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Open Enrollment FAQ

Intradistrict Open Enrollment

What is "Intradistrict" open enrollment?
Intradistrict open enrollment includes all school buildings within the district. All school districts in Ohio must participate.

May students admitted under interdistrict open enrollment participate in intradistrict open enrollment?
Yes. There is nothing to prohibit this from occurring.

Do the rules on racial balance apply to both interdistrict and intradistrict open enrollment?
Yes, the guidelines are the same.

If our district only has one building for all students, do we need to adopt an intradistrict open enrollment policy?
No, simply submit the Open Enrollment Certification indicating the district has only one building.

If a grade level of a school building reaches the capacity limit established in the district policy, does this school need to accept new applicants for this grade?
No, once building capacity is reached, the district does not have to consider new applicants. Students already enrolled or living in the attendance region of the school must be given preference over new applicants.

Interdistrict Open Enrollment

What is “Interdistrict” open enrollment?
Interdistrict open enrollment allows students from adjacent or other school districts to attend a school in the district even though those students are not “native” to the district. All school districts, including joint vocational school districts, must adopt a resolution either prohibiting or allowing students from adjacent or other districts to attend in their district.

What is the application procedure?
School districts are responsible for creating their own application, procedure and timeline. Open enrollment procedures and timelines should be Board adopted and included in Board policy and procedures documents. The key is for the district to follow whatever procedures and timelines they develop.

When may a participating open enrollment district refuse to enroll a student?
A student may be refused to maintain racial balance in the district’s schools. The district should specify criteria used to determine racial balance in its Board policy. Classroom capacity may also be a reason for denying admission, provided the district has defined the capacity limits of their buildings/grades in their open enrollment policy. If a student has been suspended or expelled for ten consecutive days or more during the current or preceding term for which they are requesting admission, the district may deny admission.

Special education students may be refused admission if the needed programs are not offered, or space is not available.

May a part-time or full-time post-secondary options student participate in open enrollment?
Yes. The student is entitled to attend the same as any other student. The student has all the rights and privileges of any resident student.

May a nonpublic student participate in open enrollment?
Open enrollment does not apply to currently enrolled nonpublic students.

May a senior participating in open enrollment go back to their resident district for graduation?
Yes. A resident senior may return at any time during the school year. The resident district would need to decide if the return resident student has met all requirements for graduation. When the student returns to the resident district, he or she is no longer an open enrollment student.

Is a student guaranteed participation in open enrollment in future years once they have been accepted?
Students apply for open enrollment on an annual basis. Each year the attending district may limit enrollment due to capacity or decide not to participate in open enrollment. However, students enrolled in the previous year when open enrollment is continued, must be given priority.

May the attending district develop a policy which restricts open enrollment students from participating in opportunities which are available to resident students (e.g. early graduation)?
No. A district may not adopt policies which would restrict open enrollment students from participating in any opportunities provided to resident students except those limitations allowed in ORC 3313.98.

May an open enrollment student return to the resident district if expelled from the attending district?
Yes, unless the Director of the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce permanently expels a student pursuant to ORC 3313.662, which includes the conviction of certain criminal offenses.

May an open enrollment district adopt a policy requiring that open enrollment students stay for a full year? May the resident district stop an open enrollment student from returning in the middle of the year?
No. A student is legally entitled to return to his resident district at any time.

Which district is responsible for issuing a work permit?
The resident district per ORC 3331.01.

Could a district continue to operate an academic cooperative if they do not participate in open enrollment?
Yes. (see ORC 3313.842)

May a district that is participating in open enrollment adopt a policy that would deny enrollment of pupils after the start of the school year?
Yes, if the local board policy permits.

If a district decides not to participate in open enrollment, may the district continue to accept tuition students from both adjacent and non-adjacent school districts?
Yes. A district not participating in open enrollment may continue to accept tuition students from both adjacent and non-adjacent school districts.

If a district does not participate in open enrollment, may the district admit children of employees tuition free?
Yes. If children of employees are not accepted under open enrollment, they may be accepted “tuition-free” under a specific admission policy adopted by the Board (see ORC 3313.64(F)(8)).

If a district has an open enrollment policy and a policy which admits employee children tuition free, may that district count these children on their ADM and still count them as open enrollment students?
Children enrolled as students following employee parent are counted as if they are residents of the district where the parent works and therefore should be counted in the ADM. These students are not open-enrolled in the district.

Are preschool children eligible for open enrollment?
Typically developing preschool students may not open enroll because they are not eligible to attend tuition free in their resident district. Preschool special education children are eligible for open enrollment, because they are eligible to attend school pursuant to ORC 3313.64. However, no funding is transferred from the resident district to the educating district because preschool students are not counted in the resident district’s ADM. Students are funded at the educating district and that district could follow excess cost preschool procedures per ORC 3313.64 to get reimbursed for educational costs.

If a kindergarten student is involved in open enrollment, what is the FTE for this student?
Kindergarten students are counted as 1.0 FTE unless ORC 3317.03 applies.

May a student in a foreign exchange program participate in open enrollment?
Yes. Foreign exchange students are considered residents of the district in which they are residing [see ORC 3313.64(G)(2)]. This means that foreign exchange students have all the rights and privileges of any other resident student, including open enrollment.

May a newly entering kindergarten student open enroll into a new educating district when the student does not meet the age eligibility requirements of the resident district?
No. To open enroll in another district, the student first must be eligible to attend school in the resident district.

Is there distance or special circumstances that might apply to limit participating in open enrollment?
There is no distance or time limitation to participate in open enrollment. It is not an open enrollment requirement for the student to reside with natural or adoptive parents. However, there may be other provisions of law that require a minor child to have a guardian or other supervision.

Who verifies district of residency?
The educating district must verify and prove district of residency.

Funding

How are open enrolled students funded?
State funding for open enrolled students is provided as follows:

Students are now funded in the educating district through the Fair School Funding Plan, first established in FY 22 through House Bill 110 (134th GA).
State dollars follow the student as directed by the EMIS data submitted. Students generate funding at their district of education for base cost and categorical funding. Resident districts are still responsible for the cost of education for students with disabilities. Educating districts may bill the resident school districts for these costs by following the excess cost procedures.
School districts not adopting an interdistrict open enrollment policy would be allowed to collect tuition from the parents of students enrolled from outside the district per district policy.

May a student open enroll part of the day?
A student may open enroll part-time if the open enrolled districts policy allows but may not be enrolled in multiple districts. A student may open enroll in a JVS part-time and be enrolled part-time in a traditional school district.

If adjacent districts participate in open enrollment, but are not members of the same JVS, may a student choose the other district for the purpose of attending a different JVS?
Yes. The attending JVS would need to adopt an open enrollment policy the same as other public schools. Note: If a student attends an adjacent district, which is in the same jointure as the resident district, the JVS receives no additional payment.

If a child open enrolls from district “A” to district “B” and then gets court placed in a JDC/DYS, should district “B” continue to count that student as OE during this confinement period?
It is assumed that the court order will name the resident district, district A, as the district responsible for the cost of the education during the period of incarceration. If the court order names district B, then district B is responsible. If resident district (A) is responsible, the educating district (B) should reduce the open enrollment FTE for the student via EMIS reporting by the number of days the student is in DYS. This would result in the resident district paying the educating district for part of the year and the DYS for the balance of the year, avoiding being double billed.

Racial Balance

When may a district object to the enrollment of students from an adjacent or other district in order to maintain an appropriate racial balance?
Any district may object to students leaving a district to maintain an appropriate racial balance.

May a school district include a question about the race of a student? How will the enrolling district determine if enrolling a student will disturb the racial balance of an adjacent district?
Yes, race may be asked on the application form.

In a subsequent year of open enrollment, a resident district decides to object to their native students leaving because this would have a negative impact on their racial balance. May the native district do this?
Yes.

Of the remaining students allowed to participate, must the attending district give preference to the students who attended the previous year?
Yes.

Special Education

Does an open enrollment district have to accept a special education student?
Yes, but only if the district has the available services necessary to meet the needs of the student’s IEP.

Which district is responsible for instruction and which district receives the State funding for special education services for a student with an IEP and receiving home instruction (which could be the attending district)?
The open enrolled district is responsible for instruction and may contract with another district for those services. However, the resident district receives the State funding for home instruction.

If a participating open enrollment district provides extended year programs for special education students, is it obligated to accept an open enrollment student requiring an extended year program identified by an IEP? May the attending district charge the excess cost back to the resident district?
Yes. The attending district must offer the same programs to open enrolled students. If the student is in special education classes, the attending district is permitted to charge the resident district for any excess costs provided there is a contract in place.

May the resident district refuse to pay excess cost for a student who is identified as special education after enrolling in an adjacent or other district if they provide the same service?
No. The resident district would be responsible for the excess cost and may not refuse this responsibility.

May maximum class size for special education classes be increased for open enrollment purposes?
No. Class size is dictated by law and may not be changed for open enrollment purposes.

Transportation

Is the attending district required to provide transportation?
Yes, but only from a bus stop designated according to district transportation policy. Transportation from outside the district is the responsibility of the parent(s). The attending district is responsible for transporting open enrollment students inside the district only for the same grade levels that the district transports their own students.

Is the attending district required to transport special education students participating in open enrollment?
Transportation from outside the district is the responsibility of the parent(s) unless the IEP includes transportation as a related service. Cooperative transportation may be worked out between the open enrolled and resident district.

May a board of education transport open enrollment students of another district?
Yes. Revised Code section 3327.05 permits a district to transport students attending through open enrollment without obtaining permission from the resident board of education.

Will a district receive State transportation subsidy when entering an adjacent or other district and transporting non-resident open enrollment pupils to school?
No, only eligible riders are to be counted on T-1 reporting.

Last Modified: 8/20/2024 11:03:29 AM