Butte School District

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

3141P

Nonresident Student Enrollment                              

• All nonresident students, K-12, seeking enrollment must submit their application for admission for the succeeding school year June 1st.
• Applications should be submitted to the Superintendent’s Office, using the form found at Policy 3141F, developed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
  •   The application must also include a copy of attendance and behavioral records for the last three years from current or previous school, or homeschool documentation if applicable. Incomplete applications will not be considered. 
  •   Upon receipt, each application will be assigned a random and confidential non-identifying number to keep the student’s name private. 
  •  Within 10 days of receipt of a complete application, the family will be notified of their confidential application number and date of review by the Board of Trustees. 
• Nonresident students currently enrolled in the Butte School District must complete an application each school year, for the succeeding year by June 1st.

• The Superintendent reviews applications in accordance with Policy 3141F and Section 20-3-320, MCA.
• Applications will be prioritized based on:
  • the quality of education for students who are residents of the district of attendance as defined by the District’s Strategic Plan. 
  • applications from students whose parents are at least .75 FTE employees and are currently enrolled in the District and meet the criteria for approval.
  • students with siblings who are currently enrolled in the District as nonresident students.
• The district notifies the parent or guardian within 10 days of the application regarding the anticipated date for approval or disapproval by the Board of Trustees.
• Board approval is for acceptance into the district only. School placements for non-resident students will be made by August 15 of the upcoming school year.  

• Not more than 30 days following the application, the Superintendent submits a list of applicants to the Board of Trustees with recommendations.
• Families who have complete applications will be notified the Friday prior to the Board Meeting via email notifying them of the recommendation for approval/disapproval of their child’s application. Families of applicants who are recommended for waitlist or disapproval may choose to discuss their child’s application in a closed executive session of the board.  
• The Board will approve or deny requests for nonresident enrollment during a Board meeting. 
• A lottery system will be established if applications recommended for approval exceed available openings at a grade level/band.
• A waitlist will be developed.
• Approval will be for enrollment in the district only.  School placements will be made no later than August 15.  

• The Superintendent recommends approval unless it negatively impacts education quality in specific ways, as outlined in the policy. Applications will be recommended for disapproval if the student is/has been:
  • truant as defined in Section 20-5-106, MCA, in the last school district attended; 
  • expelled by another school district at any time; or 
  • suspended in another school district in any of the 3 school fiscal years preceding the school fiscal year for which attendance is requested. This Subsection C does not apply to a student who is eligible for special education or related services. 

• Review and decisions must align with District policies on nondiscrimination.
• In the case of more applications than capacity, prioritization will be based on the District’s Strategic Plan, which may include children of District employees and siblings of previous nonresident students.

• Within 10 days of approval, the District provides a letter of acceptance to the parent/guardian and copies of the attendance agreement to the parent or guardian and the district of residence.
• Within 10 days of disapproval, the District provides a letter of denial with specific allowable reasons consistent with the policy and supporting documentation.

• For approved applications, the District provides a copy of the completed agreement to relevant authorities (County Superintendent of Schools of the county of residence, County Superintendent of Schools of the county of attendance, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction).

• If a student enrolls outside their district of residence, the district of attendance notifies the district of residence by July 15 regarding any obligations under Section 20-5-323, MCA.

• If an attendance agreement is disapproved or no action is taken, the parent or guardian may appeal in accordance with Montana Law.

• The family of a nonresident child is responsible for transportation.

• The Montana High School Association (MHSA) sets regulations pertaining to student eligibility for participation in speech and athletics. The District follows those regulations and does not assure that nonresident students will be eligible for participation in MHSA-sanctioned activities.
• Refer to the MHSA Handbook for specific Transfer rules.