SECTIONS 48350-48361 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 48350-48361

48350. This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Open
Enrollment Act.

48351. The purpose of this article is to improve pupil achievement,
in accordance with the regulations and guidelines for the federal
Race to the Top Fund, authorized under the federal American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5), and to enhance
parental choice in education by providing additional options to
pupils to enroll in public schools throughout the state without
regard to the residence of their parents.

48352. For purposes of this article, the following definitions
apply:
(a) "Low-achieving school" means any school identified by the
Superintendent pursuant to the following:
(1) Excluding the schools, and taking into account the impact of
the criteria in paragraph (2), the Superintendent annually shall
create a list of 1,000 schools ranked by increasing API with the same
ratio of elementary, middle, and high schools as existed in decile 1
in the 2008-09 school year.
(2) In constructing the list of 1,000 schools each year, the
Superintendent shall ensure each of the following:
(A) A local educational agency shall not have more than 10 percent
of its schools on the list. However, if the number of schools in a
local educational agency is not evenly divisible by 10, the
Superintendent shall round up to the next whole number of schools.
(B) Court, community, or community day schools shall not be
included on the list.
(C) Charter schools shall not be included on the list.
(b) "Parent" means the natural or adoptive parent or guardian of a
dependent child.
(c) "School district of enrollment" means a school district other
than the school district in which the parent of a pupil resides, but
in which the parent of the pupil nevertheless intends to enroll the
pupil pursuant to this article.
(d) "School district of residence" means a school district in
which the parent of a pupil resides and in which the pupil would
otherwise be required to enroll pursuant to Section 48200.

48353. The state board shall adopt emergency regulations to
implement this article.

48354. (a) The parent of a pupil enrolled in a low-achieving school
may submit an application for the pupil to attend a school in a
school district of enrollment pursuant to this article.
(b) (1) Consistent with the requirements of Section 1116(b)(1)(E)
of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001 (20
U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.), on or before the first day of the school
year, or, if later, on the date the notice of program improvement,
corrective action, or restructuring status is required to be provided
under federal law the district of residence shall provide the
parents and guardians of all pupils enrolled in a school determined
in subdivision (a) of Section 48352 with notice of the option to
transfer to another public school served by the school district of
residence or another school district.
(2) An application requesting a transfer pursuant to this article
shall be submitted by the parent of a pupil to the school district of
enrollment prior to January 1 of the school year preceding the
school year for which the pupil is requesting to transfer. The school
district of enrollment may waive the deadline specified in this
paragraph.
(3) The application deadline specified in paragraph (2) does not
apply to an application requesting a transfer if the parent, with
whom the pupil resides, is enlisted in the military and was relocated
by the military within 90 days prior to submitting the application.
(4) The application may request enrollment of the pupil in a
specific school or program within the school district of enrollment.
(5) A pupil may enroll in a school in the school district of
enrollment in the school year immediately following the approval of
his or her application.
(6) In order to provide priority enrollment opportunities for
pupils residing in the school district, a school district of
enrollment shall establish a period of time for resident pupil
enrollment prior to accepting transfer applications pursuant to this
article.

48355. (a) The school district of residence of a pupil or a school
district of enrollment to which a pupil has applied to attend may
prohibit the transfer of the pupil pursuant to this article or limit
the number of pupils who transfer pursuant to this article if the
governing board of the district determines that the transfer would
negatively impact either of the following:
(1) A court-ordered or voluntary desegregation plan of the
district.
(2) The racial and ethnic balance of the district, provided that
any policy adopted pursuant to this paragraph is consistent with
federal and state law.
(b) A school district of residence shall not adopt any other
policies that in any way prevent or discourage pupils from applying
for a transfer to a school district of enrollment.
(c) Communications to parents or guardians by districts regarding
the open enrollment options provided by this article shall be
factually accurate and not target individual parents or guardians or
residential neighborhoods on the basis of a child's actual or
perceived academic or athletic performance or any other personal
characteristic.

48356. (a) A school district of enrollment may adopt specific,
written standards for acceptance and rejection of applications
pursuant to this article. The standards may include consideration of
the capacity of a program, class, grade level, school building, or
adverse financial impact. Subject to subdivision (b), and except as
necessary in accordance with Section 48355, the standards shall not
include consideration of a pupil's previous academic achievement,
physical condition, proficiency in the English language, family
income, or any of the individual characteristics set forth in Section
200.
(b) In considering an application pursuant to this article, a
nonresident school district may apply its usual requirements for
admission to a magnet school or a program designed to serve gifted
and talented pupils.
(c) Subject to the rules and standards that apply to pupils who
reside in the school district of enrollment, a resident pupil who is
enrolled in one of the district's schools pursuant to this article
shall not be required to submit an application in order to remain
enrolled.
(d) A school district of enrollment shall ensure that pupils
enrolled pursuant to standards adopted pursuant to this section are
enrolled in a school with a higher Academic Performance Index than
the school in which the pupil was previously enrolled and are
selected through a random, unbiased process that prohibits an
evaluation of whether or not the pupil should be enrolled based on
his or her individual academic or athletic performance, or any of the
other characteristics set forth in subdivision (a), except that
pupils applying for a transfer pursuant to this article shall be
assigned priority for approval as follows:
(1) First priority for the siblings of children who already attend
the desired school.
(2) Second priority for pupils transferring from a program
improvement school ranked in decile 1 on the Academic Performance
Index determined pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 48352.
(3) If the number of pupils who request a particular school
exceeds the number of spaces available at that school, a lottery
shall be conducted in the group priority order identified in
paragraphs (1) and (2) to select pupils at random until all of the
available spaces are filled.
(e) The initial application of a pupil for transfer to a school
within a school district of enrollment shall not be approved if the
transfer would require the displacement from the desired school of
any other pupil who resides within the attendance area of that school
or is currently enrolled in that school.
(f) A pupil approved for a transfer to a school district of
enrollment pursuant to this article shall be deemed to have fulfilled
the requirements of Section 48204.

48357. Within 60 days of receiving an application pursuant to
Section 48354, a school district of enrollment shall notify the
applicant parent and the school district of residence in writing
whether the application has been accepted or rejected. If an
application is rejected, the school district of enrollment shall
state in the notification the reasons for the rejection.

48358. A school district of enrollment that enrolls a pupil
pursuant to this article shall accept credits toward graduation that
were awarded to the pupil by another school district and shall
graduate the pupil if the pupil meets the graduation requirements of
the school district of enrollment.

48359. (a) Each school district is encouraged to keep an accounting
of all requests made for alternative attendance pursuant to this
article and records of all disposition of those requests that may
include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) The number of requests granted, denied, or withdrawn. In the
case of denied requests, the records may indicate the reasons for the
denials.
(2) The number of pupils who transfer out of the district.
(3) The number of pupils who transfer into the district.
(4) The race, ethnicity, gender, self-reported socioeconomic
status, and the school district of residence of each of the pupils
described in paragraphs (2) and (3).
(5) The number of pupils described in paragraphs (2) and (3) who
are classified as English learners or identified as individuals with
exceptional needs, as defined in Section 56026.
(b) The information maintained pursuant to subdivision (a) may be
reported to the governing board of the school district at a regularly
scheduled meeting of the governing board.

48359.5. For a school district of enrollment that is a basic aid
district, the apportionment of state funds for any average daily
attendance credited pursuant to this article shall be 70 percent of
the district revenue limit that would have been apportioned to the
school district of residence. Apportionment of these funds shall
begin in the second consecutive year of enrollment, and continue
annually until the pupil graduates from, or is no longer enrolled in,
the school district of enrollment. For purposes of this section,
"basic aid school district" means a school district that does not
receive an apportionment of state funds pursuant to subdivision (h)
of Section 42238 for any fiscal year in which this subdivision may
apply.

48360. (a) From federal funds appropriated for this purpose, the
Superintendent shall contract for an independent evaluation of the
open enrollment program operated pursuant to this article. The
evaluation shall, at a minimum, consider all of the following:
(1) The levels of, and changes in, academic achievement of pupils
in school districts of residence and school districts of enrollment
for pupils who do and do not elect to enroll in a school district of
enrollment.
(2) Fiscal and programmatic effects on school districts of
residence and school districts of enrollment.
(3) Numbers and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of
pupils who do and do not elect to enroll in a school district of
enrollment.
(b) The Superintendent shall provide a final evaluation report to
the Legislature, Governor, and state board on or before October 1,
2014.

48361. No exercise of discretion by a district of enrollment in its
administration of this article shall be overturned absent a finding
as designated by a court of competent jurisdiction that the district
governing board acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner.