JFBA, Choice Enrollment Program

The Board of Education is committed to providing a variety of learning opportunities to meet the diverse needs of students. While the Board of Education regularly makes educational and operational decisions based on the student population within designated attendance areas, the Board also recognizes that resident students may wish to attend schools other than those in their designated attendance area for legitimate educational reasons. Therefore, resident students will be allowed to attend schools of their choice by participating in the choice enrollment program except as otherwise provided for in this policy or its accompanying regulation.

In implementing the choice enrollment program, the district will not do any of the following unless otherwise required by law:

Make alterations to the structure of a choice school or to the arrangement or function of rooms within a choice school.
Establish and/or offer any academic program in a choice school if such an academic program is not currently offered in the respective choice school.
Alter or waive any established eligibility criteria for participation in a particular program including age requirements, course prerequisites, and required levels of performance.
Enroll any student in any school or program after the pupil enrollment count day.

Executive Summary

The Choice Enrollment Program consists of two application rounds:

First Round: Runs from the first school day in November until the last school day in December.
Second Round: Runs from the second Monday in February until the first Friday in May.

Students may submit applications during either round, indicating up to four schools they wish to attend, ranked in order of preference. Students who submit their final application during the first round will be prioritized over those who submit their final application during the second round, as well as will receive offers of admission before students applying in the second round. All admission offers are based on available space, sufficient staffing, and compliance with program requirements.

If a student receives an offer of admission, they have five days to accept the offer. Non-resident students follow a separate open enrollment policy (JFBB).

Key aspects of the Choice Enrollment Policy are:

Automatic Re-enrollment: Students who are accepted to a school through the choice enrollment program may remain at the school through the highest grade offered unless extenuating circumstances arise, and will be automatically re enrolled in the school unless notified otherwise.
Enrollment Stability: The policy encourages students to transfer schools and programs during natural academic breaks to minimize disruption to their learning and the school’s functioning. Mid-year transfers are limited to certain exceptions, such as administrative placements (for health and safety related concerns), accessible education placements (for students with disabilities), and return-to-home placements (for students facing challenges in their current school).
Special Provisions for Military Families: The policy accommodates students from active inbound military families by providing program access beyond regular application deadlines and allowing temporary use of military liaison office addresses for enrollment.
Priority Enrollment for Academic Program Participants: Students who are actively participating in academic programs offered only in select TSD schools are granted priority enrollment into that school.

Choice Enrollment Program

Resident students may apply for enrollment into a choice school. Once a resident student has submitted their application to the choice enrollment program, the resident student becomes a choice applicant.

Choice applicants will be offered admission into the choice school for which the choice applicant has applied so long as there exists,

Space available in the choice school,
Sufficient staffing at the choice school, and
The choice applicant’s application complies with the requirements of this policy and its accompanying regulation.

Relevant factors for determining sufficient staffing and space available are noted in the accompanying regulation. The primary TSD staff member responsible for determining if space is available or if there exists sufficient staffing shall be the choice school’s highest administrator.

Choice applicants must accept the choice enrollment offer of admission before the applicable deadline noted in the accompanying regulation. Once the offer of admission is accepted, the choice applicant is thereafter deemed a choice-enrolled student.

All choice-enrolled students will be permitted to remain enrolled in the choice school through the end of the highest grade level offered in that school unless extenuating circumstances exist, develop, or are discovered.

Open Enrollment Program Distinguished

This policy and its accompanying regulations outline the requirements for the choice enrollment program. The choice enrollment program is available to resident students of the district except where expressly disclaimed by contrary provision within this policy. Non-resident students are subject to the provisions of TSD’s open enrollment policy contained in Board policies JFBB and JFBB-R. They shall not apply under the provisions of this Policy and any application improperly submitted for a non-resident student under this policy shall be null and void.

Choice Enrollment Commencement and Exceptions

Although the Board recognizes the potential benefits associated with greater student mobility, the process of changing schools can be exceptionally burdensome for students, families, teachers, and district staff. For students particularly, the process of moving schools during the school year often poses difficulties with meaningful integration into the new school, loss of instructional time, social and emotional challenges, unforeseen transportation difficulties, and other hardships. To ensure the best outcomes for TSD students, the Board strongly recommends students only move between school placements during natural breaks in academic programming to avoid these hardships.

Therefore, the Board expects that in almost all circumstances choice-enrolled students will begin their education at their choice-enrolled school or program effective the first school day in the school year immediately following the student’s acceptance into the choice school.

Although the Board intends for the majority of student movement between schools to be accomplished through the choice enrollment process, there do come circumstances where a student may need to move to a different school or program due to unforeseen or emergent circumstances. To balance the need for ensuring individual student safety and success with the TSD’s goal of promoting student movement during natural breaks in instruction the Board is outlining four enumerated exceptions to student movement that may occur outside the choice enrollment process. Those four exceptions are:

Administrative Placements,
Academic Program Placements,
Accessible Education Placements, and
Return-to-Home placements.

These placements are collectively referred to as “choice enrollment program exceptions”. Those four exceptions are broadly described below, with more specific provisions contained in the accompanying regulations. Specific conditions and processes for expedited enrollment are set forth in the accompanying regulations within the choice enrollment program exception the student is moving schools under. Such conditions and processes shall be strictly enforced. No other exceptions, additions, or modifications are permitted by TSD staff for student movement between schools.

Administrative Placements.

Notwithstanding contrary provisions of this policy, any resident student or choice-enrolled student may be assigned to a school outside their designated attendance area or choice-enrolled school or program by designated Thompson School District Staff at any time within the terms of this policy, its accompanying regulation, and state or federal law. Administrative placement is only available for the purpose of enrolling a resident student or choice-enrolled student into another TSD school or program where designated Thompson School District Staff have determined that moving schools or programs is in the best interest of the student, the school, and/or the district. These circumstances include, but are not limited to disciplinary placements, placements for the safety of the student or the school community, or a placement necessary to ensure compliance with state and federal law.

Academic Program Placements.

Thompson School District strives to provide all students with an array of quality educational programming. As part of this commitment, TSD offers several academic programs which maintain unique program eligibility requirements. Where a resident student applies and is accepted to an academic program and, as a consequence of their acceptance, the resident student must or prefers to attend a school offering the academic program other than schools or programs within their designated attendance area, the following rules shall apply:

The resident student must apply and be accepted to the academic program by the staff or team responsible for determining academic program admission.
The resident student must apply and be accepted to the school or schools offering the academic program for which the child was admitted pursuant to this policy and its associated regulations.
Actively participate for the duration of the academic program’s school year duration.
Continuously meet all academic program requirements for the duration of the academic program’s school year duration.
Continuously meet all regulations contained in the accompanying regulation.

Any student who violates the preceding academic program placement requirements is subject to a staff-initiated Return-to-Home placement. Given the unique hardships non-compliance with these provisions poses for academic programs themselves, students may also be restricted or prohibited from applying for academic placements in the future as determined by the designated TSD staff members in the accompanying regulations.

Accessible Education Placements.

State and federal laws have a dramatic impact on the schools and programs in which students with disabilities may participate and receive their education. These laws generally require TSD to ensure a free and appropriate public education for all students with disabilities, closely regulate the methods for determining the appropriate educational placement for the student, and often dictate specific individuals who must participate in the placement decision-making process. In conformity with these legal obligations, students receiving disability-related accommodations or special education services through an individual plan of education may occasionally need access to specialized education programs and supports located outside of their designated attendance area school. Where a student is placed into a school outside their designated attendance area school through their individual plan of education, such placements shall generally be referred to as “accessible education placements.” Accessible education placements shall be made in strict conformity with applicable state and federal law and shall not be used as a means to bypass participation in the choice enrollment program except where placement is essential to the student receiving a free and appropriate public education.

Students placed in accessible education placements shall not be discriminated against by disparate access to the choice enrollment program. As such, even where a student has been placed in an accessible education placement in their individual plan of education, the student may still apply to the choice enrollment program. Where there arises concerns that the components of a student’s individual plan of education may not be appropriate in the choice school for which the student has accepted an offer of admission, the provisions regulating such circumstances in the accompanying regulation shall be strictly adhered to.

Finally, to ensure students with disabilities are permitted non-discriminatory access to the choice enrollment program, no student application shall indicate if a student has a disability or individual plan of education. No staff participating in the administration of the choice enrollment program shall inquire from any source if a student has a disability in any part of the choice enrollment program, nor may any previous or inadvertently gained information regarding a student's disability status or individual plan of education be shared with any other staff member. Failure to comply with this provision shall result in remedial action including the removal of the staff member from current and future participation in the choice enrollment program.

Return-to-Home Placements.

Although TSD schools strive to provide exceptional educational opportunities for all students, students may occasionally struggle to be successful in new academic environments. Where students are facing these difficulties, specifically difficulties associated with attendance, mental health, or academic success, the Board does not find it in the best interest of the student to require the student to wait until the following school year to return to their designated attendance area school. As such, students shall be permitted to seek a return-to-home placement within the guidelines provided in the accompanying regulations. However, return-to-home placements are just that; a return to the student’s designated attendance area school. A return-to-home placement shall never result in the student attending a school other than their designated attendance area school.
In conformity with the purpose of this Policy, the accompanying regulations also identify a process by which a student who has moved into a new choice school or program and is struggling in the choice school or program may be returned to their designated attendance area school by a school-initiated process.

Students of Active Inbound Military Families

Thompson School District acknowledges the unique hardships often experienced by active inbound military families related to school enrollment as highlighted in C.R.S. 22-36-107. Specifically, students of active inbound military families often struggle to meaningfully participate in open and choice enrollment when change in station orders are received after the close of choice or open enrollment deadlines. As part of the District’s commitment to easing this transition, the following provisions apply exclusively to the students of active inbound military families.

Address for Choice Enrollment Purposes. The district will allow an active inbound military member to use the school liaison office address for the military installation to which the active inbound military member is or will be assigned in order to apply for choice enrollment in Thompson School District and its programs.
Resident Military Students. If an active inbound military member has purchased or leased, or has validly executed a contract to purchase or lease, a residence within one of TSD’s designated attendance areas, the students of that active inbound military member shall be deemed a resident military student. Resident military students shall have all the rights, privileges, and duties of a resident student for purposes of participating in the choice enrollment process; even where the address associated with the contract or lease is effective upon a future date, so long as the effective date does not extend beyond the then current school year.
1. Proof of Residency. Change of station orders, a valid contract for purchase or lease within a TSD designated attendance area, and all disciplinary records from the student’s previous school must be provided to the choice enrollment program administrator within 10 school days of the student’s first day of school if the student is choice-enrolled under this subsection. Failure to provide these documents within the 10-school-day deadline will result in the student of the active inbound military member being recategorized as out-of-district for choice enrollment purposes unless and until the same has been provided in conformity with this policy and its accompanying regulation. As a result of being designated as a non-resident student, the student's seat may be revoked and the seat offered to a resident student on any pending waitlist by lottery allocation.
2. Choice Application Submitted Prior to Choice Enrollment Deadlines. Where a Resident Military Student applies before the applicable choice enrollment deadlines contained in the accompanying regulations, the resident military student shall be considered for admission as any other choice enrollment applicant.
3. Choice Application Submitted After the Choice Enrollment Deadlines. Where a resident military student applies to the choice enrollment program after the applicable deadline for choice applications, the following provisions shall apply:
  1. The resident military student shall be permitted to enroll in the school that offers the resident military student’s grade level within the designated attendance area servicing the address for which the active inbound military family retains a current or future valid contract for the purchase or lease of a residence.
  2. The resident military student shall be permitted to enroll in any choice school in the district that offers the resident military student’s grade level and has sufficient non-reserve seats available, so long as the student otherwise meets all program requirements.
  3. In addition to the placement options provided in subsections (i) and (ii), the resident military student may place their name on any active waitlist within the highest priority designation if waitlist priority is established.
Non-Resident Military Students. If a student of an active inbound military member does not reside in a TSD designated attendance area and the active inbound military family is not otherwise included under subsection 2 (Resident Military Students) above, the student shall be deemed a non-resident military student. Non-resident military students have the same rights, privileges, and duties as non-resident students under TSD policies JFBB and JFBB-R, unless and until the non-resident military student complies with subsection (2)(a) regarding proof of residency, in which case the student may proceed as a resident military student.
Future Program Priority: In the event that a younger sibling is unable to secure a seat in the choice school for which their older sibling has been choice-enrolled, or the younger sibling will be entering a transition grade that can be serviced by the same choice school the older sibling has been choice enrolled in, the younger sibling shall be granted priority preference through the choice enrollment program to the choice school or program the older student is enrolled in. In carrying out this requirement, it should be noted that priority is not applicable where the older sibling is seeking choice enrollment into a different choice school than the choice school they were previously enrolled in.
Non-waiver: In setting out the privileges and duties for resident military students under this policy, TSD does not disclaim or waive any other provisions of this policy that may be applicable, including but not limited to the choice enrollment program exceptions.
Residency Review: In the first year following the resident military student’s commencement of education in TSD, the resident military student must provide proof that any future contract for purchase or lease within a TSD designated attendance area did materialize and the resident military student is now a resident student of TSD. In the event that the future contract for purchase or lease did not materialize and the resident military student does not qualify as a resident student, or the resident military student has experienced a change in residency to a residency outside TSD’s designated attendance areas, then the resident military student shall be reclassified as a non-resident student and shall proceed in both the immediate and future choice enrollment applications under TSD’s open enrollment program contained within JFBB and JFBB-R. In the event that the resident military student’s future contract for lease or purchase did materialize and the student is a resident student, then the student's application shall be reclassified as that of a resident student.

Transportation

Transportation for choice-enrolled students will not be furnished by the district except in the following instances:

Legal Duty Students experiencing homelessness, students in foster care, students with disabilities, and students for whom TSD has a legal duty to transport by other operation of law shall be transported to the extent required by state and federal law and in accordance with all individualized plans of education.
Transportation by Consent. A choice-enrolled student may submit a request to the district transportation department to utilize existing school bus routes/stops in order to receive transportation between the choice-enrolled school and the student’s home. Upon receipt of such a request, TSD’s acting Director of Transportation or their Designee shall, in good faith, review the request along with existing transportation routes and data to determine whether to grant or deny transportation to the choice-enrolled student based on space availability. The Director of Transportation or their Designee shall have the exclusive authority to grant or deny such requests.

Change in Residence

In the event that a resident student or choice-enrolled student changes residence during the school year, the following provisions shall apply:

Resident students attending a school within their designated attendance area shall be permitted to remain in their current school for the duration of the grades served by that school unless extenuating circumstances exist, develop, or are discovered.
Choice-enrolled students attending a school outside their designated attendance area shall be permitted to remain in their current school for the duration of the grades served by that school unless extenuating circumstances exist, develop, or are discovered.
If a resident student or a choice-enrolled student changes residence into a new attendance area where the student is not currently enrolled, the resident or choice-enrolled student shall be permitted to attend the school within their designated attendance area so long as they otherwise meet all program and eligibility requirements and the student can commence their education before the pupil enrollment count day. If the student cannot commence their education prior to the commencement of the pupil enrollment count day, then the student will be required to remain at their current school unless and until a Return-to-Home placement is made, in which case the student will be permitted to move to the school within their designated attendance area at the next natural break in instruction as that term is defined in this Policy.
If extenuating circumstances do exist, develop, or are discovered, and the extenuating circumstance is that the previous resident or choice-enrolled student becomes a non-resident student as defined in TSD Board Policy JFBB and/or JFBB-R, then the student must apply through the open enrollment program for future years and comply with the policies and regulations contained in JFBB and JFBB-R.

Appeals

The Board has expended significant time and resources in determining the optimal policy for resident student choice in enrollment. In doing so, the Board expects the provisions of this Policy and its accompanying regulations to be enforced. Therefore, the Board has set forth an appeals process to challenge non-compliance with the terms of the choice enrollment program. In doing so, the Board has also indicated the permissible basis for appeal. In enumerating these bases, the Board seeks to ensure that the public, democratic process by which this Policy and the accompanying regulations were adopted and for which the Board is ultimately responsible, is not undermined nor its discrete provisions challenged through the appeals process. Otherwise stated, the proper venue for disagreements with the provisions of this Policy and the accompanying regulation is through the Board’s democratic processes, whereas individual appeals are purposed to ensure compliance with the established policy. Finally, no appeal shall lie from a final determination of an appeal.

Appeals may be filed for one or more of the following reasons:

Improper denial of enrollment into a student’s choice school.
Improper classification of a student's choice enrollment application.
Improper placement of a student due to a choice enrollment application exception.
Improper denial of transportation by consent.
Other procedural non-compliance with this policy which results in the denial of a substantial right or privilege for the choice applicant.

Further information regarding the bases for appeal, the appropriate standards of review, and anticipated timelines for appeal resolution are contained in the accompanying regulation.

Nondiscrimination

The Board, the superintendent, other administrators, and district employees will not unlawfully discriminate based on a student's disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, national origin, religion, ancestry, or need for special education services in the determination or recommendation of action under this policy and its accompanying regulation. A lack of English skills will not be a barrier to admission or participation in the choice enrollment program.

Contact

The following person/people has/have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies

Title IX/Employee ADA/504/EEO Compliance Officer	Student ADA / 504 Compliance Officer
Director of Human Resources 800 South Taft Avenue Loveland, Colorado 80537 (970) 613-5009 nondiscrimination@tsd.org	Executive Director of Student Services 800 South Taft Avenue Loveland, Colorado 80537 (970) 613-5092 nondiscrimination@tsd.org

Adopted prior to 1985
Revised: June 5, 1991
Revised: October 5, 1994
Revised: November 3, 1999
Revised: June 5, 2002
Revised: October 17, 2007 (CASB-July 07)
Revised: May 5, 2010
Revised: June 19, 2013
Revised: October 16, 2013
Revised: October 20, 2021
Revised: August 17, 2022
Revised: September 20, 2023
Revised: January 21, 2024
Revised: October 16, 2024

Legal References

C.R.S. 22-1-102 (definition of district resident)
C.R.S. 22-1-102.5 (definition of homeless child)
C.R.S. 22-20-106 (designation of general and special education responsibilities for students with disabilities)
C.R.S. 22-20-107.5 (defining district of residence for students with disabilities)
C.R.S. 22-32-109 (Board duties to adopt specific policies)
C.R.S. 22-32-110 (1)(k) (definition of racial or ethnic background includes hair texture, definition of protective hairstyle)
C.R.S. 22-32-110 (1)(m) (Board power to fix boundaries)
C.R.S. 22-32-116 (if a student becomes non-resident)
C.R.S. 22-32-138 (duties regarding students in foster care).
C.R.S. 22-33-104.5 (defining nonpublic home-based education)
C.R.S. 22-33-106 (grounds to deny admission)
C.R.S. 22-36-101 et seq. (open enrollment)
C.R.S. 22-36-107 (inbound active duty military families open enrollment and registration)
C.R.S. 22-54-103 (10.5) (definition of pupil enrollment count day)
1 CCR 301-8, Rules 4.03 and 8.07 (prohibiting administrative units from inquiring about a transferring child's IEP or disability status until after the child has been admitted)
1 CCR 301-39 (3.01 - 3.06). (regarding calculation of the pupil enrollment count day).
12 CCR 2509-4, 7.301.241 (education requirements for students in foster care).
20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)
20 U.S.C. §1681 et seq (Equal Opportunity in Education Act, A.K.A.Title IX)
29 U.S.C. § 794 (§504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973)
42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq (The Americans with Disabilities Act)

Cross References

EEAA, Transportation: Walkers and Riders
IHB, Special Instructional Programs
IHBG, Home Schooling
IIB, Class Size
JC, School Attendance Areas
JFABD, Homeless Students
JFABE, Students In Foster Care
JFBB, Open Enrollment
JGA-E
JHD, Exclusion and Exemptions from School Attendance
JJJ, Extracurricular Activity Eligibility
LBD, Charter Schools

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