3131P - Attendance Zone Transfers Procedure

Procedure 3131P

Procedure 3131P-Spanish

Attendance Zone Transfers

Voluntary Transfer Procedures

Each student in the district is required to attend the school designated for the geographic attendance area in which they reside.  A student’s primary residence determines the student’s attendance area. Pasco School District strives to provide families with opportunities to pursue their child’s educational interests, while balancing limitations of class size and seat availability, transportation, building capacity, staffing, and program requirements. Therefore, requests for student transfers to a non-attendance area school must be submitted to and approved according to this procedure.

Transportation for students transferring outside of their attendance boundary is the parent/guardian responsibility unless the district has existing transportation available. The district will work with community organizations to support the family’s pursuit of other transportation options. The district may revoke an approved transfer due to excessive absences, tardiness, and/or school discipline, in which case the student will be returned to their boundary area school for the balance of the school year.

1. Transfer Request Procedure - Elementary and Middle Schools

a. The attendance zone transfer window for elementary and middle schools is open March 1 through May 31 for the following school year.

b. Requests for attendance zone transfer must be submitted online to the Teaching and Learning Office during the designated zone transfer window.

c. Parents or guardians requesting a transfer will be informed by letter of the approval or denial of the request after the transfer window closes, no later than September 15.

d. Transfer requests must be renewed annually. If a parent or guardian does not renew a transfer request, the student will be returned to their attendance area school.

e. An approved transfer will remain in place for the entirety of the school year. A student will not be allowed to return to their attendance area school until the end of the school year, unless the transfer is revoked due to absences, tardiness, or discipline.

2. Transfer Request Procedure - High Schools

a. The attendance zone transfer window for high schools is open from November 1 through December 31 each year.

       a. All transfer requests submitted during the transfer window will be randomized prior to placement.

       b. Any transfer request submitted after December 31 will be put on a waiting list to be processed in the order received.

b. Requests for attendance zone transfer must be submitted online to the Teaching and Learning Office during the designated zone transfer window.

c. Parents or guardians requesting a transfer will be informed by letter of the approval or denial of the request after the transfer window closes, no later than September 15.

d. Transfer requests must be renewed annually. If a parent or guardian does not renew a transfer request, the student will be returned to their attendance area school.

e. An approved transfer will remain in place for the entirety of the school year. A student will not be allowed to return to their attendance area school until the end of the school year, unless the transfer is revoked due to absences, tardiness, or discipline.

3. High School Extracurricular, Interscholastic Athletics and Activities

Transfers shall not be granted for purposes of student participation in extracurricular activities, or for interscholastic athletics and activities as governed by Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) rules and regulations. The district may request documentation verifying the location of the student’s residence for purposes of enforcement. The following eligibility rules will apply to transfer students regarding enrollment and athletic participation.

a. Any student who is approved to transfer to and is enrolled in a high school outside his or her attendance area will be allowed to try out and participate in athletics at the freshman, sophomore, and junior varsity levels. Varsity level participation will not be allowed for a period of one (1) calendar year from the first day of attendance.

b. A student will only be allowed to participate in interscholastic athletics and activities if there is no evidence the student transferred for the purpose of participating in interscholastic athletics and activities or no evidence the student transferred as a result of having been recruited to participate in interscholastic athletics or activities.

c. If a student transfers (registers and enrolls) at a non-attendance area school, he or she will not be permitted to return to the attendance area school until the end of the current semester. If the student returns to the attendance area school, the student will be ineligible to participate in varsity level interscholastic athletics or activities for one (1) calendar year from the first day of attendance.

d. A student whose primary, bonafide legal residence changes with the parent or legal guardian to a different attendance area shall be deemed a resident of the new attendance area and the transfer procedures in this section will not apply unless the student requests to remain enrolled at the non-attendance area school.  The district may require documentation of the change in residence including, but not limited to, court papers, utility bills, and affidavits.

e. A student whose parents or legal guardians reside in different locations is deemed to be a resident of the attendance area in which the parent or guardian with primary custody resides (student resides with parent/guardian more than 50% of a non-holiday school week). If primary custody is shared equally between parents or guardians, or if the student is homeless, or is in the custody of the Department of Social and Health Services, the student is deemed to be a resident of the attendance area of the school in which the student is enrolled on the first day of the school year. The district may require documentation of residence including, but not limited to, court papers, utility bills, and affidavits.

f. Exceptions to the procedures applicable in this section may be granted only in the case of hardship as determined and allowed by the WIAA or designee. For purposes of this policy and procedure, “hardship” means a unique circumstance beyond the control of the student and/or parent or guardian requiring a waiver of residence. Curriculum offerings, usual maturation problems, family situations, or peer relationships do not constitute a hardship. The burden of providing evidence that a hardship exists shall be borne by the student. There must be a direct causal relationship between the claimed hardship and the student’s request for a transfer.

 

 

 

 

 

Adoption Date:           October 22, 2024