FILE: JBC
SCHOOL ADMISSION
The Rapides Parish School Board shall admit students to the schools of the school district once the student has been registered for school by the parent or legal guardian, under such rules and regulations as the School Board may prescribe.
The School Board shall grant admission or readmission to school to any person who meets all of the following criteria:
Resides within the geographic boundaries of the school system.
Meets the eligibility requirements for school entrance pursuant to statutory provisions
Is nineteen (19) years of age or younger on September 30th of the calendar year in which the school year begins or is twenty (20) years of age on September 30th of the calendar year in which the school year begins and has sufficient course credits that he/she will be able to graduate within one (1) school year of admission or readmission.
Has not received a high school diploma or its equivalent.
Is otherwise eligible for enrollment in a public school pursuant to state law and the policies of the School Board and the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
If a person meets all of the criteria stated above, the School Board shall not deny admission or readmission based on any of the following characteristics:
The person voluntarily withdrew from school.
The person is pregnant.
The person is a parent.
The person is married.
The admission or readmission of a person who will be twenty (20) years of age on September 30th of the calendar year in which the school year begins shall be limited to grade twelve (12).
The admission or readmission of a person with an exceptionality shall be subject to federal and state law governing the age of eligibility for services for students with exceptionalities.
No child shall be admitted to school for the first time until his/her parents do the following:
Present to school officials an official birth certificate. A short-form birth certification card shall be acceptable. Only records from the local or state registrar of vital statistics shall be accepted for children born in Louisiana, except as otherwise provided herein. Children born in Louisiana shall be given a fifteen (15) day grace period to secure a copy of their birth record. Children born out of Louisiana shall be given thirty (30) days grace in which to produce a copy of their birth record. In cases where birth certificates and/or birth verification forms cannot be obtained, the school principal may accept whatever positive proof of age, race and parentage is available. It shall be left to the discretion of the Superintendent or designee as to whether or not a child shall continue in school upon failure to comply herewith.
Present to school officials satisfactory evidence of immunity to or immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases according to the age appropriate schedule approved by the Office of Public Health, Department of Health and Hospitals.
Present to school officials all official school records of school previously attended or information needed to access such records when transferring from another school to one inside the School District, including necessary authorization to obtain and/or access any and all records of the enrolling student.
Present to school officials as a prerequisite to enrolling in the first grade, evidence of having attended at least a full-day public or private kindergarten for a full school year; or satisfactorily passed academic readiness screening administered by the school system prior to the time of enrollment in first grade.
Present to school officials evidence of being bona fide residents of the school district, with limited exception. However, children temporarily residing within the jurisdiction of the School Board who have no permanent address, who have been abandoned by their parents, or who are in foster care shall be admitted to school, except as may be allowed by statute.
ADMISSION OF CHILDREN OF MILITARY FAMILIES
The School Board shall allow a dependent child of an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces, of the military reserve forces, or of the National Guard or a Department of Defense civilian to register and preliminarily enroll in a public school under its jurisdiction by remote means, including electronic means, prior to becoming a resident of the state, provided all of the following apply:
The student's parent or legal guardian is transferred or pending transfer to a military installation or comparable duty location in Louisiana pursuant to an official military order.
The student's parent or legal guardian provides a copy of the official military order transferring the parent or legal guardian to a military installation or comparable duty location in Louisiana to the School Board.
The student's parent or legal guardian completes and submits all required registration and enrollment forms and documentation, except that proof of residency shall not be required until ten (10) days after the arrival date specified on the parent or legal guardian's transfer orders.
The School Board shall provide a student of a military family who remotely registers the same enrollment opportunities available to resident students, including requesting and applying for school assignment, registering for courses, participating in extracurricular activities, and applying to any school or program that requires an additional request, including a lottery for admission to a specific school or program.
A student of a military family registered and enrolled shall not attend school until proof of residency is provided in accordance School Board policy.
ADMISSION OF EXPELLED STUDENTS
No student who has been expelled in accordance with state law from any school in the state shall be admitted to any school in the school system except upon the review and approval of the School Board.
No student who has been expelled from any school outside the state of Louisiana or any nonpublic school within Louisiana for committing any of the offenses enumerated in state law shall be admitted to any school in the school system except upon the review and approval of the governing body of the admitting school.
ADMISSION OF TRANSFER STUDENTS FROM UNAPPROVED SCHOOLS
The principal of any approved school receiving a student from a non-approved school, in or out of state, shall investigate the composition of the non-approved school and its instructional program.
The principal and/or Superintendent shall require the student seeking entrance to take a proficiency examination in each course for which he/she is claiming credit.
The school shall grant a Carnegie unit for a high school course if the student earns a minimum score of seventy percent (70%) on the proficiency examination developed and/or approved by the parish or the state for that specific course.
The percent scored shall be recorded as a letter grade on the student's transcript, following the Rapides Parish grading policy for regular classes.
The school issuing the high school graduation diploma to the student shall account for all Carnegie units required for graduation, and its records shall indicate when and where these units were earned.
TITLE I PRESCHOOL CLASSES
In the event a Title I class is not full (according to square footage allotments) at any given time during the year, children should be added as soon as possible with preference being given to children who are on a waiting list at the school. The waiting list at a Head Start Center may be used when a school's list is exhausted. Students may also be recruited within the school zone.
The children must reside in the school's attendance zone and be four (4) years old by September 30 of the school term. Children who are already enrolled and attending Head Start shall not be eligible to transfer. The preschool coordinator shall be contacted to help make arrangements with the CCAC (Cenla Community Action Council).
ADMISSION OF STUDENTS WHO COMMIT A FELONY
The conviction of any student of a felony or the incarceration of any student in a juvenile institution for an act, whether committed in Louisiana or any other state or country, which had it been committed by an adult would have constituted a felony in Louisiana, may be sufficient cause for the Superintendent to refuse admission of the student to any school in the school district, except upon review and approval of a majority of the elected members of the School Board when a request for admission has been made to the School Board.
ADMISSION OF HOMELESS STUDENTS
Except as provided above with regard to students who have been expelled, no provision in this or any other Rapides Parish School Board policy shall be interpreted to impede the immediate or continued enrollment of homeless youth, as addressed in policy JBCBB, Homeless Students.
ADMISSION OF STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
Neither the School Board nor any public school shall require the parent or legal guardian of any student to disclose the student’s medical information or special education needs prior to enrolling the student in a public school, unless otherwise specifically required by law.
Nothing herein shall prohibit a public school from providing an enrollment preference to a student with special needs when the student’s parent or legal guardian has voluntarily provided the school with information regarding such needs.
| Revised: June 3, 2008 | Revised: March 7, 2017 |
| Revised: October 5, 2010 | Revised: November 2, 2021 |
| Revised: September, 2014 |
Ref: 42 USC 11431 (Education for Homeless Children)
La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:151.3, 17:167, 17:221, 17:221.2, 17:222, 17:235.1, 17:238, 17:416, 17:3914
Singleton v. Jackson Municipal Separate School District, 419 F. 2d 1211 (5th Cir., 1970)
Louisiana Handbook for School Administrators, Bulletin 741, Louisiana Department of Education
Board minutes, 6-1-82, 10-10-83, 9-4-90, 2-3-98, 6-3-08, 10-5-10, 12-2-14, 3-7-17, 11-2-21
Rapides Parish School Board