FD (TSBVI) - ADMISSIONS AND ATTENDANCE

GENERAL ELIGIBILITY

The local Board or its designee shall admit into the free public schools of the local district all persons who are over five and younger than 21 years of age on September 1 of any school year in which admission is sought, and may admit a person who is at least 21 and under 26 for the purpose of completing the requirements for a high school diploma, if any of the following conditions exist:

Student and Parent

  1. The person and either parent reside in the local district.

Conservator

  1. The person does not reside in the local district, but one of the parents resides in the district and that parent is a joint managing conservator or the sole managing conservator or possessory conservator of the person.

Guardian or Person Having Lawful Control

  1. The person and his or her guardian or other person having lawful control under an order of a court reside in the local district.

Students Living Separately and Apart

  1. The person is under the age of 18 and has established a separate residence in the local district apart from his or her parent, guardian, or other person having lawful control under an order of a court and has established that the person's presence in the local district is not for the primary purpose of participation in extracurricular activities. The local Board is not required to admit such person, however, if the person has:
  1. engaged in conduct that resulted in removal to an alternative education program or expulsion within the preceding year;
  2. engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision and is on probation or other conditional release for that conduct; or
  3. been convicted of a criminal offense and is on probation or other conditional release.

Education Code 25.001(a)(b)(d)

Homeless Student

  1. The person is a homeless child.
    1. A child is "homeless," under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Act, if the child lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. This includes:
      1. Children who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement;
      2. Children who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
      3. Children who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
      4. Migratory children living in circumstances described above.

        "Migratory child" means a child who is, or whose parent, spouse, or guardian is, a migratory agricultural worker, including a migratory dairy worker, or a migratory fisher, and who, in the preceding 36 months, in order to obtain, or accompany such parent, spouse, or guardian in order to obtain, temporary or seasonal employment in agricultural or fishing work:

        1. Has moved from one school district to another; or
        2. Resides in a school district of more than 15,000 square miles, and migrates a distance of 20 miles or more to a temporary residence to engage in a fishing activity.
          20 U.S.C. 6399 
    2. A child is homeless, under state law, regardless of the residence of the child, either parent, or the child's guardian or other person having lawful control, if:
      1. The child lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; or
      2. The child has a primary nighttime residence in a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations (including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the mentally ill), an institution providing temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized, or a public or private place not designated for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.

Education Code 25.001(b); 42 U.S.C. 11434(a)

Foreign Exchange Students

  1. The person is a foreign exchange student placed with a host family that resides in the local district by a nationally recognized foreign exchange program, unless the local district has applied for and been granted a waiver by the Commissioner because:
    1. This requirement would impose a financial or staffing hardship on the local district;
    2. The admission would diminish the district's ability to provide high quality education services for the local district's domestic students; or
    3. The admission would require domestic students to compete with foreign exchange students for educational resources.

Education Code 25.001(b)(6), (e)

Students in Residential Facility

  1. The person resides at a residential facility, as defined in Education Code 5.001, located in the local district. For purposes of enrollment, a person who resides in a residential facility is considered a resident of the local district in which the facility is located.  Education Code 25.001(b)(7), 29.012(c)

Students Over 18

  1. The person resides in the local district and is 18 or older or the person's disabilities of minority have been removed.  Education Code 25.001(b)(8)

Resident Grandparent

  1. The person does not reside in the local district but the grandparent of the person:
    1. Resides in the local district; and
    2. Provides a substantial amount of after-school care for the person as determined by the board.

Education Code 25.001(b)(9)

PROOF OF ELIGIBILITY

The local district may require evidence that a person is eligible to attend the public free schools of the district at the time it considers an application for admission of the person. The local Board or its designee shall establish minimum proof of residency acceptable to the local district. When admission is sought under item 4 above, the local Board shall determine whether an applicant qualifies as a resident of the local district and may adopt reasonable guidelines for making that determination as necessary to protect the best interest of students.  Education Code 25.001(c)

For students applying for admission or already admitted to TSBVI, whose residence address is different from the residence address of the student’s parent or guardian, TSBVI shall require from the local school district documentation that the student has met the district’s requirements for minimum proof of residency.

The local district may withdraw any student who ceases to be a resident. Daniels v. Morris, 746 F.2d 271 (5th Cir. 1984)

ILLEGAL ALIENS

Denying enrollment to otherwise eligible children who are not legally admitted into the United States violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Plyler v. Doe  457 U.S. 202 (1982)

HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY CERTIFICATE

A student who has received a high school equivalency certificate is entitled to enroll in a public school in the same manner as any other student who has not received a high school diploma.  Education Code 29.087(h)

SUBSTITUTE FOR PARENT OR GUARDIAN

The local Board may allow a person showing evidence of legal responsibility for a child other than an order of a court to substitute for a guardian or other person having lawful control of the child under court order. Education Code 25.001(j)

STUDENTS IN FOSTER CARE

A student placed in foster care by an agency of the state or a political subdivision, and whose foster parents reside in the local district, shall be permitted to attend local district schools free of any charge to the foster parents or to the agency. No durational residency requirement shall be used to prohibit such a student from fully participating in all activities sponsored by a local district. Education Code 25.001(f)

A student enrolled in high school in grade 9, 10, 11, or 12 who is placed in temporary foster care by the Department of Human Services at a residence outside the attendance area for the school or outside the local district is entitled to complete high school at the school in which the student was enrolled at the time of placement without payment of tuition. Education Code 25.001(g)

ENROLLMENT

A child must be enrolled by the child’s parent, guardian, or other person with legal control under a court order.  The local district and TSBVI shall record the name, address, and date of birth of the person enrolling the child.  Education Code 25.002(f)

Legal Surname

A student must be identified by the student’s legal surname as it appears on the student’s birth certificate or other document suitable as proof of the student’s identify, or in a court order changing the student’s name.  Education Code 25.0021

Required Documentation

Not later than the 30th day after the date a parent or other person with legal control of a child enrolls the child in TSBVI, the parent or other person, or the school district in which the child most recently attended school, shall furnish to TSBVI all of the following:

  1. The child's birth certificate or another document suitable as proof of the child's identity as defined by the Commissioner of Education in the Student Attendance Accounting Handbook;
  2. A copy of the child's records from the school the child most recently attended if he or she was previously enrolled in a school in Texas or in another state;
  3. Students shall not be denied enrollment or be removed solely because they fail to provide the documentation required in items 1 and 2, above.
  4. A record showing that the child has the immunizations required by Education Code 38.001, proof that the child is not required to be immunized, or proof that the child is entitled to provisional admission. (See FFAB)

Education Code 25.002(a) 19 TAC 129.1(a),(b)

A local district or TSBVI must furnish information under items 1 and 2 not later than the tenth working day after the date the local district or TSBVI receives a request for the information.

A parent or other person with legal control of a child under a court order must furnish information under items 1 and 2 not later than the 30th day after the date a child is enrolled in school.

If a parent or other person with legal control of a child under a court order requests that a local district or TSBVI transfer a child’s student records, the school to which the request is made shall notify the parent or other person as soon as practicable that the parent or other person may request and receive an unofficial copy of the records for delivery in person to a school in another district.

Education Code 25.002(a-1)

Child in FPS Possession

A local district shall enroll a child without the required documentation if the Department of Family and Protective Services (FPS) has taken possession of the child. FPS shall ensure that the required documentation is furnished to the local district not later than the 30th day after the date the child is enrolled.  Education Code 25.002(g)

Inconsistent Documentation

If a child is enrolled under a name other than the name that appears in the identifying documents or records, TSBVI shall notify the missing children and missing persons information clearinghouse of the child's name as shown on the identifying records and the name under which the child is enrolled.

Missing Documentation

If the required documents and other records are not furnished to TSBVI within 30 days after enrollment, TSBVI shall request the local district to notify the police department of the city or the sheriff's department of the county in which the local district is located and request a determination of whether the child has been reported as missing.

Education Code 25.002(b)(c), 38.001

STUDENTS UNDER 11

On enrollment of a child under 11 years of age in a local district school for the first time at the school, the local district shall:

  1. Request from the person enrolling the child the name of each previous school attended by the child;
  2. Request from each school identified in item #1 the school records for the child and, if the person enrolling the child provides copies of previous school records, request verification from the school of the child’s name, address, date, and grades and dates attended; and
  3. Notify the person enrolling the student that not later than the 30th day after enrollment, or the ninetieth day if the child was not born in the United States, the person must provide:
    1. A certified copy of the child’s birth certificate; or
    2. Other reliable proof of the child’s identity and age and a signed statement explaining the person’s inability to produce a copy of the child’s birth certificate.

If a person enrolls a child under 11 years of age in school and does not provide the valid prior school information or documentation required, the school shall notify the appropriate law enforcement agency before the thirty-first day after the person fails to comply. 

Code of Criminal Procedures 63.019 

FALSE INFORMATION

When accepting a child for enrollment, the local district and TSBVI shall inform the parent or other person enrolling the child that presenting false information or false records for identification is a criminal offense under Penal Code 37.10 and that enrolling the child under false documents makes the person liable for tuition or other costs as provided below.  Education Code 25.002(d)

In addition to the penalty under Penal Code 37.10, a person who knowingly falsifies information on a form required for a student's enrollment in a local district is liable to the district if the student is not eligible for enrollment, but is enrolled on the basis of false information. For the period during which the ineligible student is enrolled, the person is liable for the maximum tuition fee a local district may charge (see FDA) or the amount a local district has budgeted per student as maintenance and operating expense, whichever is greater.  Education Code 25.001(h)

A local district may include on its enrollment form notice of the legal penalties and liability for falsifying information on the form. Education Code 25.001(i)

PLACEMENT OF TRANSFERS

Credits and Records

The local district and TSBVI shall accept all credits earned toward state graduation requirements by students in accredited Texas school districts, including credits earned in accredited summer school programs.  Credits earned in local credit courses may be transferred at the local district’s discretion.  Transfer students shall not be prohibited from attending school pending receipt of transcripts or academic records from a district the student previously attended.  19 TAC 74.26(a)(i)

The School shall grant a student credit toward the academic course requirements for high school graduation for courses the student successfully completes in Texas Youth Copmmission educational programs.  Education Code 30.104

The School shall consider course credit earned by a student while in a juvenile justice alternative education program as credit earned in TSBVI.  Education Code 37.001(d)

Nonpublic Schools

Records and transcripts of students from Texas nonpublic schools or from out of state or out of the country (including foreign exchange students) shall be evaluated, and students shall be placed promptly in appropriate classes.  A local district or TSBVI may use a wide variety of methods to verify the content of courses for which a transfer student has earned credit.  19 TAC 74.26(a)(2)

FOUNDATION SCHOOL PROGRAM

A person is entitled to the benefits of the available school fund for a school year if:

  1. On September 1 of the year the person is at least five years of age and under 21 years of age, and has not graduated from high school.
  2. On September 1 of the year the person is at least 21 years of age and under 26 years of age and is admitted by a school district to complete the requirements for a high school diploma.
  3. The person is enrolled in prekindergarten under Education Code 29.153
  4. The person is younger than five years of age and performs satisfactorily on the sate assessment instrument administered to third graders and a district has adopted a policy to admit students younger than five years of age.
  5. The person is enrolled in the first grade and is at least six years of age at the beginning of the current school year, or has been enrolled in the first grade, or has completed kindergarten, in the public schools of another state before transferring to a Texas public school.

Education Code 25.001(a), 42.003

SCREENING

The Director of Health Services of TSBVI shall ensure that each student admitted to TSBVI has complied with requirements for screening of special senses and communication disorders, spinal screening and acanthosis nigricans screening or has submitted an affidavit of exemption. Health and Safety Code 36.005, 37.002, 95.003(c).

PEST CONTROL INFORMATION

At the time a student is registered, School personnel shall inform parents, guardians, or managing conservators that the School periodically applies pesticides indoors and that information on the application of pesticides is available on request. Occupations Code 1951.455.

Adopted: 7/13/79
Amended: 11/14/97, 1/24/02, 11/18/05, 1/25/08
Reviewed:

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