Ask and you shall receive! At the South Dakota State Special Education Conference, we heard that open enrollment involving special education students is an area you all want more information on. So, what do you do when you receive an open enrollment application? What do you do if a student seeking to transfer needs special education and related services? Hopefully, this blog can help spark a conversation about the review process of those open enrollment applications within your district. Additionally, we have created a free resource to provide a visual representation of what that open enrollment application process can look like for applications involving students that need special education services. (Yay flowcharts for our visual processors!)
First and most importantly, if a student requesting a transfer needs special education and related services, that cannot be an automatic reason to reject the request. Instead, the district must individually review the student’s records and needs.
What does that mean practically when you first get that application? First, the district should work at obtaining “copies of all relevant student education records.” SDCL 13-28-42.1. The best practice is to request those records from the student's resident district rather than seeking those records directly from a parent. Once you receive those records and you see that a student has an IEP, those records need to make their way into the hands of the appropriate special education professional based on the student’s grade level and district administration structure.
Once they are in the hands of the special education professional, that person must review the records and assess the student’s needs and the District’s ability to meet them. Additionally, the district is responsible for directly communicating “with the student's parent or guardian and representatives of the resident district regarding the student's special education or special education and related services needs.” SDCL 13-28-42.1. At this point, two outcomes could happen. First, the district may determine that it can provide the appropriate program and meet the student's needs. If that is the determination, the district should complete its open enrollment process, follow the five-day decision communication deadline (discussed below), and enroll the student. In addition, the district would need to determine if the student requires transportation as a related service.
In the second option, if the district believes it cannot meet the needs, it must “initiate an individual education program team meeting consisting of representatives from both the resident and nonresident districts to determine whether the nonresident district can provide an appropriate instructional program, facilities, and transportation, if necessary.” SDCL 13-28-42.1. Based on that meeting, it would have to be determined if the nonresident district can meet the student's needs or if the nonresident district cannot. Once a decision is made, that decision needs to be communicated within five days by following the guidelines on the open enrollment application form. Additionally, we recommend that the district send an accompanying letter reflecting that decision. KSB offers an open enrollment denial letter that can help serve as a starting point for a flat fee.
If you have any questions about open enrollment or want to learn more about purchasing a denial letter template, please email us at ksb@ksbschoollaw.com.
Ps. School administrators - We just released the “What School Lawyers Want You to Know” series for special education teachers and administrators on our webinar portal. The series consists of fourteen 20-minute on demand videos that provide quick hits of essential legal knowledge that are perfect for watching during lunch breaks, planning periods, or using for staff professional development. To register and read video descriptions, click here.