3141 Policy – Non-resident Students

Bellingham Public Schools recognizes a primary obligation to school age children who reside with the district. However, any student who resides outside district boundaries may apply to attend school in the district during a time period which will be established each year, consistent with Chapter 28A.225 RCW. Any student who resides outside the district may apply to attend a school in the district. Similarly, any parent/guardian may file a declaration of intent to provide home-based instruction and enroll a student for ancillary services, if any, during this time period. All applications for nonresident attendance or home-based instruction will be considered equally.

The superintendent or designee will annually inform parents/guardians of nonresident students enrolled in the district of the inter-district enrollment options and parental involvement opportunities. Information on inter-district acceptance policies will be provided to nonresidents on request. Providing online access to the information satisfies the requirement of this policy unless a parent/guardian specifically requests information to be provided in written form. The district will not changes any transfer fees or tuition costs for enrolling eligible nonresident students.

The district uses the Washington State Choice Transfer Request Portal to process requests for student transfer enrollment and into online or alternative learning experience programs or schools.

A student who resides in a district that does not operate a secondary program will be permitted to enroll in secondary schools in this district in accordance with state law and regulation relating to the financial responsibility of the resident district.

Standards for Accepting or Rejecting an Application

The superintendent or designee will accept or reject an application for nonresident admission based on the following standards:

A. Whether the nonresident student’s application was submitted during the priority transfer timeframe of February 14 through March 1 to request a transfer for the following school year.

B. Whether space is available in the students’ grade level or class and in the programs or services needed to address the educational needs of the nonresident student, in the school requested or any other school in the district.

C. Whether acceptance of a nonresident student would result in the district experiencing financial hardship.

D. Whether the student’s attendance in the district is likely to lead to disruption of the learning environment or create a risk to the health or safety of other students or staff.

E. Whether the student has maintained a satisfactory attendance record.

F. Whether the student’s disciplinary records or other documentation indicate a history of convictions for offenses or crimes; violent or disruptive behavior; or gang membership (a gang means a group of three or more persons with identifiable leadership that on an ongoing basis regularly conspires and acts in concert mainly for criminal purposes)

G. Whether the student has been expelled or suspended from a public school for more than ten consecutive days, in which case the student may apply for admission to their resident school under the resident school district’s policy for readmission or expelled students. The student must qualify for readmission to their resident school prior to admission consideration.

H. Whether the parent/guardian can provide transportation for the nonresident student.

Special Consideration:

A. Except for children of full-time certificated or classified employees, all applications received will be considered equally.

B. If more applications are received than can be accepted based upon the standards above, students who have previously been enrolled in the district will receive priority consideration.

C. If the applications received exceed space available after applying the two considerations above, the district will use a lottery system to determine acceptance.

Admission or Denial: Notice of Decision and Appeal of Decision

The parent/guardian will receive notification of the approval or denial of admission in writing within 45 calendar days from receipt of the parent/guardian’s application. The written notification will include the reason(s) for denial and inform the parent/guardian of their right to appeal to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) as detailed in RCW 28A.225.230. The superintendent or designee’s denial is a final district decision.

Nonresident students are accepted into the district, not into a school or program and are accepted for only one academic year. A new application for nonresident enrollment must be submitted for each subsequent school year.

Extracurricular Activities

The eligibility of non-resident students to participate in extracurricular activities shall be subject to the rules and regulations of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA).

Termination of Enrollment

Non-resident student enrollment may be terminated if:

A. The resident student population increases to the point that there is insufficient capacity for nonresident students in the assigned school or program, in which case the nonresident student(s) will be offered attendance at another school or program if space exists elsewhere.

B. Information about the student’s instructional needs, disciplinary records or attendance records were unknown or materially misrepresented in the application.

C. The student is suspended or expelled from the school or district under standard disciplinary procedures.

D. The student has engaged in violent or disruptive behavior.

E. The student has repeatedly failed to comply with requirements for participation in an alternative or online school program, such as participating in weekly direct contact with the teacher, or

F. The student’s admission is no longer consistent with the standards for acceptance above.

Students whose nonresident enrollment is terminated have the right to appeal to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) as detailed in RCW 28A.225.230.

Resident students moving out of district during the school year will be notified by the school that they may stay until the end of the grading period and of the requirement for Washington State Choice Transfer Request Portal to be submitted with the district. It will be the decision of the district to allow the student to continue after the end of the grading period, based on the above standards.

Children of Full-Time Employees

Pursuant to RCW 28A.225.225, a nonresident student who is the child of a full-time certificated or classified employee will be permitted to enroll:

A. At the school where the employee is assigned.

B. At a school forming the district’s kindergarten through 12^th grade continuum, which includes the school where the employee is assigned; the student remains enrolled until they complete schooling; or

C. At a school in the district that provides early intervention services pursuant to RCW 28A.155.065 and/or preschool services pursuant to RCW 28A.155.070 if the student is eligible for such services.

The superintendent or designee may reject the application of a nonresident student who is the child of a full-time employee if:

A. The student’s disciplinary records indicate a history of discipline offenses or criminal convictions/adjudications, violent or disruptive behavior or membership in a group defined as a gang under RCW 28A.225.225.

B. The student has been expelled or suspended from school for more than ten consecutive days.

C. Enrollment of the student would displace a child who is a resident of the district (except that a student admitted under this section must be permitted to remain enrolled at that school, or in the K-12 grade continuum until they complete their schooling); or

D. The student has repeatedly failed to comply with requirements for participation in an alternative school program, such as participating in weekly direct contact with the teacher.

Cross References:

Policy 3115 - Students Experiencing Homelessness - Enrollment Rights and Services

Policy 3120 - Enrollment

Legal References:

RCW 28A.225.220 Adults, children from other districts, agreements for attending school-Tuition.

RCW 28A.225.225 Applications from school employees’ children, nonresident students, or students receiving home-based instruction to attend district school-Acceptance and rejection standards-Notification.

RCW 28A.225.230 Appeal from certain decisions to deny student’s request to attend nonresident district-Procedure.

RCW 28A.225.240 Apportionment credit.

RCW 28A.225.290 Enrollment options information booklet.

RCW 28A.225.300 Enrollment options information to parents.

RCW 28A.250.070 Rights of students to attend nonresident school district for the purposes of enrolling in alternative learning experience programs-Standard release form.

Chapter 392-137 WAC Finance-Nonresident attendance