TYPES OF SCHOOL ORGANIZATION

 

The schools shall be organized into levels of instruction as follows:

 

     1.  Elementary school:  the elementary school shall consist of kindergarten and grades 1 through 4.

 

     2.  Middle school:  these schools shall consist of grades 5 through 8.

 

     3.  Senior high schools:  the senior high school shall consist of grades 9 through 12.

 

 

LEGAL REFS:   Iowa Code 256.11,  275.11,  280.14
670 Iowa Admin. Code 3.1,  3.2(1) - .2(8)
281 Iowa Admin. Code 12.1,  12.3(11), 12.5 (new standards)

 

 

Adopted:  September 11, 1985                                                  

 

Reviewed:  Nov. 14, 1988            
March 11, 1996
March 20, 2000             
November 21, 2005
May 16, 2011
June 13, 2016

 

Revised:  Jan. 9, 1989
May 15, 1995

SCHOOL CALENDAR

 

The Board believes the district’s calendar should reflect the educational philosophy of the district and provide an equal opportunity for all students to participate in a quality educational program.

 

The superintendent of schools shall have the responsibility for developing a school calendar for recommendation, approval, and adoption by the Board each year prior to the time of issuance of personnel contractors for the year for which the calendar was adopted.  The adopted official school calendar shall comply with the legal requirements pertaining to the starting date, length of the school year, inservice training for personnel, and any other areas designated by Iowa law.

 

The Board shall have the prerogative to amend the official school calendar when the Board considers the change to be in the best interests of the district’s educational program.

 

 

LEGAL REFS.:            Iowa Code Secs. 20.9 and 279.10 (1985 & Supp. 1985)
670 Iowa Administrative Code Sec. 3.2(11) and 3.3(5).

 

CROSS REFS.:            501.1 Student Attendance                                
504.7 Emergency School Closings
601.3 School Day

 

 

Adopted:  June 13, 1988                                                                

 

Reviewed: Jan 9, 198             
March 11, 1996
March 20, 2000
November 21, 2005
May 16, 2011
June 13, 2016

 

Revised: Feb 13, 1989

SCHOOL DAY

 

The student school day for grades one through twelve shall consist of a minimum of five and one- half hours, not including the lunch period.  The school day consists of the schedule of class instruction and class activities as established and sponsored by the school district.  Time during which students are released from school for parent/teacher conferences may be counted as part of the student’s instructional time.  The minimum school day shall meet the requirements as established for the operation of accredited schools.

 

The board may define the number of days kindergarten will be held and the length of each school day for the students attending kindergarten.  The school day shall consist of a schedule as recommended by the superintendent and approved by the board. 

 

The school district may also record a day of school with less than the minimum instructional hours if the total hours of instructional time for grades one through twelve in any five consecutive school days equals a minimum of twenty-seven and one-half hours, even though any one day of school is less than the minimum instructional hours because of a staff development opportunity provided for the instructional staff or parent-teacher conferences have been scheduled beyond the regular school day.  If the total hours of instructional time for the first four consecutive days equal at least twenty-seven and one-half hours because parent-teacher conferences have been scheduled beyond the regular school day, the school district may record zero hours of instructional time on the fifth consecutive school day as a school day.  Schedule revisions and changes in time allotments will be made by the superintendent.

 

When the school is forced to close due to weather or other emergencies, that part of the day during which school was in session will constitute a school day.

 

It shall be the responsibility of the superintendent to inform the board annually of the length of the school day.

 

 

LEGAL REFS.:            Iowa Code § 279.8 (1995)
281  I.A.C. 12.(2),  .2(3),  .2(6)

 

CROSS REFS.:            601.1 School Calendar

 

 

Adopted: Sept. 11, 1985              

 

Reviewed: March 11, 1996          
March 20, 2000
November 21, 2005
May 16, 2011      
June 13, 2016        

 

Revised:  Aug. 12, 1996

INSTRUCTIONAL TIME AUDIT

 

The administration shall provide the board an annual report on the availability of instructional time available for students.  Considerations in the time audit and subsequent reports shall include patterns of employment and assignment of instructional professional staff; the relationship of the school organization and instructional methods to the availability of instructional time; identification of the responsibility for organizing and managing the instructional program; and the effect of cocurricular and extracurricular activity programs on availability of instructional time.

 

 

Legal Reference:                 Iowa Code 256.11 (1989)
281 Iowa Admin. Code 12.3(3), 3(5)  (New Starndards)

 

 

Adopted:                           

 

Reviewed: March 11, 1996              
March 20, 2000
November 21, 2005
May 16, 2011
June 13, 2016

 

Revised:  October 10, 1994

OPEN ENROLLMENT

 

SENDING DISTRICT

Parents, legal guardians, or legal custodians requesting open enrollment to another school district must notify the district no later than the close of the regular school day of January 1   preceding the first year desired for open enrollment.  Notice shall be made on forms provided by the Department of Education.

 

Parents, legal guardians, or legal custodians of children who will begin kindergarten are exempt from the January 1 deadline.  Requests for students who will begin kindergarten must file in the same manner as above by June 30 prior to the beginning of the child’s kindergarten year.

 

Parents, legal guardians, or legal custodians who meet the “good cause” criteria set forth in the law and/or implementation rules are also exempt from the January 1 deadline and may make open enrollment application at any time in the same manner as set forth above.

 

The superintendent will approve applications filed by January 1 before February 1; incoming kindergarten applications filed by June 30; good cause applications filed by June 30; or continuation of an educational program application filed by the third Thursday of the following September.

 

The board will approve all other open enrollment requests according to the timelines established by law.  The parents may withdraw the open enrollment request prior to the start of the school year.  The superintendent shall notify the parents by mail within three days of the superintendent’s action to approve or the board’s action to deny the open enrollment request.  Approved open enrollment requests shall be transmitted by the superintendent to the receiving district within five days after the superintendent’s action on the open enrollment request.

 

All other policy, practice or procedure not specifically addressed here shall be in compliance with applicable law and Department of Education regulation.  The board does not waive any rights or discretion available to it under this applicable law and/or regulation.

 

RECEIVING DISTRICT

The superintendent will consider request for open enrollment into this district at any time.  Requests shall be acted on within five (5) days following receipt.   Only the board may deny an application. Within 15 days of the superintendent’s or board’s action the superintendent shall notify the parent/guardian, resident district, and Department of Education of its action.

 

In the event that a request is approved, the board shall have complete discretion to determine the attendance center of the student attending under open enrollment.

 

Open enrollment requests that, if denied would result in students from the same nuclear family being enrolled in different school districts will be given highest priority.  Other requests shall be considered in the order received  with the first request given a higher priority than the second and so forth.

 

Open enrollment requests will not be approved if the student is under suspension or expulsion order by the resident district, the enrollment would adversely affect court ordered desegregation orders, or if there is insufficient classroom space.  Insufficient classroom space will be determined to exist when conditions exist that would adversely affect the implementation of the educational philosophy and program of the district.  Insufficient classroom space will be determined on a case by case basis. 

Criteria to be considered shall include but not necessarily be limited to available personnel, grade level(s), physical space, unique ability level groupings by class, equipment availability, materials availability, finances, sharing agreements in place, collective bargaining agreements in place, and the districts goals and objective.

 

All other policy, practice, or procedure not specifically addressed here shall be in compliance with applicable law and Department of Education regulation.  The board does not waive any rights or discretion available to it under applicable law and/or regulation.

 

Generally, students in grades ten through twelve open enrolling into the school district shall not be eligible for participation in interscholastic athletics during the first ninety days of open enrollment in to the school district.  Such students may be eligible to participate if:

 

•   The school district and the sending district participate jointly in the sport;
•   The sport in which the pupil wishes to participate is not offered in the sending district;
•   The sending district was dissolved and merged with one or more contiguous school districts for failure to meet the accreditation standards;
•   The student is open enrolling because the sending district has entered into a whole grade sharing agreement with another school district for the students grade:
•   The student’s parent is an active member of the armed forces and resides in permanent housing on government property provided by a branch of the armed services;
•   The student paid tuition for one or more years to the school district prior to open enrolling into the school district; or
•   The student attended the school district under a sharing or mutual agreement between the school district and the sending district for one or more years prior to open enrolling into the school district.
•  
• PAYMENT
• The district of residence must pay the receiving district the state per pupil cost of the  previous year, plus moneys received as a result on non-English speaking weighting and Phase III money.  Payment shall be made on a quarterly basis.
•  
• TRANSPORTATION
• The parent/guardian of a student who is accepted for open enrollment is responsible to transport their pupil without reimbursement to and from a point on a regular bus route of this district unless they meet the economic eligibility requirement established and publicized annually by the Department of Education, and  the receiving district is contiguous to the resident district.  If a pupil qualifies under the economic eligibility requirements the resident district has the option of actually transporting the pupil to a designated stop on a regular bus route of a contiguous receiving district, or as an alternative, the resident district can pay the parent/guardian for providing this transportation.  The resident district is not obligated to expend more than the average cost per pupil transported amount established for that district for the previous school year.

 

OPEN ENROLLMENT OUT OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO AN ALTERNATIVE RECEIVING DISTRICT

Parents of students attending the school district under open enrollment may make an open enrollment request to a different public school district, an alternative receiving district, within the time period of the original open enrollment request.  This open enrollment request shall be filed in the same manner as other open enrollment requests no later than January 1 in the year preceding the first year desired for open enrollment in the alternative receiving district.

 

It shall be within the complete discretion of the board to approve or deny the open enrollment request to an alternative receiving district.  In exercising that discretion, the board may consider several factors including, but not limited to, the potential impact of the transfer on the student, the effectiveness of the education program, the financial situation of the school district and other factors deemed relevant by the superintendent and the board.  The board shall take action on the open enrollment request to the alternative receiving district at the next regular board meeting.  Prior to the board’s action, parents may withdraw the open enrollment request.

 

The superintendent shall notify the parents by mail within five days of the board’s action to approve or deny the open enrollment request to an alternative receiving district.  Approved open enrollment requests shall be transmitted by the superintendent to the alternative receiving district chosen by the parents within five days after the board’s action on the open enrollment request.

 

Approved open enrollment requests to an alternative receiving district shall be effective the following semester or at the beginning of the next school year.  It shall be within the discretion of the board to make the open enrollment request to an alternative receiving district effective immediately based upon the circumstances of the open enrollment request and with mutual agreement of the alternative receiving district.

 

An open enrollment request out of the school district from parents of a special education student shall be reviewed on a case-by case basis.  The determining factor for approval of such an open enrollment request will be whether the special education program available in the receiving school district is appropriate for the student’s needs.  The area agency director of special education serving the receiving district shall determine whether the program is appropriate.  The special education student shall remain in the school district until the final determination is made.

 

It shall be the responsibility of the superintendent to maintain open enrollment request applications and notice forms.  It shall also be the responsibility of the superintendent to develop appropriate office procedures and administrative regulations necessary for open enrollment requests.

 

 

OPEN ENROLLMENT INTO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AS AN ALTERNATIVE RECEIVING DISTRICT

 

The board shall take action on the open enrollment request to the school district as an alternative receiving district within fifteen days of receipt of the open enrollment request.  The superintendent shall notify the parents of the board’s action to approve or deny the open enrollment request at the next regular meeting of the board.  If the open enrollment request is approved, the Iowa Department of Education will be notified.

                                                                                                   

Open enrollment requests into the school district as an alternative receiving district shall be effective the following semester or at the beginning of the next school year.  It shall be within the discretion of the board to make the open enrollment request into the school district as an alternative receiving district effective immediately based upon the circumstances of the open enrollment request and with the mutual agreement of the board of the school district the student is attending.  The superintendent shall notify the parents of the effective date of the open enrollment into the school district as an alternative receiving district within fifteen days of the mutual agreement.

 

Attendance center assignments, athletic eligibility and transportation of students open enrolling into the school district as an alternative receiving school district shall be handled in the same manner as students open enrolled into the school district as a receiving district.

 

An open enrollment request into the school district from parents of a special education student shall be reviewed on a case-by case basis.  The determining factors for approval of such an open enrollment request will be whether the special education program available in the school district is appropriate for the student’s needs and whether the enrollment of the special education student will cause the class size to exceed the maximum allowed.  The area education agency director of special education serving the  school district shall determine whether the program is appropriate.  The special education student shall remain in the sending district until the final determination is made.

 

The policies of the school district shall apply to students attending the school district under open enrollment.

 

It shall be the responsibility of the superintendent to develop appropriate office procedures and administrative regulations necessary for open enrollment requests.

 

 

CROSS REFS.:            501.11    Student Transfers In
501.12    Student Transfers Out or Withdrawls
501.13    Open Enrollment Transfers – Procedures as a Sending District
506        Student Records
507        Student Health and Well-Being

 

 

Adopted:  July 10, 1989         

 

Reviewed:  March 11, 1996                
March 20, 2000                  
November 21, 2005
May 16, 2011
June 13, 2016

 

Revised:  Dec. 9, 1991
July 15, 1996