Okla. Admin. Code § 210:10-1-18

Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024

Section 210:10-1-18 - Transfers

(a)Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1)"Student of a Deployed Parent" means a student who is the dependent child of a member of the active uniformed military services of the United States on full-time active duty status and for whom Oklahoma is the home of record or a student who is the dependent children of a member of the military reserve on active duty orders and for whom Oklahoma is the home of record.

(2)"Open Transfer(s)" means the transfer of a student from the district in which the student resides to another school district furnishing the grade the student is entitled to pursue.

(3)"Parent" means the parent, legal guardian, foster parent, or person having custody of the student seeking a transfer, whose residence is used to determine the residence of the student in accordance with the provisions of 70 O.S. § 1-113(A)(1). For purposes of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act at 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq. (IDEA), the definition of Parent set forth in 34 C.F.R. § 300.30 shall supersede the definition of Parent set forth in this subsection.

(4)"Receiving School District" means the school district to which the student is seeking to be transferred.

(5)"Resident School District" means the school district in which the Parent, guardian, or person having custody of the student resides, as defined in 70 O.S. § 1-113(A)(1).

(b)Governing statutes. Open Transfers shall be governed by the Oklahoma Education Open Transfer Act, 70 O.S. § 8-101.1, et seq. In addition, the following types of transfers are governed by the following provisions of law:

(1)Students with disabilities. Transfers made for the purpose of providing a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to special education students shall be governed by 70 O.S. § 18-110 and 70 O.S. § 13-101, et seq. Such transfers shall not be considered Open Transfers subject to the provisions of (d) of this Section.

(2)Gifted and talented students. Transfers made for the purpose of providing gifted child educational programs shall be governed by 70 O.S. § 1210.307. Such transfers shall not be subject to the provisions of (d) of this Section.

(3)Parents who are teachers. Transfers for the purpose of allowing a student to attend school in a district in which the student's Parent is employed as a teacher shall be governed by 70 O.S. § 8-113. Such transfers shall not be subject to the provisions of (d) of this Section.

(4)Deployed Parents. Transfers for the purpose of allowing a student of a deployed Parent to transfer districts shall be governed by 70 O.S. § 8-103.1. Such transfers shall not be subject to the provisions of (d) of this Section.

(5)Sibling transfers. Transfers of siblings pursuant to the provisions of 70 O.S. § 8-101.2 shall be processed as Open Transfers in accordance with the requirements of 70 O.S. § 8-103 and (d) of this Section. Transfers of multiple birth siblings shall be processed as Open Transfers , provided that if multiple birth siblings are transferred to the same receiving district, a Parent may request placement at the same school and/or in the same classroom under the provisions of 70 O.S. §24-154(A).

(c)District policies and procedures pertaining to student transfers.

(1) Each school district board of education shall adopt a policy to determine the number of transfer students the school district has the capacity to accept in each grade level for each school site within a school district pursuant to 70 O.S. § 8-101.2. The policy may include the acts and reasons outlined in 70 O.S. § 24-101.3 and a history of absences as bases for denial of a transfer. "History of absences" means ten or more absences in one semester that are not excused for the reasons provided for in 70 O.S. § 10-105(B) or due to illness. The school district's policy shall not include any other basis for denying a transfer request.

(2) The transfer of a student from the district in which the student resides to another school district furnishing instruction in the grade the student is entitled to pursue shall be granted at any time in the year unless:

(A) The number of transfers exceeds the capacity of a grade level for each school site within a school district; or

(B) The transfer would violate the school's adopted transfer policy with respect to acts and reasons outlined in 70 O.S. § 24-101.3 or a student's history of absences.

(3) A school may not accept or deny a request based on the statutorily prohibited factors set forth in 70 O.S. § 8-103.1.

(4) If the grade a student is entitled to pursue is not offered in the district where the student resides, a transfer request shall be automatically approved by the Receiving School District. 70 O.S. § 8-101.

(d)Open Transfers. All Open Transfers must be initiated and processed in accordance with the following procedures:

(1) The Parent of the student must complete an application form specified by the State Board of Education.

(2) The application shall be filed with the superintendent of the Receiving School District for transfers to school districts in this state and with the State Board of Education for transfers to school districts in another state.

(3) The Receiving School District shall approve or deny the application and notify the Parent of the student of the decision in writing within 30 days of receiving an application. Applications shall be processed in the order in which they are received. If the number of student transfer applications exceeds the capacity of a Receiving School District, the district shall select transfer students in the order in which the district received the student transfer applications.

(4) If the transfer application is accepted, the Parents of the student shall provide the receiving school district written notification that the student will be enrolling in the Receiving School District within ten days of receiving notice that the transfer application was approved. Failure of the Parents to notify may result in the loss of the student's right to enroll in the school district for that year only. If a Parent fails to notify the Receiving School District that a student will be enrolling, and the Receiving School District chooses to cancel the transfer, the Receiving School District shall provide a written notice of the cancellation to the Parent of the student immediately upon cancellation.

(5) If a transfer application is denied, the Parents of the student may appeal the Receiving School Districts decisions as set forth in 70 O.S. § 8-101.2(E) and Okla. Admin. Code § 210:10-1-18.1.

(6) If the Receiving School District receives notice that the transferring student will be enrolling in the Receiving School District, the Receiving School District shall notify the Resident School District within ten (10) days.

(7) Approval of the resident district is not required for an Open Transfer.

(e)Deployed Parent.

(1) If a transfer request is submitted on behalf of a student of a deployed parent in accordance with 70 O.S. § 1-103.1 and this administrative rule, the application shall be approved regardless of the capacity of the receiving school district.

(2) Local school district boards of education shall adopt a policy for transfer requests by students of a deployed parent.

(3) Transfer requests on behalf of Students of a Deployed Parent shall be processed in accordance with 70 O.S. § 8-103.1.

(f)Termination of Transfers. A transfer may not be terminated in the middle of a school year. At the end of each school year, a school district may deny continued transfer of the student for the reasons outlined in 70 O.S. § 8-101.2(B)(1)-(2). Written notice of a receiving school district's intention to deny continued transfer of a student shall be given to the parent of a student by no later than July 15 and shall comply with Okla. Admin. Code § 210:10-1-18.1(b)(3). A receiving school district's denial of a continued transfer may be appealed in compliance with § 210:10-1-18.1.

(g)Reporting transfers.

(1) On or before January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1, the Superintendent of each Receiving School District shall file a statement with the State Board of Education and each Resident School District showing the name and grade level of each student granted a transfer to the Receiving School District and the Resident School District for each student.

(2) On or before January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1, each school district board of education shall submit to the State Department of Education the number of student transfers approved and denied and whether each denial was based on capacity, acts and reasons outlined in Section 24-101.3 of this title or a history of absences as provided for in paragraph 2 of subsection B of this section. The State Department of Education shall publish the data on its website and make the data available to the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability.

Okla. Admin. Code § 210:10-1-18

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 39, Issue 15, April 15, 2022, eff. 3/7/2022

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 39, Issue 24, September 1, 2022, eff. 9/11/2022