FILE: JBCC
STUDENT ASSIGNMENT
The Vermilion Parish School Board shall have authority and responsibility for the assignment, placement, transfer, and continued education of all students attending schools within its jurisdiction. The School Board shall generally require a student to attend the appropriate school as determined by the domicile of the parent or legal guardian, unless the School Board assigns the student to another school.
DOMICILE
Each student shall have only one residence (domicile) which is determined to be the place where he/she predominantly sleeps, takes meals, and maintains personal belongings. To establish domicile in the Vermilion Parish School District, a parent or legal custodian must present sufficient information which supports both that the parent, legal custodian, or caregiver is actually domiciled within the Vermilion Parish School Board jurisdictional school boundaries, and confirm that the child under his or her care, custody and/or control is actually domiciled with that parent or legal custodian.
When legal custody has been awarded by a court of law, the domicile shall be the principal residence of the parent/guardian awarded primary or domiciliary custody, or if the student is eighteen (18) years old or has been emancipated by a court order, by the student's own domicile, if not specifically contrary to the provisions of an order of a court of competent jurisdiction providing for the assignment of students.
All students must have in their student records file an updated domicile form signed by a parent/legal guardian. The domicile form shall be updated at the entry into a new school with current verification of residency.
Proof of Domicile
When examining the domicile of a student, the School Board through the principal shall attempt to verify the domicile (primary place of residence) of the legal parent or guardian.
Documents presented as proof of residence must bear the name and current legal address of the student’s parent/legal guardian. Such verification of domicile shall be based on such items as the following:
Voter registration data, utility deposit receipts, homestead exemption receipts, 911 addresses, home rental receipts, and home visits by a school official.
Certified copy of a judicially ordered tutorship, custody or guardianship of any minor child student not domiciled or in custody of their natural and/or legal parents. Verification of physical residency of legal custodian, tutor/tutrix or nonparent shall also be required.
Any other documentation as may be stipulated by the School Board.
If none of these documents can be provided, the school principal shall give the parent/legal guardian or student(s) thirty (30) school days to produce an acceptable document to prove residence.
Falsification of Documents
Falsification of any documents or information provided to Vermilion Parish School Board or any school personnel by someone seeking the transfer or admission of a student to a particular school shall be grounds for rejecting the request for transfer or admission and may result in a referral to law enforcement agency.
LEGAL CUSTODY
Legal custody is defined as the legal status created by a court order which establishes in a custodian the right to have physical custody of the child or minor. Proof of legal or domiciliary custody, or guardianship, or judicially ordered tutorship, shall be a certified copy of the decree of the court which issued the custody order, whether the order grants temporary or permanent custody. Where the custody decree provides for shared custody, as in the case of divorced parents, the decree should specify at which parent’s domicile the child should attend school. The school principal or his/her designee shall be responsible for monitoring the school enrollment list and shall immediately refer to the Supervisor of Child Welfare and Attendance the determination of proper school assignment.
SCHOOL ASSIGNMENTS
The School Board shall require a student to attend the appropriate school located in the attendance zone in which the student’s domicile is located.
The School Board reserves the authority to assign a student living in one school district to attend school in another district, if circumstances warrant. The parent or legal guardian of a student may file in writing to the School Board an objection to the assignment of the student, in which case the School Board shall review the assignment and investigate the circumstances in order to render a decision. However, no decision of the School Board in response to an objection to the assignment of the student shall conflict with the student assignment provisions of any court-ordered judgment.
Any child temporarily residing within the district who has no permanent address, or who has been abandoned by his/her parent, or who is in foster care, shall be enrolled and allowed to attend school in the zone appropriate to the special circumstance of the child. Surrogate parents may be appointed when appropriate for special needs students.
Any student completing the third nine weeks period in a school located within his/her official attendance zone, but who then changes their domicile to another school zone, may remain in that school for the remainder of the school year, regardless of his/her new domiciliary address within Vermilion Parish. The student shall provide his/her own transportation, however. During the next school year, the student shall attend the school in his/her official attendance area. The parent/legal guardian shall notify the school within thirty (30) days of any change in address or phone number.
ASSIGNMENTS FOR DISABLED STUDENTS
The School Board shall require that disabled students be assigned to programs within their attendance zones, if possible. However, if an appropriate program is unavailable within a student's attendance zone, the student may be placed in a school specifically designed to provide for the appropriate needs of the student as stipulated by the Individualized Education Program (IEP) committee.
GRADE ASSIGNMENT
Grade assignments in K through 8 will be made by the principal of the school with staff input. The placement of a student shall be based on grades, achievement test scores, and participation in special programs and be made in accordance with the Pupil Progression Plan for Vermilion School System.
CLASSROOM ASSIGNMENT
Selection of courses of study in grades 9 through 12 shall be made by individual students. Assistance in planning for a student’s course of study and selection of classes shall be provided by teachers, counselors, parents, and administrators. Each student shall be furnished a schedule of classes offered and requirements for graduation. Some classes may have prerequisites for enrollment.
In grades kindergarten through second grade, the parent of twins, triplets, etc. (more than one child at a single birth event) may request that their children be placed initially in the same, or separate, classrooms, if the children are in the same grade at the same school. Such a request shall be presented to the Superintendent or his/her designee no later than fourteen (14) days either after the first day of the school year or after the first day of attendance if the child enrolls after the fourteenth day of the school year. Notwithstanding any law, rule, regulation, or School Board policy to the contrary, the request of the parent for initial placement shall be granted subject to further review.
As soon as possible after the end of the student’s first grading period, the Superintendent or his/her designee shall review the initial placement of the child. If the Superintendent or his/her designee, in consultation with the school principal, the child’s(ren’s) teacher(s), and the parent, determines that the initial placement of the children is disruptive to the school or is not in the best educational interests of the child(ren), the initial placement of the child shall be modified, and the child(ren) shall be placed in accordance with School Board policy otherwise applicable to the child(ren).
Adopted: September 15, 2016
Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§9:951, 9:952, 9:953, 9:954, 17:81, 17:104.1, 17:221.2, 17:221.4, 17:221.5
Board minutes, 10-19-00, 5-25-06, 9-15-16
Vermilion Parish School Board