1. January: Complete a Registration Packet (available online and in school offices)
2. February: Attend an In-Person Registration event
3. March: Attend a New Family Tour
4. April: Attend Mandated Screening Appointment (for TK)
5. May: Attend Mandated Screening Appointment (for K)
6. Mid-to-late May: Preliminary Interdistrict Transfer Agreement decisions are shared with family

If accepted:

1. Complete an Interdistrict Transfer Request form with District of Residence (where family lives)
2. Submit IDT form to District of Interest (where family would like to attend)

If not accepted in May:

1. Enroll in your district of residence
2. Contact school to be placed on a waiting list, if interested

IMPORTANT NOTES: 

• The District Office is not able to provide the status of a pending request or appeal. All updates will be communicated via email once a decision has been made.

• Late Enrollment decisions (after May) may be possible, but are generally not confirmed until two weeks into the school year. 

• While it is pending (or on a waitlist), your child(ren) need(s) to attend school with their district of residence.

Per Education Code 46600.2, parents/guardians have the right to appeal a denial to the County Board of Education within 30 calendar days from the date of a denial. All details about the process can be found here: SCOE INTERDISTRICT TRANSFER APPEAL PROCESS

There are several circumstances that impact our ability to accept TK IDTs including: 

• birthdate requirements
• additional statutory capacity and staffing restrictions apply to TK; capacity limits for TK IDT is 18:1 (student to teacher)
• strict fiscal penalties (around $60,000 per TK classroom) as defined by the California Department of Education around TK over-enrollment; this means we must maintain a margin for TK families who live within our district boundaries

Requesting to be placed on a wait list after a TK IDT denial is always a possibility, however it is important to enroll in your district of residence, as these decisions cannot be finalized until 14 days into the school year, and are never a guarantee.

For the current school year: within 30 days of receipt

For the following school year: window opens 2nd Monday in January and will be processed as soon as possible, but no later than:

• 14 calendar days into the following school year - (if application is received more than 15 calendar days prior to the start of school)
• 30 calendar days from the date the request is received - (for IDT applications received 15 or fewer calendar days prior to the start of school)

Date by which a parent/guardian must respond to an approved IDT notification: Within two weeks of letter date

IMPORTANT NOTES: 

• The District Office is not able to provide the status of a pending request or appeal. All updates will be communicated via email once a decision has been made.

• Late Enrollment decisions (after May) may be possible, but are generally not confirmed until two weeks into the school year. 

• While it is pending (or on a waitlist), your child(ren) need(s) to attend school with their district of residence.

• Student must be age-eligible for the grade level
• District must have capacity for IDTs see May 2024 Capacity Resolution
  • Class size: 18:1 in TK, 22:1 in K-3, and 25:1 in Grades 4-6;  
  • Speech caseloads: 45:1
  • RSP caseloads: 20:1
  • EN caseloads: 10:1

We do not prioritize enrollment for any single criteria. We work hard to create balanced classrooms and a long list of details inform decisions. but we can't really compare individual details with families, as we need to protect confidentiality for all. 

Until the district is at capacity (see above), the following circumstances define priorities for acceptance: 

• Students determined to be victim of an act of bullying, as defined in Education Code 48900(r), committed by a student of the district of residence.  (Education Code 46600)
• Students of active duty military parent/guardian
• Students with child care needs, only as long as the student's child care provider remains within district boundaries
• Students with  special mental or physical health needs as certified by a physician, school psychologist, or other appropriate school personnel
• Students with a sibling attending school in the receiving district, to avoid splitting the family's attendance
• Students interested in completing a school year when the student's parents/guardians have moved out of the district during that year
• Students with evidence that the family will be moving into the district in the immediate future and would like the student to start the school year in the district
• Students living out of the district for one year or less
• Students with a recommendation by the school attendance review board or by county child welfare, probation, or social service agency staff in documented cases of serious home or community problems which make it inadvisable for the student to attend the school of residence

The most common reason is district capacity as defined by:

• The District’s Capacity Resolution (see above)
• The class or grade level exceeding the district's limits pursuant to the state Class Size Reduction Program
• The site, classroom, or program exceeding the maximum student-teacher ratio specified in the district's collective bargaining agreement
• The site or classroom exceeding the physical capacity of the facility pursuant to the district's facilities master plan or other facility planning document

IMPORTANT NOTE: 

Additional statutory capacity and staffing restrictions apply to TK.

The second most common reason for a denial is due to adverse financial impact to the District which includes: 

• Limited district resources
• The hiring of additional certificated or classified staff
• Overcrowding (however, once a student is admitted, the district shall not deny continued attendance because of overcrowded facilities at the relevant grade level)

Other denials are based on district resources and upon determination of any of the following: 

• Ineligible birthdates
• fraudulent, false or misleading information on the application
• enrollment in a the district, grade level, or special program is at capacity
• student records indicating any of the following:
  1. unsafe, inconsistent or disruptive behavior, including suspensions or expulsions
  2. substandard academic effort or grade level progress 
  3. substandard attendance (generally less than a 90% attendance rate)

While we don’t anticipate needing to rescind our offer to enroll in our district, Interdistrict Transfer Agreements may be revoked pursuant to BVUSD Board Policy/Administrative Regulation 5117 due to attendance, behavior, academic effort, or capacity. Immediately upon revocation of an IDT Agreement, students must return to their district of residence. Relevant Board Policy and Administrative Regulations as well as a full explanation of the agreement terms and conditions are included below. 

Reasons to Cancel an IDT:

An approved IDT agreement may be canceled in any of the following instances in which a parent/guardian neglects to: 

• Meet timelines established by the district
• Respond to approved transfer within two weeks of approval
• Submit a written explanation or document when requested
• Complete the interdistrict transfer agreement honestly

Reasons to Revoke an Existing IDT Agreement

• Student violates Attendance Agreement:  Excessive absence (truancy, tardies, or other absence that could be improved if the child attended a school closer to home)
• Student violates Behavior Agreement:  Continual disruption of the educational program and/or not meeting accepted standards of behavior per the Student Conduct Manual
• Student violates Academic Agreement:  Failure to attempt school work as directed by teachers
• Student becomes eligible for a program that is at capacity or impacted

 We encourage families to read through the details, and kindly remind all of the following: 

• The District Office is not able to provide the status of a pending request or appeal. All updates will be communicated via email once a decision has been made. 
• School Offices are not able to answer questions about why one student is accepted and another is not.
• Please do not contact teachers about reasons for a specific denial. Decisions are made by administration, and in order to protect student confidentiality rights,  teachers are not provided access to all student information. 

You may contact one of our offices, if you do not see an answer to your process question here. 

Please understand that we discuss details with families around reasons for one student’s acceptance as compared to another student’s denial, as we need to protect confidentiality for all.

We encourage families to read through the details, and kindly remind all of the following: 

• The District Office is not able to provide the status of a pending request or appeal. All updates will be communicated via email once a decision has been made. 
• School Offices are not able to answer questions about why one student is accepted and another is not.
• Please do not contact teachers about reasons for a specific denial. Decisions are made by administration, and in order to protect student confidentiality rights,  teachers are not provided access to all student information. 

Please ensure that timely transportation will not be a barrier for you or your student. Inconsistent, late drop-off, and late pick-up is the most common reason a family is unable to uphold their end of an ITD agreement.

Board Policy 5117 states that continued attendance in the Bennett Valley Union School District requires behavior and attendance within accepted standards. Students must maintain attendance rates that are 90% or greater. Absences impact the entire school community. Teachers may need to deviate from planned activities to account for student absences and again upon their return. Absent students miss out on valuable learning opportunities, and their classmates lose time and attention from their teacher when the student returns and requires some targeted assistance in order to “catch up.” This impacts the over quality of the instructional program. Staff and students outside of the classroom are also impacted, because every absence results in a loss of school funding. A loss of funding has implications for programs across the entire district.

Attendance Impacts Everyone: It is easy to believe that missing a day, or even a portion of a school day, does not have much of an impact. Please reconsider this assumption, because your child’s attendance impacts the learning of their entire classroom, the achievement of their entire school, and the resources available across the entire district. 

Your Child’s Absence Impacts Their Growth: Regular attendance at school is the surest way for students to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. 

Your Child’s Absence  Impact Their Teachers & Non-Absent Students: A missed day is missed learning. If a teacher is able to help your child make up for lost learning, it is at the cost of the rest of the non-absent students in the classroom. Studies indicate that 

Your Child’s Absence Impacts Resources for Everyone:  A school district’s costs remain consistent (based upon enrollment), but funding is based upon attendance. This means every single student absence (regardless of reason or excuse) contributes toward a budget deficit. Money that goes ‘out’ (toward materials, programs, and salaires) does not get reduced when a student is absent, but the money coming ‘in’ does. 

Below Standard Attendance: It is useful to know what constitutes below standard attendance.  “Below standard” attendance is when students fall into any one of these areas:

Truant: Students missing more than 30 minutes of instruction without an excuse three times during the school year are classified by the California Legislature as truant.  Education Code 48260 (a) also states that a student who is absent from school without a valid excuse three full days in one school year or tardy or absent for more than a 30 minute period during the school day without a valid excuse on three occasions in one school year or any combination thereof, shall be classified as truant and shall be reported to the attendance supervisor/superintendent.

Chronically Absent: This is a student who is absent for more than 10% of the school year for any reason, including illness.  With a 180 day school year, a student is chronically absent if absent 18 days over the course of the school year.

You can read more about BVUSD attendance at here.

Full text is available via the links below. 

AR 5117  |  BP 5117

Please use the link below to visit SCOE’s website to learn more.

SCOE ATTENDANCE APPEALS