281—17.8  (282)  Requirements applicable to parents/guardians and students.
	   17.8(1) Expelled or suspended students. A pupil who has been suspended or expelled by action of the administration or board of the resident district shall not be permitted to enroll if an open enrollment request is filed until the pupil is reinstated for school attendance in the resident district. Once reinstated, the application for open enrollment shall be considered in the same manner as any other open enrollment request. If a pupil for whom an open enrollment request has been filed is subsequently expelled by action of the resident district board, the pupil may be denied enrollment by the receiving district board until the pupil is reinstated for school attendance by the resident district. The provisions of this subrule shall also apply to a pupil who has been suspended or expelled in a receiving district and is requesting open enrollment to an alternative receiving district or is seeking to return to the resident district as outlined in subrule 17.8(4).
	   17.8(2) Restrictions on participation in interscholastic athletic contests and competitions. A pupil who changes school districts under open enrollment in any of the grades 9 through 12 shall not be eligible to participate in varsity interscholastic athletic contests and competitions during the first 90 school days of enrollment. This restriction also shall apply to enrollments resulting from an approved petition filed by a parent/guardian to open enroll to an alternative receiving district and when the pupil returns to the district of residence using the process outlined in subrule 17.8(4). This 90-school-day restriction does not prohibit the pupil from practicing with an athletic team during the 90 school days of ineligibility. This 90-school-day restriction is not applicable to a pupil who:
	      a.    	  Participates in an athletic activity in the receiving district that is not available in the district of residence.
	      b.    	  Participates in an athletic activity for which the resident district and the receiving district have a “cooperative student participation agreement” in place as provided by rule 281—36.20(280).
	      c.    	  Has paid tuition for one or more years to the receiving school district prior to making application and being approved for open enrollment.
	      d.    	  Has attended the receiving district for one or more years, prior to making application and being approved for open enrollment, under a sharing or mutual agreement between the resident district and the receiving district.
	      e.    	  Has been participating in open enrollment and whose parents/guardians move out of their district of residence but exercise the option of maintaining the open enrollment agreement as provided in subrule 17.8(6) except that the period of 90 school days of ineligibility shall apply to a pupil who open enrolls to another school district. If the pupil has established athletic eligibility under open enrollment, it is continued despite the parent’s or guardian’s change in residence.
	      f.    	  Obtains open enrollment as provided in subrule 17.8(7) except that the period of 90 school days of ineligibility shall apply to a pupil who open enrolls to another school district.
	      g.    	  Obtains open enrollment due to the dissolution and merger of the former district of residence under Iowa Code subsection 256.11(12).
	      h.    	  Obtains open enrollment due to the pupil’s district of residence entering into a whole-grade sharing agreement on or after July 1, 1990, including the grade in which the pupil would be enrolled at the start of the whole-grade sharing agreement.
	      i.    	  Participates in open enrollment and the parent/guardian is an active member of the armed forces and resides in permanent housing on government property provided by a branch of the armed services.
	      j.    	  Open enrolls from a district of residence that has determined that the pupil was previously subject to a founded incident of harassment or bullying as defined in Iowa Code section 280.28 while attending school in the district of residence.
	   17.8(3) Term of enrollment. Rescinded IAB 10/9/96, effective 11/13/96.
	   17.8(4) Petition for attendance in an alternative receiving district. Once the pupil of a parent/guardian has been accepted for open enrollment, attendance in an alternative receiving district under open enrollment can be initiated by filing a petition for change with the receiving district. The petition shall be filed by the parent/guardian with the receiving district on or before March 1 of the year preceding the school year for which the change is requested. The timelines and notification requirements for such a request shall be the same as outlined in subrule 17.3(2). If the request is approved, the alternative district shall send notice of this action to the parent/guardian, to the original receiving district, and to the resident district of the pupil. Petitions for change shall be effectuated at the start of the next school year.
As an alternative procedure, the receiving and alternative receiving district boards by mutual agreement may effectuate the change in enrollment of an open enrollment pupil at any time following receipt of a written request for such change which is approved by the two boards. The parent/guardian and the resident district board shall be notified of the approval and the date for change in open enrollment within 15 days of the mutual agreement action of the receiving and alternative receiving boards.
A pupil in good standing may return to the district of residence at any time following written notice from the parent/guardian to both the resident district and the receiving district.
	   17.8(5) Renewal of an open enrollment agreement. An open enrollment agreement shall remain in place unless canceled by the parent/guardian or terminated as outlined in the provisions of subrule 17.8(10).
	   17.8(6) Change in residence when participating in open enrollment. If the parent/guardian of a pupil who is participating in open enrollment changes the school district of residence during the term of the agreement, the parent/guardian shall have the option to leave the pupil in the receiving district under open enrollment, to open enroll to another school district, or to enroll the pupil in the new district of residence, thus terminating the open enrollment agreement. If the choice is to leave the pupil under open enrollment or to open enroll to another school district, the original district of residence shall be responsible for payment of the cost per pupil plus any applicable weightings or special education costs for the balance of the school year, if any, in which the move took place, providing the move took place on or after the date specified in Iowa Code section 257.6, subsection 1. The new district of residence shall be responsible for these payments during succeeding years of the agreement.
If the move takes place between the end of one school year and the date specified in Iowa Code section 257.6, subsection 1, of the following school year, the new district of residence shall be responsible for that year’s payment as well as succeeding years.
If the pupil is to remain under open enrollment or to open enroll to another school district, the parent/guardian shall write a letter, delivered by mail or by hand on or before the date specified in Iowa Code section 257.6, subsection 1, to notify the original resident district, the new resident district, and the receiving district of this decision.
Timely requests under this rule shall not be denied. If the request is for a high school pupil, the pupil shall not be subject to the initial 90-school-day ineligibility period of subrule 17.8(2).
	   17.8(7) Change in residence when not participating in open enrollment. If a parent/guardian moves out of the school district of residence, and the pupil is not currently under open enrollment, the parent/guardian has the option for the pupil to remain in the original district of residence as an open enrollment pupil with no interruption in the education program or to open enroll to another school district. This option is not available to the parent/guardian of a student who is entering kindergarten for the first time. The parent/guardian exercising this option shall file an open enrollment request form with the new district of residence for processing and record purposes. This request shall be made on or before the date specified in Iowa Code section 257.6, subsection 1. Timely requests under this subrule shall not be denied. If the request is for a high school pupil, the pupil shall not be subject to the initial 90-school-day ineligibility period of subrule 17.8(2). If the move is on or after the date specified in Iowa Code section 257.6, subsection 1, the new district of residence is not required to pay per-pupil costs or applicable weighting or special education costs to the receiving district until the first full year of the open enrollment.
	   17.8(8) Pupil governance. An open enrollment pupil, and where applicable the pupil’s parent/guardian, shall be governed by the rules and policies established by the board of directors of the receiving district. Any complaint or appeal by the parent/guardian concerning the educational system, its process, or administration in the receiving district shall be initially directed to the board of directors of that district in compliance with the policy of that district.
	   17.8(9) Appeal procedure. A parent/guardian may appeal the decision of the board of directors of a school district (resident or receiving) only on an application for open enrollment under Iowa Code section 282.18(5) as amended by 2002 Iowa Acts, House File 2515. This appeal is to the state board of education and shall comply with the provisions of Iowa Code section 290.1. The appeal shall be filed within 30 days of the decision of the district board and shall be in the form of an affidavit signed by the parent/guardian. It shall state in a plain and concise manner what the parent/guardian feels to be the basis for appeal.
	   17.8(10) Open enrollment termination. Open enrollment ends when:
	      a.    	  The pupil graduates, moves into the receiving district, moves into a third district and does not elect to continue attending in the receiving district, moves out of state, elects to attend a nonpublic school instead of the receiving district, or any other circumstance not excepted below that results in the pupil no longer attending the receiving district.
Exceptions: This rule shall not apply if the pupil is placed temporarily in foster care, a juvenile detention center, mental health or substance abuse treatment facility, or other similar placement. In such cases, the open enrollment status will automatically be reinstated when the pupil returns.
	      b.    	  The pupil drops out of school. In this instance, if the pupil desires to return to the resident district during the term of the original open enrollment, notice must be given as outlined in the provisions of subrule 17.8(4).
[ ARC 2746C , IAB 10/12/16, effective 11/16/16]