Admission of Pupils

Board Policy 5002:

1. A child shall be admitted to kindergarten during the school year if the child will have a fifth birthday on or before December second of that school year.

   A child also may be admitted to kindergarten by the Principal for good cause at any time during the school year after the child has attained the age of five years. The Principal shall provide the parent or guardian with information as to the advantages and disadvantages and any other explanatory information as to the effects of an early admittance.

2. A child who has been lawfully admitted to kindergarten may be placed in the first grade at the discretion of the Superintendent or designee if the child is ready for first grade work. The Superintendent or designee shall investigate a proposed placement in first grade to ensure that the following minimum criteria are met:

   1. The child is at least five years of age and meets requirements of Board Policy 5004, Immunizations and Health Examinations.

   2. The child has attended kindergarten for a long enough time to enable school personnel to evaluate ability.

   3. The child is in the upper five percent of the child's age group in terms of general mental ability.

   4. The physical development and social maturity of the child are consistent with advanced mental ability.

   5. The parent or guardian of the child has filed a written statement approving placement in the first grade.

3. Each child between the ages of six and eighteen years is subject to compulsory full-time education unless excepted by or pursuant to applicable law.

4. A pupil shall attend the district in which the residency of either the parent or legal guardian is located unless otherwise authorized by applicable law. A non-resident parent or legal guardian seeking enrollment must apply for admission to the Director Student Support Services.

   The Director Student Support Services shall resolve any dispute with regard to residency after an investigation. In the event the parent or legal guardian disagrees with the determination of the Director Student Support Services, the parent or legal guardian shall file a written appeal with the Superintendent or Designee.

5. The Board of Education shall, at least annually, review its decisions to exclude pupils from attendance because of the following reasons: filthy or vicious habits, suffering from contagious or infectious diseases, or a mental or physical disability that is such as to cause the pupil's attendance to be inimical to the welfare of other pupils.

6. Interdistrict Attendance Permits

   1. Interdistrict attendance permits submitted after January 1, 1994:

      The Governing Board declines the opportunity for the District to become a "school district of choice": pursuant to Education Code sections 48209 through 48209.16 because of overcrowding within district schools and limited district resources. Thus, the Governing Board discourages transfers into the district and will consider approving such transfers only on a case-by-case basis consistent to applicable law.

      Interdistrict applications for a particular school only will be considered after intradistrict applications have been honored. (See G.2 below).

      Applications for an interdistrict attendance permit must be filed with this district no later than January 1 prior to the year of requested attendance. For the 1994/95 school year, this deadline shall be April 1, 1994.

   2. Students who entered the Vista Unified School District on an interdistrict attendance permit prior to January 1, 1994 shall be considered students of residence at large and are not subject to the terms and conditions outlined in Part F.1.

   3. The Governing Board appoints, the Superintendent or such administrator designated by the Superintendent the reviewing, granting or denying of interdistrict transfers. The Superintendent or Designee shall promulgate, regulations to implement this policy.

7. Intradistrict Attendance Permits

   1. Parents or guardians of each school age child who are resident of the Vista Unified School District may select the schools their child will attend, subject to space available, irrespective of the particular locations of residence within the district. However, the Governing Board shall retain the authority to maintain appropriate racial and ethnic balances among the schools. This authority takes precedence over individual parent and guardian school choice if the two objectives are in conflict.

   2. No student currently residing within a school's attendance area shall be displaced by pupils transferring in from outside the attendance area.

   3. The Governing Board shall determine annually the capacity of the schools in the district in a board resolution.

   4. All students who submit applications to the district by March 1 shall be eligible for admission to their school of choice the following school year under the district's open enrollment policy if the requested school has not reached capacity and if the district's racial and ethnic balance is maintained.

   5. If district projections of students currently living within school boundaries, students already enrolled in the school on intradistrict transfers, and new requests for enrollment in the school from outside the attendance boundaries exceed the school's capacity, requests for enrollment in a particular school will be determined by the following criteria:

      1. Requests for attendance of students living outside the attendance area and not already in attendance at the school will be honored by lottery until a school has reached the established capacity for the school year. The selection of students for schools will be random and unbiased, and will not be based on academic or athletic performance.

      2. The District projected number of students living within the attendance boundaries for the schools receive first priority.

      3. Students currently attending a school on an intradistrict transfer who plan to continue their attendance will receive second priority.

      4. If the school's capacity is exceeded by 5.b plus 5.c, then the selection of students allowed to continue attendance on an intradistrict transfer will be determined by lottery. Students in the process of completing their fourth semester at their school are exempted from the initial lottery.

   6. Once accepted on an intradistrict transfer, a student shall not have to reapply for admission the following year. However, the student may be subject to displacement due to excessive enrollment. (See Section G.5.c.)

   7. Students who transfer from one school to another within the district without a change of residence on the part of his/her parents or legal guardians from school attendance Area A to school attendance Area B, shall be eligible for all athletic competition except varsity level competition in sports in which the student has competed in any level of interscholastic competition during the twelve calendar months preceding the date of such transfer.

   8. The district will not provide transportation outside the school's attendance area unless authorized by the Superintendent or designee.

   9. Requests for entrance to the specialized high school programs at Alta Vista High School or Palomar High School will be honored by employing existing criteria and the comprehensive high school guidance team recommendations.

   10. The district reserves the right to transfer students for reasons of special need.

Legal Reference:
Education Code Sections 46600-46611, 48204, 48209-48209.17, 48915, 48915.1, 48918, 48980, 52317
Title 5 C.C.R. Section 200