3130 (P) - District Attendance Areas, Open Enrollment, and Employees' Student Placement

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE No. 3130

DISTRICT ATTENDANCE AREAS, OPEN ENROLLMENT, AND EMPLOYEES’ STUDENT PLACEMENT

District Attendance Areas:
Edison Elementary serves as the location for the Wall to Wall District Elementary Dual Language program. Therefore, if a student whose home attendance area, by address, is Edison and they do not wish to participate in dual, or do not receive a seat in dual, the student will be placed according to the boundary map.

Families seeking Open Enrollment may pick up an Open Enrollment Application about one week prior to the designated Open Enrollment period, typically mid-April. Families can only request enrollment in one program at a time. If a student is placed on the waitlist for dual programming they may register at another school. The applications will be accepted at the office of the school in which a family seeks enrollment. Applications will be date stamped at the time of acceptance. Families will be notified of their preliminary application status before the end of the current school year and officially during the first week of school. If classes are full at the school in which the family seeks Open Enrollment, families denied Open Enrollment will be assisted in selecting a school that has space at the student’s grade. Families can return to their attendance area school if there is space.

If an Open Enrollment request is rescinded by the guardian, or denied by the district due to lack of space, families may return to their attendance area school if there is space. If there is not space at the attendance area school, school personnel will assist the family in securing enrollment at another elementary.

For families interested in district dual programming for their kindergarten child, please see the subsequent section, “Application and Enrollment Procedures for District Elementary Dual Language Program” for the steps that will occur before the start of the elementary Open Enrollment period.

Students have the right to request enrollment in a district other than the district of their residence through a Choice Transfer request, which must be renewed annually.

Elementary Enrollment/Open Enrollment Time Line and Actions
Students seeking enrollment at their designated attendance area school, but not placed due to lack of space, will be considered overload. Attendance area school staff will assist families in finding a school/class that has space. Families placed at non-attendance area schools and considered overload, will be notified if a space at the attendance area school becomes available. It is the expectation that overload students will be given the opportunity to return to their attendance area school regardless of the time of the year. If an overload student/family is notified that there is space in their home school and the family chooses to stay at their overload school, they may do so. However, there may not be space for them to move to their home school the following fall, and they would remain as overload at their current school. If a spot is offered to a family during the Open Enrollment period and the family declines, there may not be a spot in their home school if the family changes their mind in the fall. Example: If, in the month of December, a student is offered a spot in their home school, and the family wants the student to finish where they had been placed, it would not prevent the student from moving back to the home school the following year.

February: Open Enrollment period and Kindergarten enrollment dates are set and communicated.

March: Prior to Spring Break, elementary principals contact families of any student still identified as overload. The purpose of the contact is to determine enrollment expectations for the following school year. Options include:
• The attendance area school has space for the student for the upcoming school year. Families will be told that their student will return to the attendance area school for the next school year. Elementary principal or their designee will inform the attendance area school of the family’s return. Families are also encouraged to notify the attendance area schools.
• The attendance area school will not have space for the student to return for the next year. The student will continue to be considered overload at their current school. Transportation is provided to overload families.
• A student’s historical length of attendance will be the first consideration used to determine movement of a student if there is a space problem.
• If a student is overloaded three years in a row, they then become an attendance area student at the school in which they have been placed for overload.
• The attendance area school has room for the student to return in the fall of the following year and the family wants to remain at the overload school. The attendance area principal will explain the Open Enrollment policy and procedure, noting that transportation is the family’s responsibility.

April: Open Enrollment begins and the priority window lasts for a two-week period.

May/June: Following the two-week priority window for Open Enrollment and kindergarten enrollment, elementary principals meet for initial class size analysis.

August: Following the opening of school offices, elementary principals will meet and review the most current enrollment numbers. If apparent and appropriate, class size issues may be addressed as a result of this meeting.

First Week of School: Elementary Principals meet for the purpose of balancing class size. This meeting will occur the first week of school. Any enrollment issues arising as a result of this meeting will be addressed at this time. Open Enrollment acceptance or revocation occurs at this meeting.

 
Application and Enrollment/Procedures for District Elementary Dual Language Program

Application Process: The application process for District Elementary Dual Language programming will occur ahead of the district’s initial elementary open enrollment period. Families who would like to be considered for placement in dual programming will submit their application to the Equity and Dual Programs department. Placement in the District Dual Language Program will mirror the Traditional Elementary Schools priorities. The initial application process will be completed prior to the start of the district Open Enrollment for kindergarten.

Families of students residing outside the Walla Walla Public Schools attendance area are welcome to complete a Choice Transfer Application. Placement in program will be offered following the Traditional Elementary School priorities. Students who miss the initial application window will be placed on a waitlist on a first come first served basis. The waitlist will expire at the end of each school year.

Enrollment/Open Enrollment Procedures for Traditional Elementary Schools

Priority One
Families living in the attendance area of a traditional elementary school enroll at the office of their designated school. Families enrolling a student, with a sibling currently enrolled in the school, will have priority over attendance area families without a sibling currently enrolled.

Special Note: Students/families designated as Homeless qualify for enrollment/placement based on their current school of origin. Principals and the school’s Intervention Specialist(s) will work with the district Homeless Liaison, assuring appropriate attendance area priority enrollment and placement. (McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 2001-Title X, Part C of No Child Left Behind Act- 725)

Priority Two
Per RCW 28A.225.270: A full-time employee whose student(s) reside within the state shall be permitted to enroll their student(s) at the school to which the employee is assigned or another K-12 district school of their choice, according to seats available. Once the student of an employee is granted Open Enrollment status, the child shall be considered an attendance area student for the duration of elementary school, as long as the parent maintains employment with the district. If the employee resides outside of Walla Walla Public Schools, they must complete a Choice Transfer annually.

For Priority Three Through Five, the following criteria will be taken into consideration:
• Appropriate education programs or services are available in the individual school
• Attendance is maintained
• Attendance will not create a risk to the health and safety of staff or students
• Discipline history is void of violent or disruptive behavior
• Student has not been, or is not currently, on suspension/expulsion

Priority Three
Families seeking Open Enrollment for their students in a traditional elementary school, with a sibling currently open enrolled in that school, will have priority over other open enrolled students/families, except district employees.

Priority Four
Families seeking Open Enrollment for their students in a traditional elementary school, without a sibling currently open enrolled in that school, will have fourth priority.

Priority Five
Families of students residing outside the Walla Walla Public Schools attendance area are welcome to complete a Choice Transfer application. Students requesting enrollment from other districts will be admitted according to seats available at grade level, by the time and date of the current request for Open Enrollment and according to the criteria listed above Priority Three. Completing the Open Enrollment/Choice Transfer process must be completed annually.

Secondary Open Enrollment
The following procedures will be utilized to implement the district’s Open Enrollment policy at the secondary school level.

1. Approximately two weeks prior to the designated Open Enrollment period, which typically occurs within a week of spring break, fifth grade parents/guardians will receive information on the enrollment policy and procedures for secondary schools.

2. In addition, parents/guardians of currently enrolled eighth grade students from other districts will receive letters notifying them of dates of the Open Enrollment request period so they can obtain release forms from their resident area school districts.

3. Open Enrollment forms shall be made available to parents/guardians one week prior to the Open Enrollment period.

4. Parents/guardians wishing to enroll their student at a middle school outside their regular attendance area shall obtain an Open Enrollment form from their regular attendance area school. Parents/guardians shall read and complete the top portion of the form. The principal/designee of the regular attendance area school shall verify basic enrollment data and sign the form. During the Open Enrollment period, the parent/guardian shall take the form to the school which the parent/guardian wants their student to attend.

The receiving school principal/designee shall accept the form, check it for completeness, and direct the parent/guardian to sign the bottom portion of the form. The date of its submittal will be recorded by the receiving school.

5. The following priorities shall be in effect for secondary Open Enrollment. Students applying for Open Enrollment are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis with first priority given to those students residing within the Walla Walla School District and filing the appropriate forms during the designated Open Enrollment period.

Priority One
A full-time employee whose children reside within the state shall be permitted to enroll their student at the school to which the employee is assigned or another K-12 district school of their choice, according to seats available.

Special Note: Student(s)/families designated as Homeless qualify for enrollment/placement based on their current school of origin. Principals and the school’s Intervention Specialist(s) will work with the district Homeless Liaison, assuring appropriate attendance area priority enrollment and placement. (McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 2001-Title X, Part C of No Child Left Behind Act- 725)

Priority Two
Students residing within the Walla Walla School District who open enroll within the designated enrollment window will be admitted according to seats available at grade level and by the date of the current request for Open Enrollment.

Priority Three
Students residing within the Walla Walla School District who open enroll after the designated enrollment window will be admitted according to seats available at grade level and by the date of the current request for Open Enrollment.

Priority Four
Students requesting enrollment from other districts will be admitted according to seats available at grade level, by the time and date of the current request for Open Enrollment and according to the following criteria:
• Appropriate education programs or services are available in the Walla Walla School District
• Attendance is maintained
• Attendance will not create a risk to the health and safety of staff or students
• Discipline history is void of violent or disruptive behavior
• Student has not been, or is not currently, on suspension/expulsion

6. Parents/guardians will be notified during the Open Enrollment window as to the status of their request.

7. Secondary school students residing within the Walla Walla School District who are approved for Open Enrollment will be granted home school status at the receiving school. Open Enrollment will not have to be renewed annually.

8. The siblings of an Open Enrolled student do not automatically receive Open Enrollment status. Each student within a family must pursue an open enrollment request if they desire to attend a secondary school outside their regular attendance area.

9. If, during the school year, a middle school student moves to the attendance area of the other middle school, the student will be allowed to finish the school year and their original school. The next school year, the student will be required to attend their attendance area school unless they open enrolls and is granted Open Enrollment status for the non-attendance area school.

10. The responsibility for transportation of the open enrolled student, or for a student who has moved outside of the attendance area of a middle school, rests with the parent/guardian. If transportation to and from school or if punctuality to school becomes a problem, the student’s Open Enrollment status may be revoked and the student may be required to attend their regular attendance area school.

11. For the purposes of enrollment, the primary residence of the student must be used. If it is determined that some address other than the primary residence has been used for obtaining access to a specific school, then all rights and privileges accorded through the district policy regarding the choice of school shall be forfeited.

Placement of Employees’ Student(s) in District Secondary Schools
Per RCW 28A.225.270: A full-time employee whose student(s) resides within Washington state shall be permitted to enroll their student(s) at the school to which the employee is assigned or another K-12 district school of their choice, according to seats available.

One week prior to the secondary Open Enrollment period, an employee wishing to enroll their student should complete the Employee Student Enrollment Form and submit it to the principal of the school. These will be accepted with date and time marked. In non-attendance area schools, an employee’s student has priority over all other Open Enrollment students, but not attendance area students.

As with all open enrolled students, these students will be allowed to attend their school of choice during the first week of school. Secondary schools will finalize attendance, according to their usual procedures, with the Personnel Office.

Revised: March 2024