AR423    –   Open Enrollment Program

Acceptance and Rejection – The District shall consider and apply the following criteria when deciding whether or not to accept (or, in some situations, revoke acceptance of) a nonresident student's application for full-time open enrollment:

1. Space is not available in the school, program, class or grade the student would attend.

a.    Projected enrollment of resident school students is to be determined by the District Administrator or his/her designee by no later than the third Friday in December. 

b.    In January, the District Administrator or his/her designee shall present to the Board of Education for its approval, the availability of openings for nonresident students based on the established maximum number of students that can be accommodated in each school, class, and program. [Wis. Stats. 118.51(5)]

c.     The availability of space in the schools, programs, and classes may be based upon:

                                                 i.  Class size guidelines (Policy #343.2 – Class Size)

                                                ii.  Student-teacher ratios

                                               iii.  Census data

                                               iv.  Enrollment projections

                                                v.  Special Education caseload size

d.    At a minimum, any annual determination of space availability shall involve at least a declaration of the District-wide number of nonresident open enrollment applications that the District intends to accept in conjunction with the subsequent regular application period, broken down (1) by grade (although two or more grades may be combined and treated as a single grade); and (2) by any established special education program or service that has identifiable space limitations. However, in any year in which the Board establishes a space limitation in any grade/program/service, the Board’s determination of space availability may also indicate, at the Board’s discretion in light of its assessment of the relevant factors, that no space limitations are needed in certain other grades/programs/services.

e.    The number of openings in a particular program for nonresident students will be determined by optimum size for a particular program or classroom which is the number of students that can be accommodated without causing undue instructional or financial hardship for the district.  This includes all regular and special education programs. 

f.     Assignment of students under open enrollment within the District is based upon space availability.  Every effort will be made to accommodate requests for specific schools as space permits.  [Wis. Stats. 118.51(5)(a)1.]

g.    If the Board has taken annual action  to limit the number of spaces that will be available in any grade(s), programs(s), or service(s) for applications that are submitted during the regular application period (i.e., for enrollment in the following school year), then the District’s consideration of nonresident alternative applications for open enrollment shall be limited as provided under DPI’s administrative rules.               

2.    The student is currently expelled and the expulsion will extend into the school year for which the application is submitted.  [Wis. Stats. 120.13(1)(f)]

3.    The student has been expelled during the current or preceding two school years for certain conduct specified in statute.  [Wis. Stats. 118.51(5)(a)2.]

4.    The student was habitually truant from the nonresident district during any semester in the current or previous school year.  [Wis. Stats. 118.51(5)(a)3.]

5.    The special education or related services required by the student’s individualized education program (IEP) are not available in the nonresident school district or there is not space in the special education or related services required by the student’s IEP.  [Wis. Stats. 118.51(5)(a)4]

a.    In any instance where an application is submitted by a student with a disability but there is no current IEP available for the student, the District will use the procedures defined in DPI’s administrative rules to determine whether the District has the appropriate special education program or space.

b.    If a nonresident student receives his/her initial individualized education program (IEP) or has changes to an existing IEP while attending the District under open enrollment, or if the District has approved an application for a student without an IEP and it is subsequently determined that the student is a child with a disability for whom there is either a record of a previous special education evaluation or a prior IEP based upon such evaluation, then the student may be returned to his/her resident district if the District determines either that the special education or related services required for the student are not available in the District or that there is no space available.

6.    The student has been referred for a special education evaluation but has not been evaluated by an IEP team in the resident district. [Wis. Stats. 118.51(5)(a)6.]

7.    If a parent or guardian applies for open enrollment under the alternative open enrollment application criteria and procedures and relies on the “best interests of the student” criteria, the District shall review the information and rationale provided by the parent(s) or guardian(s) and make a determination as to whether the District agrees with the parent(s) or guardian(s) that attending school in the District pursuant to the application is in the student’s best interests. If the District determines that attendance would not be in the student’s best interests, the application shall be denied on that basis.

A full-time open enrollment application can also be denied if the nonresident student is ineligible for open enrollment under state law (e.g., the student does not meet the age requirements for school attendance or for early admission, the resident district does not have a 4-year-old kindergarten program as offered by the District, etc.) or the application is determined to be invalid (e.g., the application is incomplete, untimely, or in excess of the number of allowable applications).

Each application shall be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. 

Determining Number of Available Open Enrollment Seats - Regular Education

-         Elementary - Elementary Principals and District Administrator will establish number of class sections available for the following school year.  Available open enrollments seats by grade level will be established by multiplying anticipated number of sections per grade level for next school year by the maximum class size limit for each grade level per Board Policy 343.2 lessened by projected enrollment by grade level based on enrollment matriculation calculations.  

-         Secondary - Secondary Principals and District Administrator will establish maximum average class size by department.  The maximum average class size limit as referenced in Board Policy 343.2 should be used unless the secondary notation in the policy applies.  Secondary Principals and District Administrator will note how maximum average class size by department was established.

To determine number of available seats by grade level at the secondary level, the following procedure will be utilized annually:

Step 1 = In order to make projections for the next school year, the District will annually determine actual seats possible for current school year by department. To determine total seats possible for current year by department, the number of actual sections by department will be multiplied by Board policy determined maximum average class size.  Courses with alternate maximum class size will be factored into this calculation.

Step 2 = To determine total seats available for current year, the District will collect current total enrollment by department.  By subtracting the actual total enrollment (occupied seats) by department from total possible seats as established in Step 1 of this process, the District will determine total seats available by department for current year.  

Step 3 = To determine available seat distribution by grade level by department for current year, the total seats available, as determined in Step 2, will be multiplied by actual proportion of current enrollments per grade level.  

Step 4 = To project available seats by department for the next school year, the Secondary Principals and District Administrator will establish number of projected semester sections per department.  To establish total number of available seats by department for next school year, the total number of semester sections projected will be multiplied by the maximum class size by department. Courses with alternate maximum class size will be factored into this calculation.

Step 6 = To establish projected available seats by grade level for the next school year, the District will use projected available seats by department for next school year, established in Step 4, multiplied by the grade level enrollment proportions from current year (% of total department enrollment by grade level) multiplied by % increase or decrease projected by grade level based on District matriculation calculations (advancement of current grade 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 students).  

-         3rd Friday December enrollment will be used to run calculation. Current open enrollment students and siblings will be guaranteed future enrollment and included in our current enrollment and calculation to establish available seats.

-         Per Board Policy 343.2 = SDFA Regular Education Class Size Guidelines are:

o   Elementary

§  Four-Year-Old Kindergarten (4K) – No more than 18 students per classroom  section;

§  Five-Year-Old Kindergarten (5K) – 15-25 students per regular classroom;

§  Grades 1-3 - 18-25 students per regular classroom;

§  Grades 4-5 - 18-30 students per regular classroom;

o   Secondary

§  Department Average - 18-32 students per regular classroom

§  In areas of limiting facilities, areas where safety is a factor, and/or where staff currently employed is available, class size may be altered subject to approval of the District Administrator.  

-         With consideration of the calculations stated above, the District Administrator will make a recommendation to the Board of Education whether or not the District intends to deny open enrollment requests based on available space in schools, programs and/or classes.  This determination will advise the Board’s resolution considered at the January Board of Education meeting annually.

Determining Number of Available Open Enrollment Seats - Special Education

-         Based on teacher assignment, annually, the Principals and Pupil Services / Special Education Director will annually determine the category for each special education position in regards to push-in or pull-out instruction.

-         Using the State of Wisconsin DPI guidelines for recommended caseload stated in the Options for Determining Caseloads in Special Education.  Principals and Pupil Services / Special Education Director will annually determine the caseload size for each special education educator and average caseload size for each special education program by level (pull-out and push-in for each elementary, middle and secondary).  

-         3rd Friday December enrollment will be used to determine Special Education student caseloads.

-         Average caseload size for each special education program by level (pull-out and push-in for each elementary, middle and secondary) will be established using the determined caseload per teacher per level per program (pull-out and push-in) and averaged using the total number of FTE at that level (elementary, middle and high school).  

-         The District will use the following process for determining the caseload size for each special education educator and average caseload size for each special education program by level (pull-out and push-in for each elementary, middle and secondary).

PROCESS FOR CASELOAD SIZE DETERMINATION:

Step 1. Director of Special Education and/or his/her designee will assign a Special Education Service Level as recommended by the State of Wisconsin to each student based on Options for Determining Caseloads in Special Education. For each student on the caseload staff will record service level, type of disability, and school level for each student.

Caseload Leveling

Step 2.  Director of Special Education and/or his/her designee will assign a Special Education student factor as recommended by the State of Wisconsin to each student based on Options for Determining Caseloads in Special Education.  For each student on the caseload, staff will identify the appropriate column in the following student factoring tables and record this information.

Caseload Leveling/Weighting 

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