Enrollment period for students expanded

A law that may make it easier for families in some districts to transfer their children to public schools outside of their neighborhoods went into effect Monday.

HB349 expands the enrollment period for students looking to transfer schools, lays out more uniform enrollment thresholds and requires schools to notify the public of how full their school is and how many transfer students they would be able to accept.

"(The law) offers families a lot more flexibility with public school choice," said Leah Barker, spokeswoman for Parents for Choice in Education. "It's legislation that will actually work for families, particularly low-income families and families in neighborhood schools that may not be performing at par."

Bill proponents say the passage of HB349 is a culmination of a two-year effort led by the Davis Parents Association, coming on the heels of massive high school boundary realignments in Davis County, and Parents for Choice in Education to improve Utah's existing open enrollment policies.

Barker said that in the past, students could only apply for transfers in a small window six months before the school year began. That's now expanded to allow students to transfer all through the school year if there is room.

Plus, before the legislation, schools had a lot more discretion in defining what capacity actually was -- some schools were easier to get into than others.

Now under the law, all public schools are open to any Utah student so long as they have capacity as defined by each school district's average class size. The bill also increases transparency by requiring districts to publish school capacity online and to grant requests without discrimination.

"This legislation was sorely needed. Parents now have another option to find a school environment that works for them," said Robyn Bagley, chairman of Parents for Choice in Education. "This is just one of many education reforms that PCE will continue to advocate for."

E-mail: terickson@desnews.com

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