Open Enrollment

Open Enrollment is the process by which parents/guardians residing in an Iowa district may enroll their children into another Iowa school district under the terms and conditions of Iowa Code section 282.18 and 281--Iowa Administrative Code 17.

The deadline for students entering Grades 1-12 is March 1st. The deadline for students entering kindergarten is September 1st.

2017-2018 Open Enrollment

2017-2018 Open Enrollment Application

2017-2018 Open Enrollment Application Directions

2018-2019 Open Enrollment

Open Enrollment Application 2018-2019

2018-2019 Open Enrollment Guidelines

Current Handbook

2016-2017 Open enrollment handbook

Open Enrollment Tuition

The amount of open enrollment tuition for the 2015-2016 school year for a regular education student is $6,366, which is the state cost per pupil from the previous fiscal year. For the 2016-2017 school year it will be $6,446. The tuition bill for open-enrolled-in students should also include the following supplemental funds if applicable:

•    Teacher Leadership, if both districts are receiving an allocation for having an approved TLC plan
•    Non-English speaking supplementary weighting
•    Eligible concurrent enrollment and Project Lead the Way (PLTW) courses.

For a student served pursuant to an IEP, open enrollment tuition is calculated on actual costs of special education rather than the prior year's state cost per pupil amount.
Open enrollment tuition is billed and paid on a semester basis. Under special circumstances that terminate or suspend open enrollment status, it is necessary to prorate tuition in a quarter on a per diem basis.

Athletic Eligibility Guidance

Athletic Eligibility of Students Open Enrolling due to Bullying and Harassment

On April 7, 2016 House File 2264 signed into law by Governor Branstad allows the following exception to ninety day ineligibility for participation in athletic competitions for students open enrolling:

“… if the district of residence determines that the pupil was previously subject to a founded incident of harassment or bullying as defined in section 280.28 while attending school in the district of residence.”

This means any student will be immediately eligible for varsity athletic competitions if the resident district has determined that the student exercising open enrollment was subject to a founded incident of harassment or bullying as defined by Iowa Code section 280.28.

Guidance on Varsity Athletic Eligibility of Students Open Enrolling due to Bullying and Harassment