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 282.18 and Iowa Administrative Code 281-17 as amended by Senate File 2435, Division VIII. Senate File 2435, Division VIII reinstates open enrollment deadlines for all applicants and takes effect July 1, 2024. Open Enrollment applications must be submitted to the resident and to the receiving districts.
Open Enrollment Deadlines
| Deadline | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Applications to Approved Online Schools | The deadline does not apply to parents/guardians applying for their student to attend a public school district with an approved online school by the Iowa Department of Education. |
| June 30, 2024 | Any application filed on or before June 30, 2024 will not require good cause for waiving the March 1 deadline. The receiving district may accept open enrollment applications for the 2024-2025 school year without approval from the resident school district. |
| July 1, 2024 | Senate File 2435 takes effect. Applications for students grades 1-12 will be denied unless the parent or guardian is able to demonstrate good cause. |
| September 1 | Application deadline for incoming preschool students who receive special education services requiring specially designed instruction (SDI) to open enroll for the current school year. |
| September 1 | Application deadline for incoming kindergarten students to open enroll for the current school year. |
| September 2 | Applications for incoming preschool students requiring SDI and kindergarten students will be denied unless the parent or guardian is able to demonstrate “good cause.” |
| March 1 | Application deadline for students in grades 1-12 to open enroll for the upcoming school year. |
| March 2 | Applications for students grades 1-12 will be denied unless the parent or guardian is able to demonstrate good cause. |
* If a parent/guardian moves and wishes for their student to continue at the original resident district under open enrollment (often known as the “continuation rule”), requests cannot be denied due to insufficient classroom space policies.
Good Cause Circumstances
The following circumstances are considered “good cause” and are acceptable conditions for a timeline waiver if the change occurred or began after March 1 (or September 1):
- Change in family district of residence
- Change in child’s residence from one parent or guardian to the residence of a different parent or guardian
- Change in the state in which the family residence is located
- Change in the marital status of the student’s parents resulting in a change in resident district
- Change in guardianship or custody proceeding that results in a change in resident district
- Placement of the child in foster care resulting in a change of residence
- Adoption
- Participation in a foreign exchange program
- Initial placement of a preschool student in a special education program requiring SDI
- Participation in a substance abuse or mental health treatment program resulting in a change of residence
- Change in the status of a child’s resident district such as removal of accreditation by the Iowa State Board of Education (State Board), surrender of accreditation, or permanent closure of a private school after March 1
- Revocation of a charter school contract as provided in section 256F.8
- Failure of district negotiations for whole grade sharing or the rejection of a whole grade sharing agreement after March 1*
- Failure of district negotiations for reorganization or rejection of a proposed reorganization plan after March 1*
- Failure of district negotiations for a dissolution agreement after March 1*
- Loss of accreditation or permanent closure of a private school after March 1
Circumstances not defined above that would be considered good cause (and subject to the approval of the board of the resident district and the board of the receiving district) include:
- Repeated student harassment that the resident district cannot adequately address or
- The child has a serious health condition that a school district cannot adequately address
*The request must be filed within 45 days of last board action or within 30 days of certification of an election, whichever is applicable. This is only applicable to affected students.
Regular education students are eligible to open enroll for grades K–12, if the student is 5 years of age on or before September 15. Kindergarten does not include preschool. Students that are younger than 5 years old do not qualify for open enrollment unless the student has an instructional Individualized Education Program (IEP), where the student is eligible to be counted for certified enrollment.
• Students cannot open enroll into Statewide Voluntary Four Year Old Preschool programs. Parents can enroll a student into any district that offers a Statewide Voluntary Four Year Old Preschool program whether or not it is their resident district without the need to open enroll.
• A special education preschooler with an instructional IEP is eligible for open enrollment if services are provided in an early childhood special education program and if the preschooler is eligible to be included in certified enrollment. Iowa Code section 282.18(8).
Students that open enroll in Grades 9-12, shall not be eligible to participate in VARSITY contests and competitions during the first ninety (90) school days of transfer. Please contact the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union at (515) 288-9741 or the Iowa High School Athletic Association at (515) 432-2011 for questions regarding eligibility.
Parents are responsible for transporting children open enrolled to another district. This applies to all students, including those with an IEP. As a general rule, if the need for transportation as a related service is stated in the IEP, the parent is responsible for this obligation under open enrollment. If a child open enrolls to a district that is contiguous (borders) to the home district, and the parents’ income meets economic eligibility requirements, the family may receive a stipend for transportation or be provided transportation by the district. Income verification must be provided to the resident district.