Olathe Public Schools is the latest Johnson County school district to finalize its open enrollment policy ahead of the 2024-25 school year, when it takes effect.
The Olathe school board approved the district’s plan for implementing the new policy at its most recent meeting on Thursday, Dec. 7.
The policy stems from a sweeping education law passed by the Kansas Legislature last year and signed by Gov. Laura Kelly that requires public school districts in the state to allow for the transfer and enrollment of students who live outside their boundaries, provided there is available space.
Other Johnson County districts, including Shawnee Mission and USD 232 in De Soto have approved their own open enrollment plans in recent weeks, modeled off a draft plan put out by the Kansas Association of School Boards. (The Blue Valley school board also approved that district’s final open enrollment plan on Monday.)
Here’s how Olathe’s open enrollment plan will work
Olathe’s open enrollment plan follows closely with what other Johnson County districts have adopted.
Olathe’s plan says the superintendent or their designee will determine capacity for non-resident students based on student-teacher ratios, demand for classes, projected enrollment shifts and schools’ maximum capacities.
After those calculations, district administrators will then accept applications from non-resident students from June 1 through June 30, 2024.
If applications are fewer than the determined number of available seats, all qualified non-resident students will be accepted.
If the number of applications is larger than the number of available seats, the district will randomly select non-residents students using a confidential lottery system.
There will be three transfer windows in 2024
The policy outlines different transfer windows for both current Olathe students wanting to transfer to a different school within the district in addition to non-resident students seeking to enroll in Olathe Schools.
The first transfer window, from Jan. 4 to Feb. 28, 2024, will be for current resident students wishing to transfer schools within the district.
The second window, from March 1 to March 31, will be for the children of Olathe Schools employees who live outside the district who wish to transfer to an Olathe school.
Once those windows have closed, other non-resident students will be allowed to apply to Olathe Schools between June 1 and June 30.
Some non-resident applicants will be given priority
In addition to the children of Olathe Schools employees getting an earlier transfer window, other students will be prioritized in selecting non-resident applicants.
Non-resident students who are the siblings of other non-resident students who have been accepted into Olathe Schools will be given priority, as will the the children of military service members.
“[The policy] is a result of legislative action,” Board Vice President Julie Steele said Thursday. “I did get a couple of emails wondering why we were looking to make such a wholesale change, and rest assured: we were not. But, some good things might come from it.”
The open enrollment policy will go into effect starting ahead of the 2024-25 school year.
Capacity will be posted on the OPS website by June 1, when non-residents can begin applying.
Go deeper: Read Olathe Public Schools’ open enrollment policy here.
Natasha Vyhovsky is a contributor to the Post.
