-
Student Transfers
J-8
(see also Policy J-7, School Attendance Areas)
It is the policy of the Mountain Brook Board of Education that elementary school students must attend the school in the attendance area in which they reside.
I. Student Transfers Between Attendance Areas Within the Mountain Brook School District
A. Change in Residence
If, during the academic year, a student's parent or guardian relocates to another residence within the Mountain Brook School District which is not in the attendance area of the school he or she is currently attending, the student may continue to attend the school currently attended for the remainder of that academic year.
If a student has completed the fourth grade, the student may be permitted to remain permanently enrolled in an elementary school through the sixth grade even though the student's parent or guardian subsequently relocates to another attendance area within the school district. Circumstances justifying such permission may include, but are not limited to the following:
1. The availability of special programs or personnel in the original school.
2. Special social or emotional needs of a student which require that he or she remain in a familiar, supportive environment.
If the parent(s)/guardian(s) of a student who has completed the fourth grade desires for that student to remain permanently enrolled in an elementary school through the sixth grade even though the student’s parent or guardian relocates to another attendance area, his or her parent or guardian must apply in writing to the Superintendent and receive written permission from the Superintendent.
If a student receives permission to remain enrolled in an elementary school even though the student and the student’s parent or guardian has relocated to another attendance area, younger siblings may also remain at that elementary school, but only for as long as the older student, who has received permission to remain, attends that elementary school. When the older sibling leaves the elementary school, any younger siblings must then transfer to the elementary school corresponding to the family’s permanent residence.
B. Meeting Special Needs
A student may be transferred to another elementary school within the district even though he or she has not changed residence if it is determined that such transfer is in the best interests of the student and the school system. Circumstances which justify such a transfer could include, but not be limited to, the availability of special programs or personnel at another school within the district that meet significant special needs of the student.
II. Student Transfers to School Districts Outside of the Mountain Brook School District
A. Permanent Change in Residence
If, during the academic year, a student’s parent or guardian permanently relocates to another residence outside of the Mountain Brook School District, the student may continue to attend a school in the Mountain Brook district for the remainder of that academic year provided that he or she has attended said school for a minimum of one semester during the academic year in which the change in residence occurs. Effective beginning with the 1999-2000 school year, such permission will be contingent upon the payment of tuition based on the annual local revenue per student at the time of the request, prorated for the portion of the year during which the parents are not Mountain Brook residents. Said tuition must be paid prior to the beginning of the period for which permission has been granted.
Students who have not completed the first semester of school at the time of the permanent change in residence will be required to transfer at the end of the first semester.
In the event that a twelfth grade student’s parent or legal guardian relocates to a residence outside of the school district before the end of the first semester, the student will be permitted to continue to attend the High School until graduation provided that he or she has begun and completed the ninth grade year at Mountain Brook Junior High and has begun and completed his or her tenth and eleventh grade years at Mountain Brook High School. Effective beginning with the 1999-2000 school year, such permission will be contingent upon the payment of tuition based on the annual local revenue per student at the time of the request, prorated for the portion of the year during which the parents are not Mountain Brook residents. Said tuition must be paid prior to the beginning of the period for which permission has been granted.
B. Temporary Change in Residence
If a student currently enrolled in the Mountain Brook School District temporarily relocates to another residence outside of the Mountain Brook School District, the student may, under special circumstances, continue to attend a school in the Mountain Brook district for a limited period of time. Such special circumstances may include temporary residence outside of the district during construction work on a permanent dwelling in the Mountain Brook District; temporary residence outside of the district during child custody proceedings.
III. Procedures
A. Student Transfers Between Attendance Areas Within the Mountain Brook School District
Transfers within the district may be made only with the approval of the Superintendent. Requests initiated by parents for student transfers should be made in writing to the Superintendent.
B. Students Who have Temporarily Relocated to School Districts Outside of the Mountain Brook School District
Parent-initiated requests to allow their children to remain in the Mountain Brook School District even though they temporarily reside outside of the district should be made in writing to the Superintendent. Requests to attend the Mountain Brook schools which involve students who temporarily dwell outside of the district, will be granted only upon recommendation of the Superintendent and approval by the Board of Education.
Adopted: January 22, 1979
Revised: April 11, 1994
Revised: February 10, 1997
Revised: May 11, 1998
Revised: July 2011