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Open Enrollment/School Choice Permits

Students who wish to attend a school other than their resident boundary school may submit an early and/or late enrollment permit to transfer to a school they wish to attend (JSD Policy AS93 - Open Enrollment/School Choice and §53G-6-401-407). Decisions regarding the acceptance of permits are made at the local school. Permit applications are submitted electronically using the web link provided by the district. The link may be found on individual school web pages or on the Planning and Enrollment website. Paper permits are no longer used.

Permits determine residency and shall not be used to track programs (such as Dual Immersion or ALPS). Only students who attend a non-resident school (out of boundary) require a permit. Students enrolled using the McKinney-Vento Homeless Act shall not be placed on a permit regardless of the program or school.

Submitting a Permit

Submitted permit applications are assigned to schools according to the school request priority.  The permit process is as follows:

  • A permit is submitted online through the School Choice Application.
  • The first-choice school verifies the information of each permit application for accuracy and completeness.
  • The first-choice school resolves all “duplicate” record issues.
  • The first-choice school approves the request. This will allow the permit request to be processed.
  • Planning and Enrollment will process all school approved permit requests.
      • Processed permits are placed on the requested schools “wait list”; and
      • Permit data is uploaded to Skyward for “seated” students.
  • Schools then offer seats to waitlisted permits based on the permit criteria (see Early or Late Enrollment Requirements below).
  • Schools communicate waitlisted or seat placement to permit requestor(s).
  • Schools verify Skyward data for each student awarded a permit (“seated”).

Permit Guidelines (§53G-6-401 through 407)

  • Permits are governed by two (2) permit windows; early and late enrollment.
  • Applications shall be submitted to and accepted by schools.
  • Unless otherwise directed by the Board, permits are considered in the order in which they are received.
  • The school's waitlist shall be used to determine any available seats regardless of the permit window or time of year.
  • Program permits (ALPs, DLI) are not considered an early or late enrollment permit. A student must be accepted to the program through the district, and should not apply for a permit online.
  • Parent(s)/legal guardian(s) are responsible for the student’s transportation to and from the requested school should they accept a seat offer.
  • Students accepted on permit are obligated to remain at the requested school through the end of the requested school year.
  • Charter or online students wishing to return to their boundary school during the school year are subject to late enrollment guidelines.

Standards for Accepting and/or Rejecting a Permit Application (§53G-6-403)

The standards for accepting or rejecting an application for enrollment may include:

  • For an elementary, the capacity of the grade level;
  • Not offering, or having capacity in, an elementary or secondary special education or other special program the student requires;
  • Maintenance of reduced class sizes (Title I, or school trust money used to reduce class sizes);
  • Willingness of prospective students to comply with district policies; and
  • Giving priority to intradistrict transfers over interdistrict transfers.

The standards for accepting or rejecting an application for enrollment may NOT include:

  • Previous academic achievement;
  • Athletic or other extracurricular ability;
  • The fact that the student requires special education services for which space is available;
  • Proficiency in the English language; or
  • Previous disciplinary proceedings, except as follows:
      • There has been a serious infraction of the law of school rules;
      • The student has been guilty of chronic misbehavior which would, if it were to continue after the student was admitted:
        1. Endanger persons or property;
        2. Cause serious disruptions in the school; or
        3. Place unreasonable burdens on school staff.

Using the school’s waitlist and the standards listed above, permit applications are granted (seated) by the school on a first-come, first-served basis for the entire school year.

Early Enrollment Period

Permit applications submitted November 15th through the first (1st) Friday of February for the following school year are determined using the “90% capacity” of the school rule. The school shall notify the student’s parents of acceptance or rejection within six (6) weeks of receipt of the application, or by March 31st, whichever is later. Notifications may be delayed due to circumstances affecting the board’s ability to determine the enrollment capacity of a school.

Late Enrollment Period

Permit applications submitted after the first (1st) Friday of February for the following school year or any permit for the current school year, must be determined by the “adjusted capacity” of the school. The adjusted capacity is the total number of students who could be served in a school if each teacher were to have a class size based on the staffing ratio for each grade level (§53G-6-401).  Late enrollment permit acceptance is determined by the staffing ratio as follows:

  • Elementary schools use the student to teacher ratio for each grade level to determine if there is space available.
  • Secondary schools use the student to teacher ratio for each core class within each grade level to determine if space is available.

The school shall notify the student’s parents of acceptance or rejection within two (2) weeks of receipt of the application, or by the Friday before the new school year begins, whichever is later. If the application is for the current school year, the school shall notify the parent(s) within two (2) weeks of receipt of the application. Notifications may be delayed due to circumstances affecting the board’s ability to determine the enrollment capacity of a school.

Students with Disabilities Permit Requests

A student with disabilities may be considered for enrollment if all of the following criteria are met:

  • The student can be served on the current staffing pattern in the Special Education Department without the addition of staff or services.
  • The addition does not exceed the school’s existing caseload capacity.
  • Space is available at the school.
  • Space is available at the student’s grade level at the school.
  • Once a transfer request is granted, the student may continue to attend the school until completion.

Transfer requests are granted on an individual basis, although the school/administration shall take into consideration the fact that an applicant’s brother or sister is attending the school or another school within the District; an enrollment guarantee for siblings is not implied.

Provisional Enrollment

A student with prior behavioral problems may be granted provisional enrollment provided the student and parent sign an agreement with the school or the school district:

  • Establishing the conditions of continued enrollment; and
  • Notifying the parent(s)/guardian(s) and the student that the student will be excluded from the school if the agreement is violated.

The school or school district is responsible for the agreement as allowed under §53G-6-403(3)(b). A copy of a Provisional Enrollment Behavior Contract can be found on the School Resources web page.

A permit cannot be provisional based on a period or window of time. Permits cannot be issued "until the end of the year", "until a home is built", or "until the family moves".

Permit Longevity

Students who are granted school choice transfer requests shall be permitted to remain enrolled in a school subject to the same rules and standards as resident students, without renewed applications in subsequent years unless one of the following occurs:

  • The student graduates;
  • The student is no longer a Utah resident;
  • The student is suspended or expelled from school; or
  • The district determines that enrollment within the school will exceed the school’s open enrollment threshold.

Revoke a Permit

A “Revoke Permit Custom Form" in Skyward shall be used for any student whose current year permit is revoked.  The school is responsible to see that the School Path screen is updated (the permit code removed and the record changed back to “Computer Generated”).  A next year permit need only be removed and a general note entered to explain the reason for the next year permit revoke. Instructions for the "Revoke Permit Custom Form" may be found on the School Resources web page.

Prior to the Skyward student permit upload, it is permissible to use PowerSchool to revoke a permit, with either the “Remove from Waitlist/Seated List” in the School Choice Workspace or the “Discard Record” link in the Submission Workspace.

It is not necessary to revoke 6th grade or 9th grade permits.  Permits are automatically revoked when a student moves to the next level of school.

Permit Reason Codes

A Late Permit: Used for permits processed through PowerSchool after the third Friday in February and until the end of the following school year. Will automatically appear when PowerSchool permits are processed to Skyward from February to December; must be manually entered from December through the end of the school year.
B International Baccalaureate: District program permit for out-of-boundary participants in the West Jordan High IB program.
C Early Permit: Used for permits processed through PowerSchool from December 1 through the third Friday in February. Will automatically appear when PowerSchool permits are processed to Skyward from December to third Friday in February.
D Dual Immersion: District program permit. Used for out-of-boundary participants in DLI programs only. Manually entered by the school in Skyward.
E Special Education: Used for self-contained support classroom placements. Manually entered by the school in Skyward.
F ALPS: District program permit. Used for out-of-boundary participants in ALPS programs only. Manually entered by the school in Skyward.
H Court Order / District Assigned. District program permit. Used when directed by District administration or for appeal hearing placements. Manually entered by the school in Skyward.
J JROTC: Used for out-of-boundary participants in the Jordan ROTC program.
S Sibling: District program permit. Used for out-of-boundary siblings of participants in District programs only (may only be used in DLI and ALPS programs for kindergarten-age siblings when space is available at the school). Manually entered by the school in Skyward.
Code Description

 

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