Why is the District changing the current student assignment plan?
• The current Open Enrollment application process is cumbersome, requiring families to choose among multiple schools, rank their choices, fill out forms, and wait to see where their children will attend. • This process also puts some families at a disadvantage, since those who apply during the Open Enrollment period have priority over those who apply at other times or move into or within the District after the enrollment period closes. • Most of the reference areas used to make student assignments have not been updated in decades. As a result, they do not reflect demographic and population shifts that would make the most of District facilities and better serve families with school-aged children. • High transportation costs use resources that could better be spent on educating children. • Finally, processing thousands of applications and applying the many exceptions that make up the current plan is a massive logistical and administrative undertaking, as well as a costly one.
