pupils from applying for transfer to
another district.
48302. School districts are encouraged to hold informational
hearings on the current educational program the district is offering
so that parents may provide input to the district on methods to
improve the current program and so that parents may make informed
decisions regarding their children’s education.
“48303. (a) The school district of choice may not prohibit a
transfer of a pupil under this article based upon a determination by
the governing board of that school district that the additional cost
of educating the pupil would exceed the amount of additional state
aid received as a result of the transfer. However, a school district
may reject the transfer of a pupil if the transfer of that pupil
would require the district to create a new program to serve that
pupil.
“(b) This section is intended to ensure that special education,
bilingual, or other special needs pupils are not discriminated
against by the school district of choice because of the costs
associated with educating those pupils. Pupils with special needs
may take full advantage of the choice options available under this
section.
48304. An application of any pupil for transfer may not be approved
under this article if the transfer would require the displacement,
from a school or program conducted within any attendance area of the
school district of choice, of any other pupil who resides within that
attendance area or is currently enrolled in that school.
“48305. School districts of choice may employ existing entrance
criteria for specialized schools or programs if the criteria are
uniformly applied to all applicants.
“48306. (a) A school district of choice shall give priority for
attendance to siblings of children already in attendance in that
district.
“(b) A school district of choice may give priority for attendance
to children of military personnel, if the school district elected to
accept transfer pupils pursuant to Section 48301 by a resolution
adopted by the governing board of the school district prior to April
1, 2005.
“48307. (a) A school district of residence with an average daily
attendance greater than 50,000 may limit the number of pupils
transferring out each year to 1 percent of its current year estimated
average daily attendance.
“ (b) A school district of residence with an average daily
attendance of less than 50,000 may limit the number of pupils
transferring out to 3 percent of its current year estimated average
daily attendance and may limit the maximum number of pupils
transferring out for the duration of the program authorized by this
article to 10 percent of the average daily attendance for that
period.
“48308. (a) (1) An application requesting a transfer pursuant to
this article shall be submitted by the parent or guardian of a pupil
to the school district of choice that has elected to accept transfer
pupils pursuant to Section 48301 prior to January 1 of the school
year preceding the school year for which the pupil is requesting to
be transferred. This application deadline may be waived upon
agreement of the school district of residence of the pupil and the
school district of choice.
“(2) The application deadline specified in paragraph (1) does not
apply to an application requesting a transfer if the parent or
guardian of the pupil, with whom the pupil resides, is enlisted in
the military and was relocated by the military within 90 days prior
to submitting the application.
“b) The application may be submitted on a form provided for this
purpose by the department and may request enrollment of the pupil in
a specific school or program of the school district.
“(c) (1) Not later than 90 days after the receipt by a school
district of an application for transfer, the governing board of the
school district may notify the parent or guardian in writing whether
the application has been provisionally accepted or rejected or of the
placement of the pupil on a waiting list. Final acceptance or
rejection shall be made by May 15 preceding the school year for which
the pupil is requesting to be transferred.
“(2) (A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the governing board of a
school district shall, not later than 90 days after receipt of an
application submitted according to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a),
make a final acceptance or rejection of that application. A pupil may
enroll in a school in the school district immediately upon his or
her acceptance.
“(B) If an application submitted according to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) is submitted less than 90 days prior to the beginning
of the school year for which the pupil seeks to be transferred, the
governing board of the school district shall accept or deny the
application prior to the commencement of the school year. A pupil may
enroll in a school in the school district immediately upon his or
her acceptance.
“(3) If the application is accepted, the notice required by this
subdivision may be provided to the school district of residence. If
the application is rejected, the district governing board may set
forth in the written notification to the parent or guardian the
specific reason or reasons for that determination, and may ensure
that the determination, and the specific reason or reasons therefor,
are accurately recorded in the minutes of a regularly scheduled board
meeting in which the determination was made.
“(d) Final acceptance of the transfer is applicable for one school
year and will be renewed automatically each year unless the school
district of choice through the adoption of a resolution withdraws
from participation in the program and no longer will accept any
transfer pupils from other districts. However, if a school district
of choice withdraws from participation in the program, high school
pupils admitted under this article may continue until they graduate
from high school.
“48309. (a) Any school district of choice that admits any pupil
under this section may accept any completed coursework, attendance,
and other academic progress credited to that pupil by the school
district or districts previously attended by that pupil, and may
grant academic standing to that pupil based upon the district's
evaluation of the academic progress credited to that pupil.
“(b) Any school district of choice that admits a pupil under this
section may revoke the pupil's transfer if the pupil is recommended
for expulsion pursuant to Section 48918.
“48310. (a) The average daily attendance for pupils admitted by a
school district of choice pursuant to this article shall be credited
to that district pursuant to Section 46607. The attendance report
for the school district of choice may include an identification of
the school district of residence.
“(b) Notwithstanding other provisions of law, state aid for
categorical education programs for pupils admitted under this article
shall be apportioned to the school district of choice.
“(c) For any school district of choice that is a basic aid
district, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall calculate
for that basic aid district an apportionment of state funds that
provides 70 percent of the district revenue limit calculated pursuant
to Section 42238 that would have been apportioned to the school
district of residence for any average daily attendance credited
pursuant to this section. For purposes of this subdivision, the term
"basic aid district" means a school district that does not receive
from the state, for any fiscal year in which the subdivision is
applied, an apportionment of state funds pursuant to subdivision (h)
of Section 42238.
“(d) The State Allocation Board shall develop procedures to ensure
that the average daily attendance of pupils admitted by a school
district of choice pursuant to this article shall be credited to that
school district for the purposes of any determination under Article
2 (commencing with Section 17010) of Chapter 12 of Part 10 that
utilizes an average daily attendance calculation.
“48311. Upon request of the pupil's parent or guardian, each school
district of choice that admits a pupil under this section to any
school or program of the district may provide to the pupil
transportation assistance within the boundaries of the district to
that school or program, to the extent that the district otherwise
provides transportation assistance to pupils.
“48312. Each school district may make information regarding its
schools, programs, policies, and procedures available to any
interested person upon request.
“48313. (a) Pursuant to this article, each school district electing
to accept transfer pupils shall keep an accounting of all requests
made for alternative attendance and records of all disposition of
those requests that may include, but are not limited to, all of the
following:
(1) The number of requests granted, denied, or withdrawn. In the
case of denied requests, the records may indicate the reasons for the
denials.
(2) The number of pupils transferred out of the district pursuant
to this article.
(3) The number of pupils transferred into the district pursuant to
this article.
“(b) The information maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) may be
reported to the governing board of the school district at a regularly
scheduled meeting of the governing board. The school district
annually shall report the information maintained pursuant to
subdivision (a) in addition to information regarding the district's
status as a school district of choice to the Superintendent on or
before a date designated by the Superintendent. Commencing in 2008,
the Superintendent annually shall make the information available to
the Governor, the Legislature, and the public on or before April 1.
“(c) On or before November 1, 2008, the department shall prepare
and submit to the Legislature a report evaluating interdistrict
transfer options within the state with an emphasis on the
interdistrict transfer program established pursuant to this article.
The report shall include, but is not limited to, the information
described in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a) and
all of the following:
“(1) The number and characteristics of pupils who use one of the
various interdistrict transfer options and other school choice
options within the state, with a specific focus on pupils who use the
interdistrict transfer program established pursuant to this article.
The characteristics reported on pursuant to this paragraph shall
include, but not be limited to, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic
status, English proficiency, and whether or not the pupil
participates in a special education program, the International
Baccalaureate Program, or another specialized instructional program.
“(2) The Academic Performance Index scores of schools in school
districts of residence and school districts of choice for the
previous five years, including subgroup scores.
“(3) The graduation rates of school districts of residence and
school districts of choice for the previous five years.
“(4) The enrollment of school districts of residence and school
districts of choice for the previous five years.
“(5) The fiscal health of school districts of residence and school
districts of choice, including, but not limited to, both of the
following:
(A) Whether or not the school district is experiencing a decline
in enrollment.
(B) Whether or not the school district received a negative or
qualified rating of its certification pursuant to Section 42131.
“(6) Whether any school district has exceeded the transfer limits
in Section 48307 and the resulting implications for the impacted
district.
“(7) Other information the department deems appropriate, including
information related to educational outcomes of school districts of
residence and school districts of choice.
“(8) Recommendations regarding the extension of the interdistrict
transfer program pursuant to this article.
“(d) To the extent practicable, the department shall survey school
districts of residence and school districts of choice to gather the
information described in paragraphs (1) to (7), inclusive, of
subdivision (c).
“48314. It is the intent of the Legislature that every parent in
this state be informed of their opportunity for currently existing
choice options under this article regardless of ethnicity, primary
language, or literacy.
“48314.5. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article,
commencing on the effective date of the act adding this section, the
governing board of a school district that has not previously elected
to participate in interdistrict transfers pursuant to this article
shall not elect to become a school district of choice.
“48315. This article shall become inoperative on July 1, 2009, and,
as of January 1, 2010, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, which becomes effective on or before January 1, 2010, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
