509 - Enrollment of Nonresident Students
I. PURPOSE
The school district desires to participate in the Enrollment Options Program established by Minn. Stat. § 124D.03. It is the purpose of this policy to set forth the application and exclusion procedures used by the school district in making said determination.
II. GENERAL STATEMENT OF POLICY
A. Eligibility. Applications for enrollment under the Enrollment Options (Open Enrollment) Law will
be approved provided that acceptance of the application will not exceed the capacity of a
program, class, grade level, or school building as established by school board resolution and
provided that:
1. space is available for the applicant under enrollment cap standards established by school
board policy or other directive; and
2. in considering the capacity of a grade level, the school district may only limit the
enrollment of nonresident students to a number not less than the lesser of:
(a) one percent of the total enrollment at each grade level in the school district; or
(b) the number of school district resident students at that grade level enrolled in a
nonresident school district in accordance with Minn. Stat. § 124D.03.
3. the applicant is not otherwise excluded by action of the school district because of
previous conduct in another school district.
B. Standards that may be used for rejection of application. In addition to the provisions of
Paragraph II.A., the school district may refuse to allow a pupil who is expelled under Section
121A.45 to enroll during the term of the expulsion if the student was expelled for:
1. possessing a dangerous weapon, including a weapon, device, instruments, material, or
substance, animate or inanimate, that is used for, or is readily capable of, causing death
or serious bodily injury, with the exception of a pocket knife with a blade less that two
and one-half inches in length, at school or a school function;
2. possessing or using an illegal drug at school or a school function;
3. selling or soliciting the sale of a controlled substance while at school or a school
function; or
4. committing a third-degree assault involving assaulting another and inflicting substantial
bodily harm.
C. Standards that may not be used for rejection of application. The school district may not use
the following standards in determining whether to accept or reject an application for open
enrollment:
1. previous academic achievement of a student;
2. athletic or extracurricular ability of a student;
3. disabling conditions of a student;
4. a student’s proficiency in the English language;
5. the student’s district of residence; or
6. previous disciplinary proceedings involving the student. This shall not preclude the
school district from proceeding with exclusion as set out in Section E. of this policy.
D. Application. The student and parent or guardian must complete and submit an Application for
Enrollment School District Enrollment Options Program developed by the Minnesota
Department of Education (that enrollment form follows this policy).
E. Exclusion
1. Administrator’s initial determination. If a school district administrator knows or has
reason to believe that an applicant has engaged in conduct that has subjected or could
subject the applicant to expulsion or exclusion under law or school district policy, the
administrator will transmit the application to the superintendent with a recommendation
of whether exclusion proceedings should be initiated.
2. Superintendent’s review. The superintendent may make further inquiries. If the
superintendent determines that the applicant should be admitted, he or she will notify
the applicant and the school board chair. If the superintendent determines that the
applicant should be excluded, the superintendent will notify the applicant and determine
whether the applicant wishes to continue the application process. Although an
application may not be rejected based on previous disciplinary proceedings, the school
district reserves the right to initiate exclusion procedures pursuant to the Minnesota
Pupil Fair Dismissal Act as warranted on a case-by-case basis.
F. Termination of Enrollment
1. The school district may terminate the enrollment of a nonresident student enrolled
under an enrollment options program pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 124D.03 or 124D.08 at
the end of a school year if the student meets the definition of a habitual truant, the
student has been provided appropriate services for truancy under Minn. Ch. 260A, and
the student’s case has been referred to juvenile court. A “habitual truant” is a child
under 16 years of age who is absent from attendance at school without lawful excuse
for seven school days if the child is in elementary school or for one or more class
periods on seven school days if the child is in middle school, junior high school or high
school, or a child who is 16 or 17 years of age who is absent from attendance at school
without lawful excuse for one or more class periods on seven school days and who has
not lawfully withdrawn from school under Minn. Stat. § 120A.22, Subd. 8.
2. The school district may also terminate the enrollment of a nonresident student over 16
years of age if the student is absent without lawful excuse for one or more periods on
15 school days and has not lawfully withdrawn from school under
Minn. Stat. § 120A.22, Subd. 8.
3. A student who has not applied for and been accepted for open enrollment pursuant to
this policy and does not otherwise meet the residency requirements for enrollment
may be terminated from enrollment and removed from school. Prior to removal from
school, the school district will send to the student’s parents a written notice of the
school district’s belief that the student is not a resident of the school district. The notice
shall include the facts upon which the belief is based and notice to the parents of their
opportunity to provide documentary evidence, in person or in writing, of residency to
the superintendent or the superintendent’s designee. The superintendent or the
superintendent’s designee will make the final determination as to the 540-2
residency status of the student.
Adopted: 11-28-2001; Revised: 7-12-2004, 7-9-2007; Reviewed: 7-12-2010
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