JFBA-R – Intra-District School Choice Process

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1. Attendance Areas Students will attend the District school determined by their residence unless a school choice application to attend another school or program is approved. Students will not be enrolled in a school or program outside their attendance area without prior approval in accordance with these regulations. District admissions, as well as building principals or designees, shall be responsible for checking student enrollment records to determine that each student is a legal resident of that school's attendance area or has an approved authorization for school choice enrollment. 2. School Choice Process Requests for school choice enrollment must be initiated by the student's parents/guardians by submitting the approved online form electronically. The principal, or the principal's designee, will explain to the parents/guardians the procedures used to process open enrollment requests. Applications will be accepted or rejected based on criteria established in state law and applicable Board policy. The parents/guardians and students will be notified of approval or disapproval of a school choice request. Reasons to reject school choice enrollment requests shall be limited to any one of the following:
  1. A lack of space or teaching staff within a particular program or school requested.
  2. The school requested does not offer appropriate programs or is not structured or equipped with the necessary facilities to meet special needs of the student or does not offer a particular program requested.
  3. Inability of the student to meet the established eligibility criteria for participation in a particular program including age requirements, course prerequisites and required levels of performance.
  4. The student has been expelled, is in the process of being expelled, or may be or has been denied admission pursuant to law.
Upon enrollment at a choice school outside their attendance area, students should plan to remain in that choice school for a full academic year, and may be denied the opportunity to return to the school of their attendance area during the current school year. Once students are accepted for school choice enrollment, every effort will be made to permit them to complete the highest grade in that building within the constraints of the terms and conditions of this regulation, the accompanying policy and the law. Students who wish to return to their home school or to choice into a different school must submit a new choice enrollment request in accordance with this regulation. Once a choice applicant has been accepted to a choice school, students need not reapply each year as long as they wish to remain in that choice school and they continue to meet the eligibility criteria. After leaving either the elementary or middle school level, a student must reapply for admission for school choice enrollment at the next level. All school choice applications shall be submitted electronically to District Admissions for review and district-wide data collection purposes. District Admissions will maintain lists for each school of all resident students applying for school choice enrollment in another District school. Those students who apply for school choice enrollment, but cannot be accepted at the time of application will be placed on a lottery-generated wait list and will be considered for approval at a later date if space becomes available. 3. Criteria to Determine Availability of Space or Teaching Staff School choice enrollment and transfers within the District will be approved subject to space availability in the school or program requested as determined by the receiving principal and the District Planning and Admissions Department. Students will be assigned to classrooms on the basis of available staff, existing programs, funding, and support services as well as the best use of classroom space. Mobile units and multi-track year-round calendar will not be taken into consideration when determining availability of classroom space. Requests for enrollment in particular programs will take into consideration the applicant's qualifications for the program. A school choice enrollment granted to one child in a family does not guarantee approval of school choice enrollment for another child in the same family; however, priority consideration will be afforded to another child in the same family. 4. Changes in Residence Students whose place of residence changes within the District during the school year may remain at the school they are currently attending until the end of the academic year. Students whose place of residence changes within the District during the school year must complete a school choice application to remain enrolled in their current school. Students will be required to attend the school of their new attendance area the following year unless a school choice application is electronically submitted and approved under the school choice process. 5. Athletics Eligibility for participation in interscholastic athletics will be determined in accordance with the rules of the Colorado High School Activities Association and the District's eligibility requirements. Students who enroll in a school outside of their attendance area by falsifying their address forfeit eligibility to participate in athletic activities. 6. Continuing Enrollment Criteria Any student enrolled pursuant to this policy shall be allowed to remain enrolled in the choice school or program through the highest grade level of the applicable school unless in the principal's assessment at least one of the following occurs:
  1. the student is expelled from the choice school or program;
  2. the student's continued participation in the choice school or program requires the District to make alterations in thestructure of the choice school or to the arrangement or function of rooms;
  3. there is a lack of space or teaching staff at the choice school;
  4. the choice school does not offer appropriate programs or is not equipped to meet the special needs of the student;
  5. the school does not offer a program requested by the student;
  6. the student does not meet established eligibility criteria;
  7. a desegregation plan is in effect and denial of continued enrollment is necessary to comply with the plan;
  8. the student does not maintain an attendance rate greater than 90%;
  9. the student does not follow school policy for on-time arrival to and departure from the choice school;
  10. the student has more than one (1) out of school suspension for the current school year;
  11. for high school students, the student is not on track to graduate on time;
  12. the student's application for school choice enrollment contained material misstatements or omissions;
  13. the student withdraws from and/or moves out of the District; or
  14. the District administratively reassigns the student to another school.
Originally Approved by Superintendent Monte C. Moses, August 14, 2006 Last Revised: October 8, 2012 Current Revision: May 8, 2023 Adoption Date: August 14, 2006 Last Revised: May 08, 2023
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