Cal. Educ. Code § 48301
Pupil Attendance Alternatives
Redline — January 1, 2011 → current.View current text →
Current — January 1, 2025
As of January 1, 2011
(a) The governing board of any school district may accept interdistrict transfers. A school district that receives an application for attendance under this article is not required to admit pupils to its schools. If, however, the governing board elects to accept transfers as authorized under this article, it may, by resolution, elect to accept transfer pupils, determine and adopt the number of transfers it is willing to accept under this article, and ensure that pupils admitted under the policy are selected through a random, unbiased process that prohibits an evaluation of whether or not the pupil should be enrolled based upon his or her academic or athletic performance. Any pupil accepted for transfer shall be deemed to have fulfilled the requirements of Section 48204. If the number of transfer applications exceeds the number of transfers the governing board elects to accept under this article, approval for transfer pursuant to this article shall be determined by a random drawing held in public at a regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board of the school district.
(a) (1) The governing board of a school district may elect to operate the school district as a school district of choice and may accept transfers from school districts of residence pursuant to this article. If the governing board of a school district elects to accept transfers as authorized pursuant to this article, it shall, by resolution, determine and adopt the number of transfers it is willing to accept pursuant to this article and shall accept all pupils who apply to transfer until the school district of choice is at maximum capacity. The school district of choice shall ensure that pupils admitted pursuant to this article are selected through an unbiased process that prohibits an inquiry into or evaluation or consideration of whether or not a pupil should be enrolled based upon academic or athletic performance, physical condition, proficiency in English, any of the individual characteristics set forth in Section 200, and, except for purposes of determining priority for pupils eligible for free or reduced-price meals pursuant to Section 48306, family income.
(b) Either the pupil’s school district of residence, upon notification of the pupil’s acceptance to the school district of choice pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 48308, or the school district of choice may prohibit the transfer of a pupil under this article or limit the number of pupils so transferred if the governing board of the district determines that the transfer would negatively impact any of the following:
(1) The court-ordered desegregation plan of the district.
(2) The voluntary desegregation plan of the district.
(3) The racial and ethnic balance of the district.
(c) The school district of residence may not adopt policies that in any way block or discourage pupils from applying for transfer to another district.
(2) If the number of transfer applications exceeds the number of transfers the governing board of a school district of choice elects to accept pursuant to this article, approval for transfer pursuant to this article shall be determined by a random drawing held in public at a regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board of the school district of choice.
(b) Communications to parents by school districts of choice shall be factually accurate and not target individual parents or residential neighborhoods on the basis of a pupil’s or pupils’ actual or perceived academic or athletic skill, proficiency in English, any of the individual characteristics set forth in Section 200, or family income.
(e) A school district of choice, at its expense, shall ensure that the auditor who conducts the annual audit pursuant to Section 41020, at the same time that he or she is conducting that annual audit, reviews compliance with the provisions in this section regarding a random, unbiased selection process and appropriate communications. The compliance review specified in this subdivision is not subject to the requirements in subdivision (d) of Section 41020. The school district of choice shall notify the auditor regarding this compliance review specified in this subdivision prior to the commencement of the annual audit. The governing board of the school district of choice shall include a summary of audit exceptions, if any, resulting from the compliance review conducted pursuant to this subdivision in the report it provides pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 48313.
(c) A school district of choice, with respect to compliance with this article, shall be subject to the audit conducted pursuant to Section 41020.
(d) A school district of choice shall post application information on its internet website. This information shall include, at a minimum, any applicable form and the timeline for a transfer pursuant to this article. This information also shall include an explanation of the selection process the school district of choice implements pursuant to subdivision (a).
(e) A pupil attending a school in a school district of choice shall be deemed to have fulfilled the requirements of Section 48204.
(f) All communication from a school district of choice regarding the transfer opportunities pursuant to the program shall be available in all languages for which translations are required in the school district of residence pursuant to Section 48985.
(g) A school district of choice shall register as a school district of choice with both the Superintendent, in a manner specified by the Superintendent, and the county board of education where the school district of choice is located.
(h) A school district of choice shall not enroll pupils pursuant to this article until the school district has registered pursuant to subdivision (g).
Official source: California Legislative Information. Reproduced from public-domain California statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.