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Dodge City Public Schools

JBC Enrollment

JBC Enrollment

JBC 
Enrollment  
(See IIBGB, JBCA, JBCB, JBCC, and JQKA)

Resident Students
A “resident student” is any student who has attained the age of eligibility for school attendance and lives with a parent or a person acting as a parent who is a resident of the district.  For purposes of this policy, “parent” means the natural parents, adoptive parents, step-parents, and foster parents.  For purposes of this policy, “person acting as a parent” means a guardian or conservator, a person liable by law to care for or support the child, a person who has actual care and control of the child and provides a major portion of support, or a person who has actual care and control of the child with written consent of a person who has legal custody of the child.

Homeless Students
Any student who has attained the age of eligibility for school attendance may attend school in the district where the student resides or is staying if the student is homeless as defined by law. Details concerning the education of homeless students may be found in board policy JBCA.

Foster Students
Any student in the custody of the Secretary of the Department for Children and Families (“DCF”) who has attained the age of eligibility for school attendance shall be permitted to enroll in and attend school in any school district of the state or remain enrolled in and continue attending school in the student’s school of origin.

If a court or DCF changes the placement of a student across a school boundary within the school district, the student shall be permitted to:

  • enroll in and attend the school where the student is placed; or
  • remain enrolled in and continue attending the student’s school of origin.

DCF shall determine the child’s enrollment and attendance based on the best interests of the child. The district shall not deny or delay enrollment and attendance of any foster student whose placement has changed on the basis that the school district or school is not in possession of the student’s educational records.Details concerning the education of foster students may be found in board policy JBCB.

Nonresident Students
Details concerning the enrollment and continued enrollment process for nonresident students may be found in board policy JBCC.

Military Students
Details concerning the enrollment and attendance of military students, as defined in state law, may be found in board policy JBCD.

Enrollment Restriction
Unless approved in advance by the board, no student, regardless of residency, who has been suspended or expelled from another school district will be admitted to the district until the period of such suspension or expulsion has expired.

Enrollment Procedures
The superintendent shall establish orderly procedures for enrolling all students, including pre-enrollment, changes in enrollment, normal enrollment times, and communication to parents and to the public.

Part-Time Students
The board allows any child to enroll part-time in the school district to allow the student to attend any courses, programs, or services offered by the school district if the child:

  • Is also enrolled in a nonaccredited private elementary or secondary school or in any other private, denominational, or parochial school as required by law;
  • requests to enroll part-time in the school district; and
  • meets the age of eligibility requirements for school attendance.

District administrators shall make a good faith attempt to accommodate scheduling requests of students enrolling in the school district in these situations but shall not be required to make adjustments to accommodate every such request.

Part-time students, other than those specified previously in this policy may enroll with the administration’s permission if they complete all paperwork in a timely fashion and are in attendance no later than first day of school.  Such part-time students may be admitted only to the extent that staff, facilities, equipment, and supplies are available, and the students follow the district’s student conduct policies and rules.

Identification of Students
All students enrolling in the district for the first time shall provide required proof of identity.  Students enrolling in kindergarten or first grade shall provide a certified copy of their birth certificate, a certified copy of the court order placing the child in the custody of DCF, or other documentation which the board determines to be satisfactory. Students enrolling in grades 2-12 shall provide a certified transcript, similar pupil records or data, or other documentary evidence the board deems satisfactory. 

The above requirements are not to serve as barriers to immediate enrollment of students designated as homeless or foster children as required by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the McKinney-Vento Act as amended by ESSA. The district shall work with DCF, the school last attended, or other relevant agencies to obtain necessary enrollment documentation.

If proper proof of identity is not provided within 30 days of enrolling, the superintendent shall notify local law enforcement officials as required by law and shall not notify any person claiming custody of the child.

Enrollment Information
The enrollment documentation shall include a student’s permanent record card with a student’s legal name as it appears on the birth certificate or as changed by a court order and the name, address, and telephone number of the lawful custodian.  The records shall also provide proper proof of identity. 

Assignment to a School Building, Grade Level, or Classes
Unless otherwise provided herein, the superintendent shall assign students to the appropriate building.  Any student desiring to attend a school outside the attendance area in which the student resides may do so only with the prior written permission of the superintendent.          

Assignment to a particular grade level or particular classes shall be determined by the building principal based on the educational abilities of the student.  If the parents disagree, the principal’s decision may be appealed to the superintendent. If the parents are still dissatisfied with the assignment, they may appeal in writing to the board.

Transferring Credit
In middle school and high school, full faith and credit shall be given to units earned in other accredited schools at the time the student enrolls in the district, unless the principal determines there is valid reason for not doing so.  For online credit approval procedures after enrollment, see board policy IIBGB.

Transfers from Non-Accredited Schools
Students transferring from non-accredited schools will be placed by the principal. Initial placement will be made by the principal after consultation with parents or guardians and guidance personnel. Final placement shall be made by the principal based on the student’s documented past educational experiences and performance on tests administered to determine grade level placement.

Grades K-5 Placement (School Choice) 
All in-coming kindergarteners and new students entering or re-entering USD 443 in grades K-5 shall be subject  to the enrollment guidelines of School Choice. While this plan focuses on the kindergarten level and students new to the community, students who presently attend one of the elementary schools and wish to change their school assignment should register in the School Choice process. The district provides for parental choice among the district’s elementary attendance centers through registration and a subsequent assignment process to achieve appropriate class-size balance in accordance with district grade level averages. This registration period will be conducted annually in the spring.  

A computerized lottery process is used to implement School Choice with parents registering their first, second and third choice schools in order of preference, providing integrity to the selection process and ensuring equal opportunity for selection among all applicants.  

Parents registering their child during the annual registration period will be notified by mail of their child’s school assignment. Any student in grades K-5 who registers after the lottery deadline will be assigned to a school through the School Choice process on a first-come, first-served basis. Students failing to complete enrollment at their assigned school by the annual K-5 enrollment date forfeit their current school assignment and must re-enter the School Choice process.  

Siblings 
Siblings of students attending a USD 443 elementary school will be “grandfathered” or assigned to the same school for the coming school year, as long as:  

  • Class size and available space guidelines are met  
  • The student registers during the lottery period each spring, and  
  • The student completes the enrollment process by the established enrollment date. 

Waiting Lists 
K-5 students not receiving their first-choice school assignment will be placed in a waiting list in the order their registration was received/processed. The waiting list will be maintained from year to year.  

Transfers 
Once a student is assigned to a school through School Choice registration following the annual K-5 enrollment date, that student must remain at the assigned school on the waiting list until a transfer is available. Transfers,  if available considering class size, are honored at the end of each quarter. Transfers will be limited to one per school year.

 
USD 443 Regulation - Feeder Schools  
Grades 6 – 8 Placement  

Grades 6-8 Placement - Feeder Schools 
All students entering sixth grade from the district’s K-5 elementary schools, will be assigned to a 6-8 middle school by feeder schools. These schools have been grouped to provide balance.  

The feeder schools for each middle school shall be:  

  • Comanche MS: Beeson, Central, Ross & Soule
  • Dodge City MS: Linn, Miller, Northwest & Sunnyside

Students enrolled in fifth, sixth or seventh grade for the previous school year will be assigned based upon each student’s fourth grade school assignment. If a student did not attend a district K-4 elementary school but has siblings attending a district K-4 elementary school, he/she will be assigned based upon the sibling’s school.  

Students new to the district, having never attended a district K-5 elementary school, will be assigned to a middle school through a random-selection process based on available classroom space in each building. Consideration for placement shall include maintaining a balanced enrollment between the two middle schools and the placement of K-5 siblings.  

Middle school students reentering the district from any non-district school, who previously attended a K-5 school in the district, will be assigned to a middle school as a new student to the district.  

Middle School Transfers Students desiring transfer to a different middle school must file a transfer request with the Superintendent of Schools. Transfers will only be approved for extreme and extenuating circumstances.  

KHSAA eligibility (residence) requirements will apply to transfer students.  

Students of Staff Members Students with a parent/guardian working in a building will have priority for placement at that particular building, contingent upon class size and available space guidelines.  

Policy Reference: IIBGB

Policy References: JBCA, JBCB, JBCC and JQKA

Adoption Date: 04/28/2003, Revised: 06/08/2009; 11/14/2011; 08/12/2013; 04/13/2015; 08/10/2015;  3/08/2016; 02/13/2017; 10/09/2017; 07/08/2019; 07/11/2022; 06/26/2023; 11/13/2023; 6/2025