281—17.3(282) Application process. The following procedure shall be used by parents/guardians and school districts in processing open enrollment applications.
	17.3(1) Parent/guardian responsibilities. A parent/guardian shall formally notify both the district of residence and the receiving district of the request for open enrollment. The request for open enrollment shall be made on forms provided by the department of education. The parent/guardian is required to indicate on the form if the request is for a pupil requiring special education, as provided by Iowa Code chapter 256B. The forms for open enrollment application are available from each public school district and area education agency and from the department of education.
	17.3(2) School district responsibilities.
	a. 	The board of the resident district shall take no action on an open enrollment request except for a request made under rule 281—17.14(282).
	b. 	The board of the receiving district shall act on an open enrollment request.
	(1)	The receiving district superintendent shall provide notification of either approval or denial of the request to the parent/guardian and to the resident district within five days of board action.
	(2)	As an alternative procedure, the receiving board may by policy authorize the superintendent to approve, but not deny, applications.
	c. 	The parent/guardian may withdraw an open enrollment request any time prior to the board’s action on the application.
	d. 	The board of the receiving district shall comply with the provisions of rule 281—17.11(282) if the application for open enrollment is for a pupil requiring special education as provided by Iowa Code chapter 256B.
	e. 	Notification to parents.
	(1)	By September 30 of each school year, all districts shall notify parents of the following:
	1.	Transportation assistance; and
	2.	Possible loss of athletic eligibility for open enrollment pupils.
	(2)	This notification may be published in a school newsletter, a newspaper of general circulation, a website, or a parent handbook provided to all patrons of the district. This information shall also be provided to any parent/guardian of a pupil who enrolls in the district during the school year.
	17.3(3) Exception to process when resident district is under court-ordered desegregation. If the resident district has a court-ordered desegregation plan, the superintendent of the resident district may deny a request under this subrule unless the request is made on behalf of a student whose sibling already actively participates in open enrollment to the same receiving district to which open enrollment is sought for this student. A denial by the superintendent may be appealed to the board of the district in which the request was denied. A decision of the local board to uphold the denial may only be appealed to the district court in the county in which is located the primary business office of the district that upheld the denial of the open enrollment request.
[ARC 2746C, IAB 10/12/16, effective 11/16/16; ARC 5869C, IAB 8/25/21, effective 9/29/21; ARC 6483C, IAB 8/24/22, effective 8/5/22; ARC 6726C, IAB 12/14/22, effective 1/18/23]