The Shawnee Mission school board has approved a plan for how to deal with new state open enrollment requirements which take effect next school year.
With very little discussion, board members at their meeting on Monday, Dec. 4, voted unanimously on a policy that borrows from a model drafted by the Kansas Association of School Boards and bears similarities to what other Johnson County districts have considered and, in some cases, also approved.
It will go into effect in Shawnee Mission for the 2024-2025 school year.
Why are districts doing this?
The new policy is necessary because of a state law that was written into the 2022 school funding bill.
It requires public school districts to accept out-of-district students who apply to enroll in the district if there is enough room.
The policy approved by the board last week sets out the process and deadlines administrators will have for determining how much, if any, extra room the district has for extra students and how those student applications will be accepted.
How open enrollment will work in Shawnee Mission
First, the district will evaluate the number of open seats based on student-teacher ratios, building capacity and anticipated demand for certain programs.
That estimate will be presented to board members on or before May 1, 2024.
The board will then set the number of open seats that can be filled by out-of-district students for the 2024-25 school year.
The application window for out-of-district students to apply will be June 1 through June 30.
A lottery could help determine some seats
If there are enough open seats, all applicants who meet the criteria, which include attendance and grades, will be accepted.
If there are more applicants than seats available, the system prioritizes siblings of a transfer student or military families.
If there are still open spaces after those students are given priority, then out-of-district applicants will be enrolled in the district via a confidential lottery.
The whole process is to be completed by July 15 of each year.
One board member commented about open enrollment
No one spoke during public comments about the policy change.
The only board member to offer an opinion during last week’s meeting was board president Mary Sinclair, who said she didn’t see the necessity of the open enrollment requirement.
“I don’t think it was a problem that needed to be resolved,” she said.
Go deeper: The full policy can be found on the SMSD agenda page for December 4.
Roxie Hammill is a freelance journalist who reports frequently for the Post and other Kansas City area publications. You can reach her at roxieham@gmail.com.
