79-2110 Diversity plan; limitations; school building maximum capacity; attendance areas; school board; duties; application to attend school outside attendance area; procedure; continuing student; noti
79-2110. Diversity plan;limitations; school building maximum capacity; attendance areas; school board;duties; application to attend school outside attendance area; procedure; continuingstudent; notice.(1)(a) Each diversity plan shallprovide for open enrollment in all school buildings in the learning community,subject to specific limitations necessary to bring about diverse enrollmentsin each school building in the learning community. Such limitations, for schoolbuildings other than focus schools and programs other than focus programs,shall include giving preference at each school building first to siblingsof students who will be enrolled as continuing students in such school buildingor program for the first school year for which enrollment is sought in suchschool building and then to students that contribute to the socioeconomicdiversity of enrollment at each building and may include establishing zonelimitations in which students may access several schools other than theirhome attendance area school. Notwithstanding the limitations necessary tobring about diversity, open enrollment shall include providing access to studentswho do not contribute to the socioeconomic diversity of a school building,if, subsequent to the open enrollment selection process that is subject tolimitations necessary to bring about diverse enrollments, capacity remainsin a school building. In such a case, students who have applied to attendsuch school building shall be selected to attend such school building on arandom basis up to the remaining capacity of such building. A student whohas otherwise been disqualified from the school building pursuant to the schooldistrict's code of conduct or related school discipline rules shall not beeligible for open enrollment pursuant to this section. Any student who attendeda particular school building in the prior school year and who is seeking educationin the grades offered in such school building shall be allowed to continueattending such school building as a continuing student.(b) To facilitate the open enrollment provisions of thissubsection, each school year each member school district in a learning communityshall establish a maximum capacity for each school building under such district'scontrol pursuant to procedures and criteria established by the learning communitycoordinating council. Each member school district shall also establish attendanceareas for each school building under the district's control, except that theschool board shall not establish attendance areas for focus schools or focusprograms. The attendance areas shall be established such that all of the territoryof the school district is within an attendance area for each grade. Studentsresiding in a school district shall be allowed to attend a school buildingin such school district.(c) For purposes of this section and sections 79-238 and 79-611, student who contributes to the socioeconomic diversity of enrollmentmeans (i) a student who does not qualify for free or reduced-price luncheswhen, based upon the certification pursuant to section 79-2120, the schoolbuilding the student will attend has more students qualifying for free orreduced-price lunches than the average percentage of such students in allschool buildings in the learning community or (ii) a student who qualifiesfor free or reduced-price lunches when, based upon the certification pursuantto section 79-2120, the school building the student will attend has fewerstudents qualifying for free or reduced-price lunches than the average percentageof such students in all school buildings in the learning community.(2)(a) On or before March 15 of each year beginning withthe year immediately following the year in which the initial coordinatingcouncil for the learning community takes office, a parent or guardian of astudent residing in a member school district in a learning community may submitan application to any school district in the learning community on behalfof a student who is applying to attend a school building for the followingschool year that is not in an attendance area where the applicant residesor a focus school, focus program, or magnet school as such terms are definedin section 79-769. On or before April 1 of each year beginning with the yearimmediately following the year in which the initial coordinating council forthe learning community takes office, the school district shall accept or rejectsuch applications based on the capacity of the school building, the eligibilityof the applicant for the school building or program, the number of such applicantsthat will be accepted for a given school building, and whether or not theapplicant contributes to the socioeconomic diversity of the school or programto which he or she has applied and for which he or she is eligible. The schooldistrict shall notify such parent or guardian in writing of the acceptanceor rejection.(b) A parent or guardian may provide information on the applicationregarding the applicant's potential qualification for free or reduced-pricelunches. Any such information provided shall be subject to verification andshall only be used for the purposes of this section. Nothing in this sectionrequires a parent or guardian to provide such information. Determinationsabout an applicant's qualification for free or reduced-price lunches for purposesof this section shall be based on any verified information provided on theapplication. If no such information is provided the student shall be presumednot to qualify for free or reduced-price lunches for the purposes of thissection.(c) A student may not apply to attend a school buildingin the learning community for any grades that are offered by another schoolbuilding for which the student had previously applied and been accepted pursuantto this section, absent a hardship exception as established by the individualschool district. On or before September 1 of each year beginning with theyear immediately following the year in which the initial coordinating councilfor the learning community takes office, each school district shall provideto the learning community coordinating council a complete and accurate reportof all applications received, including the number of students who appliedat each grade level at each building, the number of students accepted at eachgrade level at each building, the number of such students that contributedto the socioeconomic diversity that applied and were accepted, the numberof applicants denied and the rationales for denial, and other such informationas requested by the learning community coordinating council.(3) Each diversity plan may also include establishment ofone or more focus schools or focus programs and the involvement of every memberschool district in one or more pathways across member school districts. Enrollmentin each focus school or focus program shall be designed to reflect the socioeconomicdiversity of the learning community as a whole. School district selectionof students for focus schools or focus programs shall be on a random basisfrom two pools of applicants, those who qualify for free and reduced-pricelunches and those who do not qualify for free and reduced-price lunches. Thepercentage of students selected for focus schools from the pool of applicantswho qualify for free and reduced-price lunches shall be as nearly equal aspossible to the percentage of the student body of the learning community whoqualify for free and reduced-price lunches. The percentage of students selectedfor focus schools from the pool of applicants who do not qualify for freeand reduced-price lunches shall be as nearly equal as possible to the percentageof the student body of the learning community who do not qualify for freeand reduced-price lunches. If more capacity exists in a focus school or programthan the number of applicants for such focus school or program that contributeto the socioeconomic diversity of the focus school or program, the schooldistrict shall randomly select applicants up to the number of applicants thatwill be accepted for such building. A student who will complete the gradesoffered at a focus program, focus school, or magnet school that is part ofa pathway shall be allowed to attend the focus program, focus school, or magnetschool offering the next grade level as part of the pathway as a continuingstudent. A student who completes the grades offered at a focus program, focusschool, or magnet school shall be allowed to attend a school offering the next grade level inthe school district responsible for the focusprogram, focus school, or magnet school as a continuing student. A studentwho attended a program or school in the school year immediately precedingthe first school year for which the program or school will operate as a focusprogram or focus school approved by the learning community and meeting therequirements of section 79-769 and who has not completed the grades offeredat the focus program or focus school shall be a continuing student in theprogram or school.(4) On or before February 15 of each year beginning withthe year immediately following the year in which the initial coordinatingcouncil for the learning community takes office, a parent or guardian of astudent who is currently attending a school building or program, except amagnet school, focus school, or focus program, outside of the attendance areawhere the student resides and who will complete the grades offered at suchschool building prior to the following school year shall provide notice, ona form provided by the school district, to the school board of the schooldistrict containing such school building if such student will attend anotherschool building within such district as a continuing student and which schoolbuilding such student would prefer to attend. On or before March 1, such schoolboard shall provide a notice to such parent or guardian stating which schoolbuilding or buildings the student shall be allowed to attend in such schooldistrict as a continuing student for the following school year. If the studentresides within the school district, the notice shall include the school buildingoffering the grade the student will be entering for the following school yearin the attendance area where the student resides. This subsection shall notapply to focus schools or programs.(5) A parent or guardian of a student who moves to a newresidence in the learning community after April 1 may apply directly to aschool board within the learning community within ninety days after movingfor the student to attend a school building outside of the attendance areawhere the student resides. Such school board shall accept or reject such applicationwithin fifteen days after receiving the application, based on the number ofapplications and qualifications pursuant to subsection (2) or (3) of thissection for all other students.(6) A parent or guardian of a student who wishes to changeschool buildings for emergency or hardship reasons may apply directly to aschool board within the learning community at any time for the student toattend a school building outside of the attendance area where the studentresides. Such application shall state the emergency or hardship and shallbe kept confidential by the school board. Such school board shall accept orreject such application within fifteen days after receiving the application.Applications shall only be accepted if an emergency or hardship was presentedwhich justifies an exemption from the procedures in subsection (4) of thissection based on the judgment of such school board, and such acceptance shallnot exceed the number of applications that will be accepted for the schoolyear pursuant to subsection (2) or (3) of this section for such building. SourceLaws 2006, LB 1024, § 16; Laws 2007, LB641, § 42; Laws 2008, LB1154, § 21; Laws 2009, LB62, § 6; Laws 2010, LB1070, § 14.Effective Date: April 6, 2010