OPEN ENROLLMENT POLICY

Reflecting the belief that parents should have a choice of schools, the Lemoore Union Elementary School District established an Open Enrollment Policy. This policy provides the opportunity for parents who reside in the district to enroll their student in any school within the district on the basis that space is available.

Each school is required to serve the students who live within its attendance area prior to accepting any students from outside its boundary or from outside the district. Students residing inside the district receive priority over students residing outside the district.

Though the district supports parental choice and is committed to open enrollment, once enrollment reaches school capacity, that school or grade level will be closed to open enrollment. Some schools are currently closed: some are closed to open enrollment from inside the district; some are closed to enrollment from outside the district. Parents must provide transportation.

Approval Process for Open Enrollment from Inside the District

To assure that the approval process for those interested in open enrollment is random and unbiased, a waiting list is maintained for each school. This procedure is implemented as follows:

  • Parents complete an Intra-District Request Form, and submit it to the district office between February 1 and March 31. Intra-District Forms are available at the district office.

  • Only one form per family is needed.

  • Siblings are given first priority to any student whose older sibling attend the school of choice.

Continued Enrollment in a Non-neighborhood School
If a student is enrolled in a non-neighborhood school and continued enrollment at that school is desired, a Intra-District Form will need to be completed. Once enrolled in a non-neighborhood school, students and their siblings receive priority at that school for enrollment over all other open enrollment applications. If, for any reason, the school is unable to permit continued enrollment, the principal will notify the parents. (This provision also applies to students whose non-neighborhood school status is the result of a family change of residence within the district.)

Returning to a Neighborhood School or Changing Schools After A School Year Has Begun
Students who elect to begin a given academic year at a school other than their neighborhood school may be refused enrollment at their neighborhood school for the balance of the same academic year due to restricted space availability. Students may transfer back to their neighborhood school, or to the school of geographic proximity inside their attendance area, during the school year.

Due to overcrowding, a student may be requested by the district to enroll in a school that is not their assigned neighborhood school. In such cases, students have the right of continued enrollment at their current school. On the other hand, if a family chooses to return when there is space available at their neighborhood school, they can return.

All policies and attendance areas are subject to change by the
Board of Education of the Lemoore Union Elementary School District