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Enrollment Process

Enrollment Requirements
Elementary Enrollment
Secondary Enrollment
Voluntary Integrative Transfers
Transfers
Office of Parent Education & Involvement
Transportation
Student Appeal Process
School Locator

To assist you with school enrollment and school selection (SJUSD School Locator)
for your student, the District has established two Information and Enrollment Centers.  English, Spanish and Vietnamese bilingual personnel are available to help you with this process.  Center locations are as follows:

The new Burnett Enrollment Center opened it’s doors January 12, 2009. The new facility is now located on the corner of 4th street and Hedding Avenue on the Burnett Middle School campus. With the new facility the plan is to centralize the Enrollment Center staff at the Burnett Enrollment Center for most of the year and provide enrollment services at the Erikson Enrollment Center during peak times of registration.

Starting February 12, 2008 the following schedule will be put in place for the Erikson Enrollment Center:

February 12 to March 20, 2009 Erikson Enrollment Center will be closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays

March 20 to June 12, 2009 Erikson Enrollment Center will be open full time

June 15 to July 24, 2009 Erikson Enrollment Center will be closed

July 27 to September 18, 2009 Erikson Enrollment Center Will be open full time

September 21 to March 21, 2010 Erikson Enrollment Center will be closed

Burnett Information and Enrollment Center

110 East Hedding Street, San Jose, CA 95112
Phone: (408) 535-6410

Erikson Information and Enrollment Center

4855 Pearl Avenue, San Jose, CA 95136
Phone: (408) 535-6430

Enrollment Requirements

When enrolling your student, you must submit the following information:

• Identity of birth parent/guardianship.
• Three current verifications of address within the SJUSD boundaries. Each document, on official letterhead, must be listed in the name of the parent/guardian or an approval interdistrict agreement.
• For additonal information regarding immunization,  please navigate to Immunization Requirement under Enrollment Process.
• Birth verification, such as birth certificate, baptismal certificate, passport, etc.
• Additional documents may be requested. Please call 408-535-6430/6410 or consult the SJUSD web page for complete information.

Elementary Enrollment

I. Immediate/Pre-Registration

Upon enrollment of students for immediate attendance, they will be assigned to the attendance boundary elementary school. Students also have the option of applying to a Magnet School, or, if appropriate, request a transfer that will aid the Voluntary Integration Plan. Assignment will depend upon space availability. At certain times during the school year, K-5 students may not be able to attend their attendance boundary school because classroom space is not available. These students will be assigned to the nearest school with space available.

Elementary Wait List: When space is not available at the attendance boundary school the student is placed on the wait list for that school. Parents will be notified once space becomes available for the student to be transferred to the attendance boundary school.

II. Magnet Schools

• Hacienda Environmental Science Magnet
• Hammer Montessori Magnet at Galarza
• River Glen Two-way Bilingual Immersion Magnet

The Magnet School initial enrollment period is April. If more students apply for a magnet school than that school is able to serve, the District will assign students to the magnet school on a random basis, taking into consideration the instructional capacity of the school, voluntary integration plan criteria, and students who have a sibling attending the school. Students who are not enrolled in their magnet choice school will be placed on a wait list for that school. Initial wait lists are established by a computer-random process.

Elementary Magnet Wait List: Students are placed from a wait list as space becomes available. Parents will be informed regarding their student’s place on the wait list when they are notified of the school assignment. Students must be enrolled in a San Jose Unified School District school in order to be placed on a wait list.

Note:  Magnet School wait lists will be eliminated at the end of each year. Parents must reapply if they wish their student to be reconsidered for enrollment.

III. Voluntary Integration Plan Transfers

Students who qualify under socio-economic criteria have specific additional school choice options and will be enrolled at a selected school based upon instructional capacity and space availability of that school.

Secondary Enrollment

I. Immediate Attendance Registration

Upon enrollment of students for immediate attendance, they will be assigned to a school on a space-available first-come, first-served basis, taking into consideration the instructional capacity of the school and/or grade level, and existing wait lists.
At certain times during the school year, 6-12th grade students may not be able to attend their attendance boundary school because space is not available. They will be assigned to the nearest school with space available while being waitlisted to their attendance boundary school.

Secondary Wait List: If a student’s first-choice school is not available, the student will be placed on that school’s wait list. Priority is given to attendance boundary students. Wait list movement occurs at the end of each semester.

II. Pre-Registration for September

Current 5th and 8th grade students who are changing grade levels (Elementary to Middle School; Middle to High School) must complete and return their School Choice Application by mid-February if they wish to participate in the selection process described below.

These students, as well as preregistered students who live in, but are not attending a school in the San Jose Unified School District, will be assigned to a school, taking into consideration the instructional capacity of the school and current wait lists.  In the event the number of students selecting a particular middle or high school exceeds that school’s programmatic or physical capacity, the District will redirect students to their second or third choice according to the following four priorities:

• First Priority: Students who reside in the school attendance boundary.
• Second Priority: Students who are requesting a Voluntary Integrative Transfer.
• Third Priority: Students who will have a sibling who is enrolled in the school during the year of intended assignment.
• Fourth Priority: Students whose choice of schools does not satisfy one of the above priorities.

Every effort will made to place students in one of their three choices. If this is not possible, students will be assigned to their attendance boundary school.

If your student is not assigned to the first choice school, he/she will be placed in the second choice school if space is available. The same process will be used for the third choice school.

Students will be redirected to their other-than-first-choice-school on a random basis by a computer. Students who are redirected will be placed on a wait list for their first-choice school.  This wait list will also be produced by a computer random process. These names will be added below those already on the wait list.  After the Initial Enrollment Process, students will be enrolled or wait listed on a space-available, first-come, first-served basis.

Secondary Pre-Registration Wait List: If your student is not assigned to the first choice school, he/she will be placed on a wait list for that school. Students are placed into these schools from the wait list in priority order, taking into consideration all of the following:

• Grade Level Openings at the School
• Capacity of the School
• Special Education program requirements

You will be informed regarding your student’s place on the wait list when you are notified of his/her school assignment. Attendance boundary students will always have priority on the wait list. Your student must be enrolled in a San Unified School in order to be placed on a wait list. Whenever possible, the students on the wait list will be moved during the first two weeks of school and at the end of each semester. If you are offered a wait list placement and decline it, your student’s name will be removed from that school’s wait list. No student may be placed on more than one wait list.

Voluntary Integrative Transfers

• Students may transfer out of their attendance boundary school when their residence address and attendance boundary school are designated as low socio-economic status. These students may transfer into a school that is designated high socio-economic status. (Based upon geo-codes)
• Students may transfer out of their attendance boundary school when their residence address and attendance boundary school are designated high socio-economic status. These students may transfer into a school that is designated as low socio-economic status. (Based upon geo-codes)
• If a student meets the low socio economic criteria and his/her boundary school meets the low socio-economic criteria, but the geo-code in which the student resides does not, an exception may be requested. a. The Exception process requires that the family meet the financial qualification as delineated in the Application for Free and Reduced-Price Meals. b. The Request for an Exception may be completed during the enrollment process.
• All transfers are based on space availability.

Transfers

I. Transfers Within SJUSD

A. Elementary

Your elementary student will be permitted to apply for a transfer from one school to another, provided the transfer meets one of the following requirements:

Transfer is to an attendance boundary area school.
Transfer is to a “magnet school.”
Transfer will aid the Voluntary Integration Plan.
The effective date of the approved transfer will be the first day of school in September. Elementary students will be wait listed for attendance boundary and magnet schools that are at capacity.

Your secondary student will be permitted to apply for a transfer from one school to another. Secondary students will be wait listed for schools that are at capacity.

B. Secondary

Your secondary student will be permitted to apply for a transfer from one school to another. Students must meet certain criteria for acceptance. Secondary students who are granted a transfer will be wait listed for schools that are at capacity. Please call the enrollment center for specific information.
Transfer Request forms will be available at the Information and Enrollment Centers during the spring and summer months. All transfers are based on space availability. The transfer period ends the first day of school.

II. Elementary Transfers for the Academic Language Acquisition (ALA) Bilingual Program  

At your school of assignment, as a parent of an English Learner, you will be given a description of the educational program choices for English learners at your student’s school and within the District. Also, you will be given the process for applying for a Parental Exception Waiver. You may request of your school principal through the Parental Exception Waiver process a transfer from your school of assignment to an ALA school with classroom space.

At schools with an ALA program, the principal accepts the waiver and places the student in an ALA classroom. If there is no room in the ALA program, the principal denies the waiver, and the student is assigned to a Structured English Immersion classroom. The student may either wait for placement in ALA at that school, or parents can appeal the waiver denial and request another school with an ALA program. At schools without an ALA program, the principal denies the waiver. Parents may appeal the waiver denial and request a school with an ALA program. Upon approval by the Bilingual Office, your student will be transferred by the Student Assignment Office to a school with space available in an ALA Program.

III. Elementary Intradistrict Transfers

A student residing in the San Jose Unified School District may request, for the following reasons, an annual Intradistrict transfer to attend another SJUSD school when space is available.

Student of working parents receiving child-care from the same person or program for at least one year. Child-care must be located within the boundaries of the requested school.
A change of residency within the District’s attendance boundaries and the student wishes to continue at the school of assignment.
Student who through the student assignment process was assigned a school due to the lack of space available at the attendance boundary school and wishes to continue at the school of assignment.
Student whose parent/guardian is a district employee at the requested school.
Student whose parent/guardian is employed within the attendance boundaries of the requested school.
Transportation services for intradistrict transfer students will not be provided by the District. Intradistrict transfer agreements must be renewed annually. Intradistrict students may be subject to displacement due to increased neighborhood enrollment. For further information, please call 535-6230, the Student Enrollment/Assignment Office.

IV. Interdistrict Transfers
An annual Interdistrict Permit is required for students who do not live within the SJUSD boundary. Transportation services for Interdistrict Transfer students will not be provided by the District. Interdistrict students may be subject to displacement due to increased neighborhood enrollment.

No transfers will be made during the school year except for wait list movement and ALA program transfers.

Office of Parent Education & Involvement

The Parent Administrator is available to answer any questions parents may have regarding school programs or District practices. Throughout the year, the Office of Parent Education & Involvement offers parent training seminars, computer classes, parenting workshops, leadership and educational conferences; provides community outreach, including dissemination of notices and information materials; and provides a District open forum to parents who have questions or request help. Bilingual personnel, including the Parent Administrator, are available, and they welcome inquiries from parents.

You may reach the Office of the Parent Administrator by calling 535-6404.

Transportation

San Jose Unified School District offers eligible students transportation to and from designated school bus stops established by ridership the previous year. The District will provide VTA passes for middle and high school students eligible for transportation, living in some designated areas. Refer to district policy for details about transportation. The week before school starts, the Transportation Department will mail to the homes of eligible students information regarding routes, schedules, and locations of bus stops. For additional information, contact the Transportation Department at 535-6185.

Student Appeal Process

Parents/guardians have the right to both the review and appeal of school assignments through the appeal process. An appeal may be approved if it is based upon extreme health or emotional problems. (In all requests, documentation must be provided.) An appeal will not be granted if it is based on the health needs of other family members, transportation issues, school location/programs, school/job related issues or babysitting/day care difficulties. The process is as follows:

Step 1 Parent/Guardian Schedules Conference with the Information and Enrollment Center Administrator

The parent/guardian should contact the Information and Enrollment Center Administrator at either the Burnett Information and Enrollment Center (535-6412) or Erikson Information and Enrollment Center (535-6436). At this time the problem will be discussed and assistance offered to try to resolve the concern.
If it is not resolved to the satisfaction of the parent/guardian at the conference with the Information and Enrollment Center Administrator, the “Request for Appeal of Student Assignment” form will be completed and returned to the Information and Enrollment Center. Written documentation from those sources referred to by the parent/guardian must accompany the appeal. A signed “Exchange of Information” form may also be necessary.

Step 2 Parent/Guardian Receives Acceptance or Denial of Appeal by Written Response

The information provided on the form, along with documentation, is carefully reviewed by the administrator at the Information and Enrollment Center.  After reviewing the request, the administrator will indicate the decision by letter to the parent/guardian.

Step 3 Parent/Guardian May Contact The Director of Student Enrollment/Assignment

In the event the parent/guardian is not satisfied with the initial decision from the administrator at the Information and Enrollment Center and wishes to continue the Appeal Process, he/she may phone the Director of Student Enrollment/Assignment Department, at 535-6232, or write to 855 Lenzen Avenue, San Jose, CA 95126.

Step 4 Parent/Guardian May Contact the Director of Desegregation

The final level of appeal is to the Director of Desegregation. In the event that the appeal cannot be resolved at the Student Enrollment/Assignment Department level, the parent/guardian may phone the Director of Desegregation at 535-6378, or write to 855 Lenzen Avenue, San Jose, CA 95126.