Revised November 2014

Statewide Enrollment Options Form
Required form for all Minnesota school districts

Section 1:  To be completed by the student’s parent/guardian

PARENTS:  email, mail or fax this form to the superintendent’s office of the non-resident district where you would like your student to attend school.  Do not mail to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE).  See separate instructions for important January 15 deadline information that may apply.

Parent/Legal Guardian Information
Last Name:________________________________ First Name:__________________________ MI:__________
Phone: Home:(_____)_________________ Work:(_____)_________________ Cell:(_____)_________________
Street Address:______________________________ City:____________________ State:______ ZIP:_________
Resident District:______________________________________________ 
	District #:_____________  City:__________________________
District of Choice (Non-Resident School District):__________________________________________
	District #:_____________  City:__________________________
	District of Choice Fax Number:(_____)_________________

Student Information
Student Name: Last:________________________________ First:________________________ MI:___________
Current Grade Level:________   Grade Level Desired:________   Desired Date of Enrollment:______________
Is this student currently expelled under Minnesota Statutes, section 121A.45 for a reason listed in Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.03, Subdivision 1?     ☐  Yes         ☐  No

Will the student be at least age 5 and under age 21 by September 1 of enrollment year?
         ☐  Yes         ☐  No
When a spot is offered, districts will then request birth date, records and other required registration information. If you answered NO to the statement regarding age 5, the student is not eligible for open enrollment unless the student fully meets the requirements for an exception to the age requirements listed in the Enrollment Options Instructions document.
         ☐  Yes, this student qualifies under the terms of the exceptions described on page 3 of this form.
Does the student have a sibling open enrolled in this district?     ☐  Yes         ☐  No

Please rank the schools in the non-resident district in order of preference:
1. _____________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________
I hereby verify that the above information is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Signature of Parent/Legal Guardian:______________________________________   Date:_________________
Statewide Enrollment Options Form                                                       Revised November 2014

Section 2:  To be completed by the non-resident district

Non-resident district: Notify parents/guardians by February 15 (or no more than 90 days after receiving applications that come later through an Achievement and Integration School Choice Program) of approval or disapproval of application.  Families must accept or decline the offer by March 1 or 45 days later.  After receiving the commitment to attend, the non-resident district must notify the resident district by March 15 (or 30 days after initial receipt if form filed after January 15) of the student’s intent to enroll.  Report all rejected applications to the Minnesota Department of Education by July 15.

Date Application Received:_________________________________

District Name:_____________________________________________   District Number:________________

District Contact Name:_______________________________________   Title:_________________________

Telephone Number:___________________________________

☐ Sibling Preference Applies
☐ District of residence preference due to MDE approved Achievement and Integration School Choice Program.
☐ APPROVED
On the basis of information provided in the above application, and with respect to district policies and procedures, the above student will be assigned to:

		School Building Name:____________________________________

		Starting Date:__________________________

		Grade Level:___________________________

☐ NOT APPROVED
The non-resident district has denied the request for open enrollment because of the following reason(s) allowed in Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.03.  Check all that apply.
	       ☐	The January 15 deadline applies and was not met; situations that would have waived the deadline are not present.  See Statewide Enrollment Options Instructions or Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.03, Subdivision 3.
	       ☐	Statutory enrollment cap has been reached. (Minn. Stat. § 124D.03, Subd. 2)
	       ☐	Grade is closed district-wide by board action. (Minn. Stat. § 124D.03, Subd. 2 and Subd. 6)
	       ☐	District has denied the application because of specific expulsion reasons allowed in law.  (Minn. Stat. § 124D.03, Subd. 1)

NON-RESIDENT DISTRICT SIGNATURE

Superintendent/Responsible Authority:__________________________________   Date:___________________

DISTRICTS MAY NOT MODIFY THIS FORM, ADD DATA FIELDS OR CREATE ALTERNATIVE FORMATS.

PARENTS/LEGAL GUARDIANS MUST PHYSICALLY SIGN THE FORM.

Statewide Enrollment Options Form                                                       Revised November 2014

Statewide Enrollment Options Instructions

GENERAL INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS:  Kindergarten through twelfth grade students and pre-kindergarten children with disabilities may apply to attend a public school outside of their resident district (Minn. Stat. § 124D.03).  Use one application per student per requested district.  Complete and sign Section 1 of the Statewide Enrollment Options Form and send to the non-resident district’s superintendent’s office.  Please do not send the form to MDE.

Age requirements:

Open enrollment is only available to students who will be age 5 by September 1 and under age 21, without a high school diploma, unless:
      •	The student is under age 5 and has been identified through a formal assessment process in the resident district as needing an individual education plan for early childhood special education.  In these situations, the family should list “EC” as their requested grade level.
      •	OR, the student has met all requirements of the non-resident district for consideration for early entrance to kindergarten such as a September or October birth date, assessment testing and a trial period of enrollment and the non-resident district has agreed to consider an open enrollment for the child for early entrance to kindergarten.  Do not submit this form in this situation without first working with the non-resident district to determine eligibility.

Deadlines and exceptions to deadlines:

Applications must be sent to the non-resident district by January 15 in order to enroll beginning the following school year unless:
      •	One or both districts has a Minnesota Department of Education Achievement and Integration Plan, in which case there is no deadline and enrollment may begin at any time after notification of acceptance.  (Minn. Stat. § 124D.03, Subd. 4)
      •	OR, the student moved into the resident district on or later than December 1.  (Minn. Stat. § 124D.03, Subd. 7).
      •	OR, other unusual situations apply under Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.03, Subdivision 7.

Acceptance or denial of open enrollment cannot be based on previous academic achievement, athletic or other extracurricular ability, disabling conditions, proficiency in the English language, previous disciplinary proceedings or the student’s district of residence unless the resident district and non-resident district are working together in an MDE approved Achievement and Integration School Choice Program.  (Minn. Stat. § 124D.03, Subd. 6.)

Families may indicate preference for school sites or programs within the district; if unavailable, districts will offer families options in the family’s stated order of preference at other sites unless the grade level or open enrollment has been closed by board action.  Families may apply in more than one district.  Use one form per child per district.

Do not disclose special needs of students on the Statewide Enrollment Options Form; this information is provided after an enrollment spot is offered.

Currently expelled students:  Non-resident districts may, but are not required to, reject applications from students currently expelled as defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 121A.45 and Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.03, Subdivision 1.

Notice as to acceptance of application: You can expect to receive an approval/disapproval from the non-resident district by February 15 or, when applying through the waived deadlines for Achievement and Integration districts, 90 days after applying for the current or upcoming school year.  (Do not apply for statewide enrollment options further in advance than for the upcoming school year.)  School districts who have more applications than they can accommodate hold lotteries to determine which students will receive spots.  Siblings of currently open-enrolled students receive preference.  Districts may also give lottery preference in some Achievement and Integration Program situations.  Statewide Enrollment Options Lottery procedures must be approved by local school board and posted on the school district website.

Statewide Enrollment Options Form                                                       Revised November 2014

If the non-resident district notifies you that your application has been accepted:

Notify the non-resident district as to whether you are accepting the offer of enrollment by March 1 or, if you applied under a no deadline situation, 45 days after notification.  The non-resident district must notify the resident district that your student is changing enrollment by March 15 (or 30 days after notice from you that you are accepting the enrollment if January 15 application deadline was not applicable).  Visit the district offices at least 10 days prior to the above starting date for completion of all enrollment forms.

Parents or guardians of students with special needs are encouraged to contact the district as soon as possible after accepting an offer of enrollment in a non-resident district so an IEP team can be convened.

The school district will provide you with information regarding transportation if you request it from a bus stop in that district.  (Minn. Stat. § 123B.88, Subd. 6; Minn. Stat. § 124D.03, Subd. 8.)

By accepting this enrollment, your student is obligated to attend the non-resident district during the upcoming school year.  You do not need to reapply in subsequent years for your student to remain enrolled unless you move out of your current district.  If you move into another Minnesota non-resident school district, you will not lose your seat but do need to submit an updated Enrollment Options Form.  Note: you do need to apply again for siblings, but the siblings must be given a preference if open enrollments requests exceed available seats.

To return to your resident district for the following school year, notify your resident district that you are returning by January 15 for the following fall.

If your application was denied, districts:

      •	Must indicate the provision in state law that applied.

      •	Must report to the Minnesota Department of Education by July 15 all denied applications.

      •	May inform you that the only reason the application was rejected was a missed January 15 deadline.  In this case, you could ask your resident district whether it would be willing to form a non-resident agreement with the non-resident district for the upcoming year – both districts must agree.  However, you will need to apply again next year through the regular open enrollment process, meeting the January 15 deadline, so your student’s enrollment is not subject to year-to-year mutual agreements between districts.   (Minn. Stat. § 124D.03, Subd. 6)