This procedure applies to all magnet schools with a Magnet Priority Zone (defined below).

Currently Enrolled Magnet Students

Any student who was enrolled at a District magnet school at the close of the immediately preceding school year must re-apply by submitting an annual Confirmation of Enrollment to maintain their spot at their present magnet school.  With the exception of students who have moved outside of the District’s boundaries, returning students will not be subject to the lottery process. Generally, the Confirmation of Enrollment will be completed during Window 1 of the application process each school year.  The District will use this information when determining the availability of additional spots for new students at each magnet school.

New Student Enrollment Procedures for Magnet Schools with a Magnet Priority Zone

Parents or guardians must submit an application for each new student seeking to enroll in the magnet school even if an older sibling is a current magnet school student.  All new students must complete the new student application (in the form attached hereto) to be included in the lottery process.  Applications will be reviewed for completeness and accuracy. Incomplete and inaccurate applications may be rejected.

There will be two consecutive enrollment windows for conducting the magnet school lottery.  Available spots will be given in order of priority pursuant to the lottery selection process.  Window 1 of the lottery is open to all students residing in the District (and out-of-District students with parents/guardians employed at the magnet school).  Window 2 is open to all students, including out-of-District students and any in-District students who missed the deadline for Window 1.  The District will notify parents/guardians of the dates of these windows by advertising on the District website and on the website of each magnet school.

Lottery Process

The lottery process will be conducted with priority granted to children of magnet school staff, students with siblings already attending the magnet school who live within the District boundaries, students living within the Magnet Priority Zone, and students whose enrollment would further socioeconomic balancing goals established by the Board.*

Window 1:

At the close of Window 1, all completed applications will be organized by grade level and grouped according to the following priority levels:

• Priority Group #1: The applicant’s parent or guardian is employed at the desired magnet school;
• Priority Group #2: The applicant is a sibling of a student (K-4^th grade) currently enrolled at the magnet school and resides within the Magnet Priority Zone;
• Priority Group #3: The applicant is a sibling of a student (K-4^th grade) currently enrolled at the magnet school and resides outside of the Magnet Priority Zone, but within the Coeur d’Alene School District boundaries;
• Priority Group #4: The applicant resides within the Magnet Priority Zone and qualifies for free or reduced lunch (up to 35%** of total slots, including all slots filled by previously enrolled students and their siblings);
• Priority Group #5: All other applicants who reside within the Magnet Priority Zone, regardless of income qualifications and including students from Priority Group #4 who were not chosen before the 35% threshold was met;
• Priority Group #6: The applicant resides outside of the Magnet Priority Zone, but within the Coeur d’Alene School District boundaries, and qualifies for free or reduced lunch (subject to the 35% threshold above); and
• Priority Group #7: All other applicants who reside outside of the Magnet Priority Zone, but within the Coeur d’Alene School District Boundaries.

For each grade level, a random magnet lottery will be conducted with respect to each of the priority areas, starting with Priority Group #1, then to Priority Group #2, and so on.  Applications will be randomly selected from within each priority group to determine the application ranking.

Enrollment opportunities will be offered in order of ranking within each priority group until the capacity limits for the particular grade level are met. Students will generally be given one (1) week to confirm enrollment and will be notified of the confirmation deadline.  Failure to confirm enrollment within the given timeframe will result in the loss of the student’s ranking and the spot being offered to the next student in line.  Students that were not selected will maintain their priority ranking and will be notified of the same.

Window 2:

Any student that was not selected from the magnet school lottery during the first window will maintain their ranking during the second magnet school lottery window.  All other students must apply during Window 2 to participate in the magnet school lottery.  Out-of-District student applications will be set aside until all in-District applications have been offered a spot.

At the close of Window 2, applications will again be organized by grade level and grouped according to the priority levels described above.  The applications will be randomly selected and given a ranking that builds off of the last unfulfilled ranking from Window 1.

Spots will be offered in order of ranking until capacity is met. Out-of-District applicants will not be offered an enrollment opportunity until all in-District applications have been satisfied.  Students will be notified of the lottery results in the manner described above.

Waitlist

Lottery rankings will be maintained for purposes of establishing a waitlist and parents will be notified of their waitlist number at the close of the magnet school lottery.  Waitlists will be used for the current school year only.  If a student on the waitlist does not get into a magnet school during the school year, they will need to reapply for the next school year.

Parents or guardians of accepted waitlist students will be required to accept and complete a Registration Packet within one week of notification to enroll.  Failure to do so will result in the loss of the student’s spot on the waitlist and the spot being offered to the next student in line.

Transportation

Parents or guardians will be responsible for transporting their accepted student to the magnet school or to a bus stop established for the magnet school, identified by the District.  Bus stops for magnet schools will be designated within the Magnet Priority Zone and in strategically placed locations throughout the District depending on the feasibility of routes, bus availability, and current enrollment, at the discretion of the District.

*NOTE 1: Magnet School Policy and Procedure 3012/3012P went into effect on November 2, 2020, after creation of new Attendance Zones to accommodate the new elementary school and alleviate overcrowding in existing District schools.  By Board directive, all previously enrolled magnet school students were afforded an opportunity to re-enroll at their existing school, despite a potential variation to the newly created zone boundaries and despite the implementation of Policy and Procedure 3012/3012P.  Until these existing students complete their magnet school years, the District recognizes that the desired socioeconomic balance may not be met.

**NOTE 2: This percentage is based on data from the School Information System collected by FLO Analytics on October 15, 2019, finding a District-wide average of 34.4% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch.  This percentage will be reviewed by the Board and adjusted as necessary no less than every two years.

Definitions

Attendance Zone. An attendance zone is an area within the District boundary within which a single elementary school, middle school, or high school exists.  A student identifies their “home” school by locating their primary residence on the attendance zone map and identifying the corresponding school within that attendance zone.  The Board of Trustees establishes Attendance Zones.  The District’s magnet schools do not have corresponding Attendance Zones. 

Magnet Priority Zone. A Magnet Priority Zone is an area within the District boundary that overlaps existing Attendance Zones.  Each magnet school may be assigned a Magnet Priority Zone.  A student residing within a Magnet Priority Zone would still use the corresponding Attendance Zone school as his or her “home” school for enrollment, but would also have certain priority rights if he/she chose to apply to the magnet school also located within the Magnet Priority Zone. See Board Policy 9810 for information on the creation of Magnet Priority Zones.

Procedure History:

Promulgated on: 11/2/20

Revised on:

Reviewed on: