All persons of school age shall be required to attend the school of the attendance area in which they reside unless, in accordance with the Board of Education's rules and policies and the Department of Education's administrative regulations, they are excepted from school attendance, allowed to attend a school in another attendance area on a geographical exception, transferred to another school for disciplinary reasons, placed in another school for the provision of a free appropriate public education because of the student's disability, or for other reasons approved by the department. A minor may not establish residency apart from the minor's parent or legal guardian and the department shall presume that the minor resides with the parent or legal guardian.

To implement the State's compulsory school attendance law and for the internal management of the public school system in Hawaii, the Department of Education shall designate school attendance areas, establish their boundaries, and alter such boundaries when it deems advisable. The school attendance areas shall be arranged in such a manner that there shall be no unassigned locality in the State. The Department of Education shall establish procedures for the establishment or alteration of school attendance area boundaries. The procedures shall provide parents and the community advance information of any proposal to establish or alter a school attendance boundary and an opportunity to comment on the proposal before a decision is made. A new or modified school attendance boundary shall be implemented only after the opportunity to comment has been provided to affected role groups (such as parents, students, teachers, school staff, school administrators, and community groups).

Former Code No. 5117
Policy Adopted: 5/47; Reviewed: 4/60 ; Amended: l0/70, 3/88, 7/02