Open enrollment may become law

Open enrollment may become law

Sunday, February 17, 2008
By LORETTA PARK
Standard-Examiner staff

State Board of Education:

Current rule should suffice

SALT LAKE CITY -- Parents in Davis School District are asking legislators to make open enrollment a law instead of an administrative rule.

The House Education Committee on Friday unanimously approved House Bill 349, sponsored by Rep. Julie Fisher, R-Fruit Heights.

The bill would allow students to transfer to another school during the school year if the receiving school's enrollment is at or below open-enrollment figures. Those figures are based on the number of teachers, Fisher said, and do not require schools to hire additional teachers.

"This bill will give parents greater options to meet the individual needs of their students," she said.

Because of boundary changes, Denise Griffiths' daughter ended up at Woods Cross High School instead of Bountiful High School with most of her friends.

Her daughter's sophomore year turned into a nightmare, said the mother, who was one of a number of parents attending the meeting.

Griffiths applied for a variance so her daughter could transfer to Bountiful High School, but was denied. After appeals were denied, Griffiths said her only option was to transfer legal guardianship over to her mother, who lives within Bountiful High School boundaries.

"I was so upset that I was going to do something that drastic that I drove over to the school district," she said.

Superintendent Bryan Bowles listened to her case and allowed her daughter to attend Bountiful High School, Griffiths said.

Davis School Board member Tamara Lowe said after the meeting she does not think the bill will cause any major changes.

"Kids change schools for a lot of reasons, and parents need that flexibility, but I'm concerned we may crowd one school."

Lowe said the bill came about because of boundary disputes that occurred last year because of the opening of Syracuse High School.

She said she doesn't think a law is needed because the state Board of Education already has a rule in place that is similar to Fisher's proposed legislation.

"The state board rule adequately covers it," said Carol Lear, director of school law and legislation for the state Office of Education.

The state Office of Education still has some concerns about the bill, Lear said. Among them are that concerned parents will request to put their children in schools for special programs, such as gifted and talented, then find out after the child is enrolled that those programs are closed, even though there is space in the school for more students.

The bill does allow Title I schools and schools with special education programs to deny students enrollment if the programs are closed.

Fisher's bill now goes to the House floor for consideration.