4155
GEOGRAPHIC EXCEPTIONS
TO THE MANDATORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE LAW
POLICY
Under Hawaii law, all persons of school age are required to attend school in the geographic area in which they reside. However, permission to attend another school may be granted by the Department of Education with the welfare of the child as a major consideration.
The Board of Education, through this Policy, establishes a program of GEOGRAPHIC EXCEPTIONS by which a child may be, upon application by parents or substitute legal guardians, assigned to a school other than the neighborhood school.
The Department of Education is directed to establish procedures for the handling and approval of such requests, including application process and time lines, criteria for selection, a public chance selection process if requests exceed a school’s established capacity, and a Departmental appeal procedure for denied requests. These procedures shall provide that:
1. A student, once granted a geographic exception, shall belong to the school for
which it is granted and shall enjoy all rights, privileges and responsibilities that
are enjoyed by other students at the school until the student graduates or
otherwise transfers.
2. There shall be suitable consequences (including possible recision of the
geographic exception) if the information upon which the exception was granted
is found to have been false.
3. The process established by the Department shall be equitable, widely publicized
and “user friendly” to parents and children.
4. There shall be time lines which permit reasonable projections of school
enrollment so that new geographic exceptions shall not be the cause of a school
exceeding the enrollment limits established by the Department.
The placement of a child with special needs shall conform to the law.
Approved: 5/96