In accordance with La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:4035.1, Louisiana Public School Choice provides for the right of a parent or legal guardians to enroll his/her child in a school other than the school to which the child was scheduled to be enrolled, if the school at which the child was most recently enrolled received a School Performance Score of "D" or "F" in the most recent school year, and the school in which the child is seeking to be enrolled received a School Performance Score of "A", "B" or "C" in the most recent school year, pursuant to the state's school and district accountability system.  As La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:4035.1 provides for certain variable eligibility criterion, any enrollment based upon the Louisiana Public School Choice option shall be considered an annual enrollment and shall not obligate the School Board to allow for enrollment beyond one (1) school year.

The School Board shall define “capacity” for each school, and determine a transfer request period which shall begin no later than March first and end no earlier than March twenty-eighth, annually.  Prior to the transfer request period, the School Board shall notify parents and legal guardians of students enrolled in schools that received a D or F school performance letter grade of the following:

The provisions of the Louisiana Public School Choice policy;

Schools under the jurisdiction of the School Board that received an A, B, or C school performance letter grade, if any;

The process for submitting student transfer requests; and,

The page on the Louisiana Department of Education’s website that contains school performance data.

A parent or guardian wishing to exercise the public school choice option who resides and intends on continuing to reside during the upcoming school year inside or outside of the Central Community School District shall contact the School Board’s Supervisor of Child Welfare and Attendance.  This shall be the only office authorized to process an application to enroll under La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:4035.1.

A birth certificate, identification and/or proof of guardianship shall be provided at the time of application.

An application for enrollment shall serve as consent for the School Board to obtain the records and information necessary to determine the eligibility/ineligibility of the student.

Applications shall be time/date stamped to establish timeliness of filing.

Documentation of the prior school enrollment of the student shall be provided; such as report card or official correspondence.

The School Board shall verify that the school in which the student was most recently enrolled or would have otherwise attended, received school performance letter grade of a "D" or "F".

The parent or guardian shall identify the school for which the student seeks enrollment, and the School Board shall verify that such school received a letter grade of "A'', "B'', or "C" for the most recent school year.

Eligibility shall be determined on an annual basis.

The primary obligation of the School Board shall be to provide for the enrollment of students who reside within the Central Community School District.  Therefore, the School Board shall not enroll students wishing to transfer under this policy to the extent that such enrollment may conflict with this primary obligation.

Upon receipt of a Louisiana Public School Choice application for enrollment, the School Board shall verify whether the school for which the student seeks enrollment has sufficient capacity.

The capacity verification shall take into account grade level and special program requirement, such as gifted and talented or special needs and shall be made on a school-by-school basis after the official student count on October 1 of each school year.

For purposes of determining capacity, as determined by School Board staffing policy, and school which has an anticipated enrollment of greater than 80% of its optimal total student capacity, in the grade in which the student seeks to enroll, shall be deemed to have insufficient capacity to allow for a Louisiana Public School Choice enrollment.  Any school that has portables or modular buildings shall be considered at capacity.

Upon such a determination, the parent shall be advised that the school for which enrollment is sought has insufficient capacity.

The verification of capacity shall be an annual determination for the re-enrollment of students for each subsequent year.

In the event the number of applications for enrollment exceeds the capacity in any particular school, students enrolled in the school for the prior year shall have preference.

If, after enrolling all prior year students, applicants exceed the remaining capacity, applicants shall be selected in order of timeliness of application until capacity is no longer available.

A student meeting any of the following shall be ineligible to enroll as a student under the provisions of this policy:

The student was expelled for disciplinary reasons in the current or preceding school year;

The student was suspended more than once in the current or preceding school year;

The student was involved in more than one fight or other act of violence on school grounds or at a school sponsored event in the preceding school year;

The student was found in possession of any illicit drug or narcotic on school grounds in the current or preceding school year;

The student had more than ten (10) unexcused absences during the current or preceding school year.

After enrollment, a student shall be ineligible to continue enrollment as a student under the provisions of Louisiana Public School Choice if any of the following apply:

The student is suspended more than once during the school year;

The student is expelled for disciplinary reasons during the school year;

The student is involved in more than one fight or other act of violence on school grounds during the school year;

The student is found in possession of any illicit drug or narcotic on school grounds during the school year;

The student has more than ten (10) unexcused absences during the school year.