5500 Student Transfer
A request for a transfer into Union Public Schools initiated by or on behalf of a nonresident student will be approved or refused in accordance with this policy. Intradistrict transfers (transfers from one school in the district to another school in the district) will also be governed by this policy.
Transfer Application
For nonresident students, an application for transfer shall be completed by the parent of a student on an application form specified by the State Board of Education. The term “parent” means the parent of a student or person having custody of the student as provided for in OKLA. STAT. tit. 70, § 1-113(A)(1).
In addition to completing the application form as specified by the State Board of Education, applicants must submit all required documents. The district will not approve an application for a transfer that is submitted without the completed forms and other required documents. The district shall approve or deny the application and shall notify the parents of the students, in writing, of the decision. Siblings must apply individually. Approved applications will be placed on a waiting list in the order they are approved. The transfer will occur when transfer capacity is available and parents agree to the placement.
For intradistrict transfers, an intradistrict transfer application must be completed. Relocation of Family
A student whose family moves out of the school district during the school year may continue attendance as a transfer student if the student meets the behavior and attendance of transfer students as stated in this policy, but will be responsible for their own transportation; no district transportation will be provided.
Time of Receipt of Applications Determines Order of Review
Transfer requests will be dated and time-stamped as received, and the district shall consider requests on a first-come, first-served basis. Any currently enrolled district student for whom a transfer has been approved in the past and
any sibling of such student will be given priority for transfer, and the first-come, first-served list will be compiled only after such current students and their siblings have been placed on the list. Transfers that have previously been approved by the school district will remain in effect for future school years unless the district provides notification to the parent or legal guardian that the transfer is not going to be continued for an upcoming school year due to disciplinary action or attendance issues. The district will not require parents to resubmit a new application each school year and will advance the previous application of an enrolled student.
Nondiscrimination
The district shall not accept or deny a transfer application based upon the student’s ethnicity, national origin, race, color, religion, gender, gender expression or identity, sex, sexual orientation, income level, pregnancy, genetic information, disabling condition, proficiency in the English language, measure of achievement, aptitude, or athletic ability. Failure to meet the criteria in this policy for approval will not be deemed to be rejection for a discriminatory reason.
Approval of Transfers
Once a completed application for a transfer has been submitted to the District, it will be forwarded to the superintendent or the superintendent’s designee for review and shall be considered in accordance with the criteria set forth below. The board of education delegates to the superintendent or the superintendent’s designee authority to approve or deny a transfer application pursuant to the criteria listed in this policy.
Criteria for Approval or Denial of Open Transfers
The fact that the district has adopted an open transfer policy does not mean that every transfer application will be accepted.
A transfer application will NOT be approved if this district does not:
A. Provide the courses/educational program(s) in which this district deems the student is required to enroll in order to comply with state and federal laws and regulations;
B. Have adequate facilities to provide the courses/educational program(s) in which this district deems the student
is required to enroll in order to comply with state and federal laws and regulations;
C. Have adequate space for the student in the courses/educational program(s) in which the applicant desires to enroll or in which the district deems the student is required to enroll in order to comply with state and federal laws and regulations. The administration may reserve space for resident students or new resident students reasonably anticipated to move into the district during the school year. Thus, the district may deny a transfer if approval would result in exceeding enrollment capacity for transfer students.
A transfer will NOT be approved if the student:
A. Has a disciplinary record which provides a reasonable basis to determine the applicant would present a discipline problem if enrolled. Such a reasonable basis will exist if school discipline or court records of the student, from any public or private school within or without the State of Oklahoma or any court within or without the State of Oklahoma, show the student at any time:
1. Has violated school regulations;
2. Has been adjudicated as a delinquent for an offense that is not a violent offense under relevant Oklahoma
law;
3. Has been adjudicated as a delinquent for an offense that is a violent offense under relevant Oklahoma law;
4. Has been convicted as an adult for an offense defined in relevant Oklahoma law as an exception to a
nonviolent offense;
5. Has been convicted as an adult for an offense defined in relevant Oklahoma law as a violent offense;
6. Has committed on school property, in school transportation, or at a school event a violent act or an act
showing deliberate or reckless disregard for the health or safety of faculty or others;
7. Has possessed on school property, in school transportation, or at a school event an alcoholic beverage, or missing or stolen property found to have been taken from a student, school employee, or the school during school activities; or,
8. Has possessed on school property, while in school transportation, or at a school event a dangerous weapon
or a controlled dangerous substance as defined by relevant Oklahoma law.
9. Has a history of absences. “History of absences” means ten or more absences in one semester that are not excused for the reasons provided in 70 O.S. § 10-105 or due to illness.
A transfer will NOT be approved if the applicant:
A. Fails to complete the Application Form or provide the district with sufficient educational records so that the criteria above can be applied within the time deadlines set by law for the approval or rejection of a transfer. All such records must be supplied to the district in time for district personnel to make a reasonable review of such records in applying the approval/denial criteria set by this policy. This is particularly important for
students with disabilities, because all documentation of the resident district will need to be reviewed to make a preliminary determination as to whether the district has the appropriate programs, staff, and services to provide the applicant with the education and services set forth in the student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or Section 504 Accommodation Plan, and, if a preliminary approval determination is made, to prepare for and conduct a joint IEP or Section 504 conference with the resident district prior to any final approval or rejection of the transfer application. All applicants must consent in writing to the release of educational records from previous schools attended, and applicants for students with disabilities must consent in writing to forward to this district whatever confidential records this district deems is necessary to review in applying the approval/denial criteria of this policy. The Superintendent or designee has authority to request additional information needed to review an application request. Reference: OKLA. STAT. tit. 70, § 1-101.3, OKLA. ADMIN. Code §. 210-10-1- 19.
B. Fails to timely submit a completed application; or,
C. Provides incorrect or incomplete information on the application request.
Union Public Schools will not accept tuition fees for the purpose of a transfer other than those required by law, special tuition-based programs, and cooperative programs for exceptional children.
Priority for transfers first will be given to applications for the enrollment of nonresident students who are children of full-time district employees or Union Schools Education Foundation employees. Students who reside in the subdivision Cedar Ridge East, also known as The Trails at Cedar Ridge, or Berwick and whose home resides on land claimed by Union Public Schools and another district may be granted a transfer into Union Public Schools.
Resident students who move outside of the district will be given priority for transfers. They will need to apply for a transfer and meet the criteria for approval.
A child who is in the custody of the Department of Human Services in foster care who is living in the home of a
student who transfers to the district may also attend school in the district.
A child who is identified as homeless according to federal or state law shall be granted transfers in accordance with the applicable federal or state law.
Students with Disabilities
If a student with a disability applies for a transfer, the student must supply all documentation of the resident district
relating to the student’s previous and current IEPs and Section 504 Accommodation Plans so that this district may:
A. Determine whether the district currently has appropriate programs, staff, services and placement needed to
fulfill the current or anticipated IEP or Section 504 Accommodation Plan of the student; and,
B. If a preliminary determination is made that the district has the appropriate programs, staff, services, and placement needed to fulfill the current IEP or Section 504 Accommodation Plans of the student if the transfer application is approved, conduct the statutorily required joint IEP or Section 504 conference with the district of residence before a final determination of approval or denial is made.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this policy, students with disabilities may be educated in this district pursuant to special education cooperative agreements between this district and other school districts. Such transfers will not be deemed to be parent- or student-initiated transfer applications governed by this policy.
Students from a District in which the Student’s Grade is not Offered
The transfer of a student whose resident district does not offer the grade the student is entitled to pursue will be approved according to Oklahoma Law.
Students of Deployed Parents:
A student may apply for a transfer if he/she is the dependent child of a member of the active uniformed military services of the United States on full-time active duty status, and students who are the dependent children of a member of the military reserve on active duty orders shall be eligible for admission regardless of the capacity of the district if:
A. At least one parent has a Department of Defense-issued identification card, and
B. At least one parent can provide evidence that he/she will be on active duty status or active duty orders, meaning
the parent will be temporarily transferred in compliance with official orders to another location in support of combat, contingency operation, or a natural disaster requiring the use of orders for more than thirty (30) consecutive days.
Athletic and Other Competition:
A transfer student may be eligible to participate in school-related interscholastic competition governed by the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (“Association”) if the conditions of the student transfer allow. Whether a student granted a transfer will be eligible to participate in school-related interscholastic competition shall be determined by the Association.
Approval of a Transfer Requires Agreement with Rules and Regulations:
Approval by this district of any transfer is contingent upon the applicant agreeing in writing to cancellation of this transfer by the district at the end of the school year if the student does not comply with the rules and regulations of this district for student behavior and attendance as stated by law. The Board of Education hereby delegates to the Superintendent or designee the authority to cancel any transfer previously granted upon a determination that cancellation is appropriate.
Students seeking a transfer from a non-accredited school or a home school will only be granted provisional approval pending review of test results and application of policy criteria to the placement deemed appropriate.
Students currently enrolled in a private school not accredited by a state agency or in a home school are not guaranteed enrollment in the grade/programs/courses in which the applicant desires to enroll. Students desiring to transfer from private schools not accredited by a state agency or from a home school will be required to take all placement tests required of resident students enrolling in the district after attendance in private schools not accredited by a state agency or home schools, and the administration will decide the appropriate placement primarily upon placement test results as per district policy. Accordingly, students applying for a transfer from such schools will be granted a provisional transfer until: (a) test results are reviewed to determine the appropriate grade/courses/ programs for the applicant and (b) the criteria of this policy is then applied to determine if the applicant is eligible for transfer approval.
Acceptance of Assignment Required; Subsequent Change Needs Administrative Approval
Because approval of transfers is based upon criteria of sufficient programs, staffing, and space needs for the particular applicant, a transfer student must accept the school site, courses, and programs to which the student is assigned by the administration. A transfer student will not be allowed, at the time of or after enrollment, to change the grade/courses/programs or school in which the student stated he or she desired to enroll on the transfer application without specific written permission from the Superintendent or designee. It will be the responsibility of the transfer student or parent to inform the school official from whom approval for a new assignment is requested that the student is a transfer student, and failure to do so will result in cancellation of the transfer unless excused by the Superintendent or designee.
Intradistrict Transfers
Intradistrict transfers are subject to the same capacity and programming limitations as other transfers.
Priority for intradistrict transfers first will be given to applications for students who are children of full-time district employees, Union Schools Education Foundation employees, students who are siblings of students who are
attending the requested school, students who change residence within the district and wish to continue attending the same school, and students in the custody of the Department of Human Services and living in foster care with another student who has transferred.
Except for a child in the custody of the Department of Human Services in foster care, an intradistrict transfer student shall not transfer more than two times per school year, but the student may always reenroll at any time in the school of residence.
Intradistrict transfer approval is subject to the same rules as transfers from other districts and may be cancelled according to guidance in this policy.
By the first day of January, April, July, and October, the Board of Education shall establish the number of transfer students the district has the capacity to accept in each grade level for each school site within the district. Capacity levels shall be calculated by the Superintendent or designee and presented to the Board of Education for approval. The number of transfer students for each grade level at each site that the district has the capacity to accept will be posted in a prominent place on the school district’s website. The district shall report to the State Department of Education the number of transfer students for each grade level for each school site which the district has the capacity to accept.
Upon notification of the transfer availability, the student has ten school days to begin to attend school at Union, or the opening will be offered to another student. If accepted, a student transfer is granted for the existing school year and the student may continue to attend in future years. At the end of the school year, the district may deny continued transfer of the student due to disciplinary reasons or for a history of absences.
If a transfer request is denied by the administration, the parent or legal guardian of the student may appeal the denial in writing within ten (10) days of notification of denial to the Board of Education. The Board of Education shall consider the written appeal at its next regularly scheduled board meeting for which notice is provided prior to the statutory deadline to post the agenda for the meeting.
During the appeal, the Board will review the action of the administration to make sure that the district policy was followed with regard to the denial of the transfer. The Board of Education will meet in an executive session to review the educational records of the student to make a determination on the transfer. This will be a paper appeal and will include the written documentation utilized by the school district as well as a written response from the parent or legal guardian which explains why the policy was not followed.
If the Board of Education votes to uphold the denial of the transfer, the parent or legal guardian may appeal the denial within ten (10) days of the notification of the appeal denial to the State Board of Education. The parent or legal guardian shall submit to the State Board of Education and to the superintendent of the district, a notice of appeal on the form prescribed by the State Board of Education.
Revised 6/10/96
Revised 2/3/97
Revised 12/14/98
Revised 12/13/99
Revised 1/8/01
Revised 12/8/03
Revised 12/13/04
Revised 2/12/07
Revised 12/10/07
Revised 7/10/24