Rock Hill Schools To Discuss Reassignment Policy

One of the topics for the Rock Hill Schools April work session will be if the Board wants to adopt a policy to guide student reassignment. Below is a policy the school administration has proposed for the board to consider.

Policy

Reassignment of Students JCR DRAFT

Purpose: To establish the basic structure to reassign students to schools.

In order to provide equal access to quality educational opportunities for all students, the Board is committed to providing necessary and adequate resources, to include materials, technology, and personnel, to all district schools. School assignments are made to maximize use of school facilities and support diverse populations. Students are assigned to schools within the attendance zone of their residence. The Board believes in the philosophic goal of maintaining balance within the school system, as related to the number of students receiving free and/or reduced lunch supplement, student performance on state achievement test (PASS), and student proximity to the school. The changing nature of our community makes the goal of balance and stability for students and parents very challenging. Parents should not expect that their school of initial enrollment will be their child's school for all of the elementary, middle, or high school years. Should reassignment occur, the Board does make a commitment to students and parents to:

• make every effort to reassign children only once during their elementary school years
• begin the reassignment process in the fall of the year preceding implementation of a new reassignment plan

The superintendent shall prepare a report annually, to review school population in individual schools to include the percentage of students receiving free and/or reduced lunch supplement. When a school/s demonstrate a marked increase or decrease (margin of 15%) of free/reduced lunch supplement population, or should a school exceed capacity to the degree of overcrowding, the superintendent will make recommendations for reassignment of students. Reassignment review will take place annually; however, the recommendation to the Board for reassignment will occur every (two years, three years?)

The superintendent has the discretion to make minor adjustments to attendance area maps without board approval, every two years, when area boundary lines divide properties or when unforeseen factors impact a small number of households, (i.e., new construction of a single family home/s contiguous to an existing neighborhood zone, transportation factors, unforeseen hazard)

The director of technology will be responsible for updating attendance area maps annually to reflect any changes in boundary maps or shifts in demographics within the map planning segments.

In the event of an emergency, the decision to redistrict a school because of extenuating circumstances will take place, as indicated by the emergency, with immediate action taken.

Attendance areas are available from the Planning Department and can be viewed on the district Web-site: http://www.rock-hill.kl2.sc.us

Adopted

Legal references:

A. S. C. Code, 1976, as amended:

1. Section 59-19-90(9) - Board can determine school for pupil to attend.

Rock Hill School District Three of York County