SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIPS

Bennett Valley Union School District is proud of the reputation we have earned as a favorable option for local families and for our established history of excellence in education. We encourage new families to explore opportunities to partner and participate. We understand that the results we are able to realize are a function of our unwavering commitment to students in tandem with our exceptional community engagement.

UNDERSTANDING OUR PRIVILEGE

Enrollment via an IDT Agreement is a privilege for both the district of attendance and the enrolling family. IDT Agreements allow a student residing outside district boundaries to attend a BVUSD school. Each year, we receive more requests for Interdistrict Transfer Agreements than we can accommodate resulting in waiting lists across our grade levels. It is an honor and a privilege to welcome so many students attending our district by choice. In turn, enrolling families must agree to uphold certain terms and conditions in order to sustain the transfer agreement. At minimum, students are required to contribute positively to our schools and demonstrate the expected behaviors as further outlined in the enclosed IDT Agreement.

SUMMARY OF THE IDT PROCESS

Districts are required to share the content below with families. Please carefully review the details below prior to completing and signing the agreement included on the final page. The final page of this agreement must be received prior to the due date listed on your IDT Letter of Introduction & Conditional Acceptance. 

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PROCESSING TIMELINE

1. For the current school year: within 30 days of receipt
2. 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)

3. Date by which a parent/guardian must respond to an approved IDT notification: Within 2 weeks of letter date

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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: https://www.scoe.org/files/interdistrict-transfer-appeal.pdf

GROUNDS FOR REVOCATION

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. 

ON-TIME, REGULAR ATTENDANCE

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.

BOARD POLICY & ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS

Full text is available via the links below. 

AR 5117  |  BP 5117

SONOMA COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION IDT RESOURCES

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

SCOE ATTENDANCE APPEALS

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