MCAT High School recently issued the following announcement
Register at any Marana school, no matter where you live.
Marana offers many choices in education. Even if you live outside the District’s boundaries, you are welcome to enroll your child in any of our schools, as long as there is sufficient space. The Marana Unified School District has an open enrollment program (presented below) as set forth in A.R.S. 15-816.
Apply by December 15 - space can be limited!
To apply for open enrollment, contact Lisa Hyatt via email or call (520) 682-4757. You may also contact the administrative office of the school the pupil desires to attend.
*A student who currently attends a District school through open enrollment does not have to complete an Open Enrollment Application Form for the subsequent school year as long as they remain at the same school.
Definitions
Resident transfer pupil means a resident pupil who is enrolled in or seeking enrollment in a school that is within Marana Unified School District whose attendance boundaries do not include the pupil's residence.
Nonresident pupil means a pupil who resides within Arizona but not within Marana Unified School District and who is seeking enrollment in a Marana Unified School District school.
Resident transfer pupils and nonresident pupils may be referred to in this policy as "transfer students."
Open Enrollment Requirements and Application Process
Subject to school, grade, class and program capacity limitations, District open enrollment admission criteria, and student conduct policies applicable to all students, a resident transfer pupil or nonresident pupil may attend any school within the District as an open enrollment pupil.
The Superintendent shall prepare a written information packet that includes: 1) a general explanation of the District's open enrollment application process; 2) a copy of the District's Open Enrollment Application Form and Instructions; 3) the District's open enrollment admission criteria; and 4) a copy of this Policy. This information packet will be made available to anyone who requests it.
Determinations concerning which pupils, including resident transfer pupils and nonresident pupils, will be accepted as Marana Unified School District open enrollment pupils are made on a year-by-year basis. A pupil currently attending school in the District as an open enrollment pupil is entitled to first priority status for open enrollment admission the following school year (see the Enrollment Priority section of this Policy below), but all pupils, including those currently attending school as open enrollment pupils, are subject to capacity limitations and must be in compliance with the District’s open enrollment admission criteria each school year.
A pupil who is not currently a District open enrollment pupil but who seeks such status for the subsequent school year must complete an Open Enrollment Application Form and submit it to the administrative office of the school the pupil desires to attend. The completed Open Enrollment Application Form should be submitted on or before December 15 for the subsequent school year. Open Enrollment Application Forms submitted after December 15 will be considered, but the pupil is assigned fourth priority status, as described in the Enrollment Priorities section of this Policy below.
A pupil who currently attends a District school as an open enrollment pupil is not required to complete an Open Enrollment Application Form for the subsequent school year. Such pupil will automatically be considered for continuing open enrollment status and is entitled to first priority status, as described in the Enrollment Priorities section of this Policy below. Current open enrollment pupils who do not intend to remain in their current open enrollment status during the subsequent school year should notify the administrative office of the school they currently attend of their planned future change of status.
Capacity
The Superintendent shall annually estimate how much excess capacity may exist to admit open enrollment students. The estimate of excess capacity shall be made for each school, grade level, and special program, and shall take into consideration:
A. District-approved staffing levels and ratios.
B. District resident pupils in assigned school attendance areas, including those issued certificates of educational convenience and those required by statute to be admitted.
For a student who qualifies for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), program capacity means that the District has existing staff, equipment and physical facilities required to provide an appropriate individualized educational program, including related services, to the student. For a student who qualifies for services under §504 of the Rehabilitation Act or the Americans with Disabilities Act, program capacity means that the District has existing staff, equipment and physical facilities to provide appropriate accommodations to the student.
Qualifying Pupils and Enrollment Priorities
To the extent that excess capacity exists allowing the admission of open enrollment pupils, such pupils shall be selected from the pool of qualifying pupils within each of the priority categories that are designated below. A qualifying pupil is one who:
A. Has properly completed and submitted an Open Enrollment Application Form or, because the pupil currently attends a District school as an open enrollment pupil, is exempt from this requirement; and
B. Meets the District’s open enrollment admission criteria.
C. Enrollment priorities for admission of open enrollment pupils are as follows:
1. First priority. First priority status is reserved for pupils who currently attend District schools as open enrollment pupils. If capacity is not sufficient to admit all pupils in this category, they shall be selected by means of a random selection process designated by the Superintendent.
2. Second priority. Second priority status is reserved for pupils who are children of District employees but who do not currently attend District schools as open enrollment pupils. If capacity is not sufficient to admit all pupils in this category, they shall be selected by means of a random selection process designated by the Superintendent.
3. Third priority. Third priority status is reserved for siblings of pupils who currently attend District schools as open enrolment pupils or are accepted as open enrollment pupils for the subsequent school year. If capacity is not sufficient to admit all pupils in the category, they shall be selected by means of a random selection process designated by the Superintendent.
3. Fourth priority. Fourth priority status is reserved for all other pupils who are not currently attending as open enrollment students. If capacity is not sufficient to admit all pupils in this category, they shall be selected by means of a random selection process designated by the Superintendent.
4. Fifth priority. Fifth priority status includes all pupils who apply for open enrollment after the December 15 deadline for applications for open enrollment admission for the subsequent school year. Priorities one (1) through three (3) are reserved for students who apply on or before the December 15 deadline. If capacity is not sufficient to admit all pupils in this category, they shall be selected by means of a random selection process designated by the Superintendent.
Enrollment preference may be given to children who are in foster care.
Open Enrollment Admission Criteria
To be admitted as an open enrollment pupil, including admission of a current open enrollment pupil for the subsequent school year, the pupil must meet the following admission criteria:
A. During the past twenty-four (24) months, the pupil has not had significant problems related to attendance or tardiness.
B. During the past twenty-four (24) months, the pupil has been able to achieve reasonable academic progress.
C. During the past twenty-four (24) months, the pupil has not received a long term suspension or expulsion.
D. During the past twenty-four (24) months, the pupil has not been subject to multiple (three [3] or more) disciplinary referrals, regardless of whether such referrals resulted in a suspension or expulsion.
E. During the past twenty-four (24) months, the pupil has not had significant negative interactions with law enforcement or the juvenile justice system.
The District, in its sole discretion, may schedule a meeting with a pupil who seeks initial admission, or continuing admission for a subsequent school year, as an open enrollment student. The pupil’s parent(s) or legal guardian(s) will be invited to attend any such meeting. The purpose of the meeting will be to review whether special circumstances exist warranting open enrollment admission of the pupil despite concerns about one (1) or more of the above-listed open enrollment admission criteria.
Notification
A pupil who does not currently attend Marana Unified School District as an open enrollment pupil and has properly submitted an Open Enrollment Application Form on or before the December 15 deadline shall be provided written notice, no later than two (2) weeks prior to the first day of school of the following school year, that indicates whether the pupil’s open enrollment application has been accepted or rejected, or whether the pupil has been placed on a waiting list pending a final determination of capacity or the receipt of additional information relating to open enrollment admission criteria. The written notice shall be provided to the pupil if emancipated and, if not, to the pupil's parent(s) or legal guardian(s). The District shall also notify the resident school district of an applicant's acceptance or placement on a waiting list. If the pupil is placed on a waiting list, the notification shall inform the emancipated pupil, parent, or legal guardian of the date by which the District will determine whether the pupil’s open enrollment application will be accepted or rejected. If the eventual determination is to reject the pupil’s open enrollment application, a subsequent written notice shall state the basis of the rejection, shall be provided to the pupil if emancipated and, if not, to the pupil’s parent(s) or legal guardian(s), and may be appealed using the procedures set out in Appendix Q to the District’s Student Discipline Code.
A pupil who currently attends Marana Unified School District as an open enrollment pupil shall, on or before May 1, be provided written notice by the District if the District has determined that either:
A. the pupil has not remained in compliance with the District's open enrollment admission criteria, or
B. there is no longer capacity in the applicable school, grade, class or program; and that, as a result of such determination, the pupil will not be permitted to attend Marana Unified School District as an open enrollment pupil during the following school year. The written notice shall specify the reason why the pupil will not be permitted to continue as an open enrollment pupil, shall be provided to the pupil if emancipated and, if not, to the pupil’s parent(s) or legal guardian(s), and may be appealed using the procedures set out in Appendix Q to the District's Student Discipline Code.
Applications Received After December 15
Should there be excess capacity remaining for which no applications were submitted by December 15 of each year, the Superintendent may authorize the admission of additional open enrollment pupils who apply for such status after December 15 if such pupils meet the District's open enrollment admission criteria.
Notwithstanding the above, no application for open enrollment in a school year may be approved after February 1 of that school year.
Resident Pupils who Move Outside a School's Attendance Area
A resident pupil who moves outside of a school's attendance area may remain in the school the pupil is attending for the remainder of that academic year, but thereafter may only continue in that school if the pupil applies for and is admitted as an open enrollment pupil.
Transportation
Marana Unified School District does not provide transportation services to open enrollment pupils. However, the District may allow open enrollment pupils to use District transportation services at existing routes and stops to the extent capacity exists after the transportation needs of its pupils who are not open enrollment pupils have been met. When the number of open enrollment transportation requests exceeds capacity limitations, priority for such services will be based on the date that the student's open enrollment status was first approved, with an earlier approval date receiving priority. For requests from pupils with the same initial open enrollment admission date, the priority categories will prevail. Preference may be given to District residents and families previously approved to ride the bus
Original source can be found here.
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