FILE: JBCE
PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE
LOUISIANA PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE
Louisiana Public School Choice (La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:4035.1) provides for the right of a parent or legal guardians to enroll his/her child in a school other than the school to which the child was scheduled to be enrolled based upon a school district attendance zone, if the school at which the child was most recently enrolled received a School Performance Score of “D” or “F” in the most recent school year, and the school to which the child is sought to be enrolled received a School Performance Score of “A”, “B” or “C” in the most recent school year, pursuant to the state’s school and district accountability system.
To facilitate the operation of Louisiana Public School Choice the Vermilion Parish Public School System (“System”) establishes the following policy and procedure. As Louisiana Public School Choice provides for certain variable eligibility criterion, any enrollment based upon Louisiana Public School Choice will be considered an annual enrollment and will not obligate the System to allow for enrollment beyond one school year.
The School Board shall define “capacity” for each school, and determine a transfer request period which shall begin no later than March first and end no earlier than March twenty-eighth, annually. Prior to the transfer request period, the School Board shall notify parents and legal guardians of students enrolled in schools that received a D or F school performance letter grade of the following:
The provisions of the Louisiana Public School Choice policy;
Schools under the jurisdiction of the School Board that received an A, B, or C school performance letter grade, if any;
The process for submitting student transfer requests; and,
The page on the Louisiana Department of Education’s website that contains school performance data.
Single Point of Contact
A parent or guardian wishing to utilize Louisiana Public School Choice who resides and intends on continuing to reside during the upcoming school year inside or outside of Vermilion Parish must contact the Supervisor of Child Welfare and Attendance at 220 S. Jefferson St., Abbeville, Louisiana. This will be the only office authorized to process an application to enroll under Louisiana Public School Choice.
A birth certificate, identification and/or proof of guardianship must be provided at the time of application. An application for enrollment under Louisiana Public School Choice shall serve as consent for the System to obtain the records and information necessary to determine the eligibility/ineligibility of the student. Applications will be time/date stamped to establish timeliness of filing.
Verification of Initial Eligibility
Documentation of the prior school enrollment of the student must be provided such as a report card or official correspondence.
The System will verify that the school in which the student was most recently enrolled or would have otherwise attended, received school performance letter grade of a “D” or “F”.
The parent or guardian shall identify the school to which the student is sought to be enrolled, and the System will verify that such school received a letter grade of “A”, “B”, or “C” for the most recent school year.
Eligibility will be determined on an annual basis.
Verification of Capacity
The primary obligation of the System is to provide for the enrollment of students who reside within Vermilion Parish and more specifically to provide for enrollment of students in Vermilion Parish in the schools aligned with duly established attendance zones. Therefore, the System will not enroll Louisiana Public School Choice students to the extent that such enrollment may conflict with this primary obligation.
Upon receipt of an application for enrollment under Louisiana Public School Choice the System will verify whether the school to which the student is sought to be enrolled has sufficient capacity. The capacity verification shall take into account grade level and special program requirement, such as gifted and talented or special needs and shall be made on a school by school basis after the official student count on October 1 of each school year.
For purposes of determining capacity, as determined by district staffing policy, any school which has an anticipated enrollment of greater than 80% of its optimal total student capacity, in the grade in which the student seeks to enroll, will be deemed to have insufficient capacity to allow for a Louisiana Public School Choice enrollment. Any school that has portables or modular buildings would be considered at capacity.
Upon such a determination, the parent will be advised that the school to which enrollment is sought has insufficient capacity. The verification of capacity shall be an annual determination for the re-enrollment of Louisiana Public School Choice students for each subsequent year.
Excess Applications
In the event the number of applications for enrollment exceeds the capacity in any particular school, students enrolled in the school for the prior year shall have preference.
If, after enrolling all prior year student applicants exceed the remaining capacity, applicants will be selected in order of timeliness of application until capacity is no longer available.
Athletic Eligibility
Parents and guardians are responsible for contacting the LHSAA to determine the eligibility of the student for participation in varsity sports. In order to participate in varsity sports sanctions by the LHSAA, students must have written approval of the LHSAA.
Transportation
Parents and guardians of students who do not reside within Vermilion Parish will be responsible for the transportation of students to and from school. Parents and guardians of students who reside in Vermilion Parish must transport students to a bus stop or transfer point of a bus which serves the transfer school, and must remain with the student until boarding of the bus, and be present at the bus stop when the student disembarks from the bus.
Ineligibility
A student meeting any of the following will be ineligible to enroll as a Louisiana Public School Choice student:
The student was expelled for disciplinary reasons in the current or preceding school year;
The student was suspended more than once in the current or preceding school year;
The student was involved in more than one fight or other act of violence on school grounds or at a school sponsored event in the preceding school year;
The student was found in possession of any illicit drug or narcotic on school grounds in the current or preceding school year;
The student had more than ten (10) unexcused absences during the current or preceding school year.
After enrollment a student shall be ineligible to continue enrollment as a Louisiana Public School Choice student if any of the following apply:
The student is suspended more than once in during the school year;
The student is expelled for disciplinary reasons during the school year;
The student is involved in more than one fight or other act of violence on school grounds during the school year;
The student is found in possession of any illicit drug or narcotic on school grounds during the school year;
The student has more than 10 unexcused absences during the school year.
PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM OF CHOICE
For the purposes of this policy, a program of choice shall mean a public high school program that allows a student to concurrently pursue a high school diploma and one of the following:
A postsecondary degree, credential, or certificate.
A state-registered apprenticeship or pre-apprenticeship.
A student may enroll in a program of choice offered within his/her school system, without regard to attendance zones, provided that both of the following apply:
The program of choice and the high school offering the program have available capacity at the appropriate grade level.
The program of choice is not offered at the public high school in which the student was most recently enrolled or would otherwise attend.
Capacity for each high school and each program of shall be determined as provided above under Louisiana Public School Choice, and the transfer request period shall be the same as for Louisiana Public School Choice.
The School Board shall determine and make available the process for submitting a transfer request, admission requirements, if any, for each program of choice, and the process for requesting review by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in accordance with La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:4035.1 of a denial of a request to transfer to a program of choice.
The School Board shall partner with local businesses and public postsecondary education institutions to grow programs of choice that are relevant to the school's local area and to the state and that lead to careers in high-demand, high-paying fields, and work to ensure that programs of choice are evenly distributed, to the greatest extent possible, among the high schools in the school system.
The authority to enroll a student in a program of choice shall not be permitted and shall not be exercised if doing so violates an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
The provisions of this policy shall not be construed as requiring a high school or a program of choice with selective admission requirements to enroll a student who does not meet the admission requirements, regardless of whether the school or program of choice has available capacity.
Adopted: September 15, 2016
Revised: August, 2021
Revised: February 16, 2023
Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:105, 17:4035.1, 17:4035.2
Louisiana School, District, and State Accountability System, Bulletin 111, Louisiana Department of Education
Board minutes, 8-21-14, 8-22-14, 9-15-16, 2-16-23
Vermilion Parish School Board