toledoblade.com --

A revised intradistrict student transfer policy for Toledo Public Schools will be considered by the Board of Education when it meets tomorrow.

The proposed policy adds three provisions for compliance with the new federal No Child Left Behind Act, and clarifies district procedure for how and when students can transfer between TPS schools.

"The request was to come up with some kind of criteria. That doesn't mean in all cases it will be followed, but it gives some kind of guidance. Essentially it's what we do now, but this puts it in a policy," said Craig Cotner, the district's chief academic officer.

Last year the district had about 1,500 students who transferred among schools.

In cases where students request a transfer to further integration at a school or for academic purposes, such as wanting to attend a program not offered at their home school, the deadline is the second Friday in January of the preceding school year, according to the proposal.

For students who move from one attendance zone to another and want to remain at the original school, they must request to stay at the school before the move or before they transfer to the new school, the proposed policy states.

But students seeking transfers for medical reasons, family hardship, social adjustment, disciplinary reasons, or child-care arrangements will not have a specific time in which to request the school change.

"Because those routinely occur throughout the year, it's difficult to give a deadline date," said Adrienne Noel, director of pupil placement services.

Board members Terry Glazer and Larry Sykes, who are on the board's policy committee, agreed in the summer to review the district's transfer policy after several parents from Beverly Elementary School complained. The parents objected to the placement of a portable classroom unit at the South Toledo school, which they said was accommodating the out-of-district students.

"They felt that children were going into schools that were at capacity, and that we were adding classes,'' Mr. Cotner said.

Under the proposed policy, transfers will be dependent on the capacity of the receiving school to accept additional students as determined by administrators. "Where possible, class sizes will be comparable to the district-wide averages for that grade level," the policy reads.

Mr. Glazer said the administration would contact parents who had inquired about the transfer policy earlier this year to notify them of its consideration by the board at Tuesday's 5:30 p.m. meeting.

Other provisions of the proposal outline how the district will administer transfers made possible by the new federal law. Part of the No Child Left Behind Act requires districts to allow transfers by students from schools designated as needing improvement by the Ohio Department of Education based on proficiency test scores.

Under the policy, the district will notify parents within a month of hearing from the state which schools are in that category. The district within two weeks will send parents notification of approved transfers, which will be prioritized for low economic status and low test scores.

Students may request transfers if they have been the victim of a violent crime or if they attend an unsafe school, beginning in the 2004-2005 school year.

"We determine the level at which a school no longer qualifies for No Child Left Behind because the classes are full," Mr. Cotner said. "Once a child goes into a school, we have no authority to remove them."

Requests for other transfers will be approved on an annual basis and can be denied because of a student's poor attendance or disciplinary record, the proposed policy states.

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