Requirements under ESSA:
A student placed in out-of-home care is not required to apply for open enrollment in order to attend their school of origin.
If the outcome of the best interest determination is that the student should attend their resident school, two steps must happen immediately:
- The new school must enroll the student, even if the student does not possess all the records normally required for enrollment. A student placed in out-of-home care does not need to open enroll in their resident district.
- The resident school district must request records from the school of origin. The school of origin will send records to the resident school “no later than the next working day.” Wis. Stat. sec. 118.125(4)
The DPI’s Confidentiality, Privacy, and Student Records page provides more information and resources to help schools understand the requirements and best practices for student records.
Sources
20 U.S.C. 6311(g)(1)(E)(ii)(iii)