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Transfers

Out of District Transfers:

Oklahoma Governor Stitt signed into law house bill HB 2074, called the Education Open Transfer Act, which requires school districts to expand transfers between public schools. This bill went into effect on January 1, 2022.

According to the law, local school boards must adopt a policy to determine “capacity” at each school site.

“Each school district board of education shall adopt a policy to determine the number of transfer students the school district has the capacity to accept in each grade level at each school site within a school district no later than January 1, 2022.”

 

Grade Enrollment Available spots Capacity
PK3 10 0 10
PK4 100 20 120
K 131 9 140
1 153 7 160
2 156 4 160
3 153 7 160
4 145 35 180
5 184 0 180
6 144 36 180
7 145 35 180
8 130 50 180
9 151 29 180
10 147 33 180
11 175 5 180
12 130 50 180

Exceptions:

There are exceptions to the transfer bill if a district is already at capacity in a grade level.

“The transfer of a student from the district in which the student resides to another school district furnishing instruction in the grade the student is entitled to pursue shall be granted if the transfer has the approval of the board of education of the receiving district at any time in the year unless the number of transfers exceeds the capacity of a grade level for each school site within a school district is insufficient to enroll all eligible students, the school district shall select transfer students in the order in which the district received the student transfer applications.” 

Student Transfers:

Open Transfers previously granted by the school board will remain in effect unless the board of education takes action to deny a future year’s attendance based upon capacity, discipline, or attendance as addressed within this policy.

The school district will not accept or deny a transfer based on ethnicity, national origin, gender, income level, disabling condition, proficiency in the English language, measure of achievement, aptitude or athletic ability. The school district will begin accepting applications for the next school year starting June 1st. Receipt of applications will be documented by the district so that the district may review those applications in the order submitted for purposes of capacity limitations. The administration will not approve or deny transfers received for the next school year until after the July 1 capacity data is determined for each grade level and site within the school district.

Transfers that have previously been approved by the school district will remain in effect for future school years unless the district provides notification to the parent or legal guardian that the transfer is not going to be continued for an upcoming school year due to capacity, disciplinary action or attendance issues. The district will not require parents resubmit a new application each school year and will advance the previous application of an enrolled student amending only the grade placement of the student.

A transfer may be requested at any time in the school year. State law does limit the ability of a student to transfer to no more than two (2) times per school year to one or more school districts in which the student does not reside. Exceptions to this limit will exist for students in foster care. Students are legally entitled to reenroll at any time in his or her school district of residence. Any brother or sister of a student who transfers may attend the school district to which their sibling transferred as long as the school district has capacity in the grade level and the sibling does not meet a basis for denial as listed below. A separate application must be filed for each student so that the district can timely consider requests in the order applications are received.

It is the policy of the board of education that any legally transferring student shall be accepted by the district under the following circumstances:

1. The district has the capacity to accept the student at the grade level at the school site;

2. The transferring student has not been disciplined for:

a. violation of a school regulation,

b. possession of an intoxicating beverage, low-point beer, as defined by Section 163.2 of Title 37 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or missing or stolen property if the property is reasonably suspected to have been taken from a student, a school employee, or the school during school activities, or

c. possession of a dangerous weapon or a controlled dangerous substance while on or within two thousand (2,000) feet of public school property, or at a school event, as defined in the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act.

3. The transferring student does not have a history of absences. “History of absences” means ten or more absences in one semester that are not excused for the reasons provided in 70 O.S. § 10-105 or due to illness.

By the first day of January, April, July and October, the board of education shall establish the number of transfer students the district has the capacity to accept in each grade level for each school site within the district. The number of transfer students for each grade level at each site that the district has the capacity to accept will be posted in a prominent place on the school district’s website.

The district shall report to the State Department of Education the number of transfer students for each grade level for each school site which the district has the capacity to accept.

The district has a capacity of 20 students per grade level teacher in grades PK-1.

The district has a capacity of 24 students per grade level teacher in grades 2-4.

The district has a capacity of 180 students per grade in grades 5-12.

A student shall be allowed to transfer to a district in which the parent or legal guardian of the student is employed as a teacher as per 70 O.S. § 8-113.

The school district shall enroll transfer students in the order in which they submit their applications. If the number of student transfer applications exceeds the capacity of the district, the district shall select transfer students in the order in which the district received the application. Students who are the dependent children of a member of the active uniformed military services of the United States on full-time active-duty status and students who are the dependent children of the military reserve on active duty orders shall be eligible for admission to the school district regardless of capacity of the district. Students shall be eligible for military transfer if:

1. At least one parent of the student has a Department of Defense issued identification card; and

2. At least one parent can provide evidence that he or she will be on active-duty status or active-duty orders, meaning the parent will be temporarily transferred in compliance with official orders to another location in support of combat, contingency operation or a national disaster requiring the use of orders for more than thirty (30) consecutive days.

If accepted, a student transfer is granted for the existing school year and may continue to attend in future years. At the end of the school year, the district may deny continued transfer of the student due to capacity or for disciplinary reasons or a history of absences.

 

Appeal Process:

If a transfer request is denied by the administration, the parent or legal guardian of the student may appeal the denial within ten (10) days of notification of denial to the board of education. The board of education shall consider the appeal at its next regularly scheduled board meeting if notice is provided prior to the statutory deadline for posting the agenda for the meeting. If notice is after the deadline for posting, the board shall consider the appeal at a special meeting of the board of education.

During the appeal, the board will review the action of the administration to make sure that the district policy was followed with regard to the denial of the transfer. The board of education will meet in an executive session to review the educational records of the student. If the policy was not followed, the board of education shall vote to overturn the denial and the transfer will be granted. This will be a paper appeal and will include the written documentation utilized by the school district as well as a written response from the parent or legal guardian which explains why the policy was not followed.

If the board of education votes to uphold the denial of the transfer, the parent or legal guardian may appeal the denial within ten (10) days of the notification of the appeal denial to the State Board of Education. The parent or legal guardian shall submit to the State Board of Education and to the superintendent of the district, a notice of appeal on the form prescribed by the State Board of Education.

A student who enrolls in a school district in which the student is not a resident shall not be eligible to participate in school-related extramural athletic competition governed by the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association for a period of one (1) year from the first day of attendance at the receiving school unless the transfer is from a school district which does not offer the grade the student is entitled to pursue as per 70 O.S. § 8-103.2.

 

Student Transfers For Children Of School District Employees:

Children or wards of individuals employed as teachers by the school district shall be allowed to transfer into the school district without regard to other transfer policies. A student who enrolls pursuant to this policy shall not be eligible to participate in school-related extramural athletic competition governed by the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association for a period of one (1) year from the first day of attendance unless the transfer is from a school district which does not offer the grade the student is entitled to pursue. Eligibility requirements are governed by the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association.

 

Transfers For Special Education Students:

If a transfer application is received for a child with disabilities to a school district other than the district of residence of the child pursuant to the Education Open Transfer Act the following provisions shall apply:

1. The school district shall establish availability of the appropriate program, staff, and services prior to approval of the transfer;

2. Prior to the approval of the transfer of a child on an individualized education program (IEP), a joint IEP conference shall be required between the district of residence and the receiving district; and

3. Upon approval of the transfer, the receiving district shall claim the child in the average daily membership for state and for federal funding purposes and shall assume all responsibility for education of the child. For state funding purposes, the State Department of Education shall include the appropriate grade level weight and all category weights to which the pupil is assigned pursuant to the provisions of Section 18-201.1 of this title when calculating State Aid pursuant to the provisions of Section 18-200.1 of this title, regardless of whether the receiving district provides education to the student using traditional in-class means or via online instruction. When applicable, the receiving district may apply to the Oklahoma Special Education Assistance Fund for assistance in meeting any extraordinary costs incurred.

 

Student Transfers For Children Of Active Duty Military Members:

The school district shall allow the transfer of students who are dependent children of a member of the active uniformed military services of the United States on full-time active duty status and for whom Oklahoma is the home of record and students who are the dependent children of a member of the military server on active duty orders and for whom Oklahoma is the home of record. Transfers will be approved if:

a. At least one parent of the student has a Department of Defense-issued identification card;

b. At least one parent can provide evidence that he or she will be on active duty status or orders, meaning the parent will be temporarily transferred in compliance with official orders to another location in support of combat, contingency operation, or a natural disaster requiring the use of orders for more than thirty (30) consecutive days; and

c. The student will be residing with a relative of the student who lives in the receiving school district or who will be living in the receiving school district within six (6) months of the filing of the application for transfer.

 

Transfer Form
A guide to open transfers
Transfer Policy
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