BURKET – Tippecanoe Valley School Board reviewed a new non-resident student transfer policy Monday night at the Burket Educational Center. The board will vote on the policy at its Feb. 10 meeting. Superintendent Brett Boggs said House Enrolled Act 1381, which became effective July 1, 2013, modified legislation pertaining to public school transfers. Because Valley’s existing student transfer policy required application for transfer prior to July 1, 2013, Valley was permitted to use the policy for determining acceptance of non-resident transfer students for the 2013-14 school year. “The newly revised policy, which I’m sharing with you tonight, which will replace the previous student transfer policy, meets the new legal requirements found in Indiana code,” Boggs said. Under state code, school corporations that accept non-resident transfer students must accept all transfer students with some exceptions listed in the statue. School corporations can no longer accept students based on their own criteria. “When the legislature previously passed the policy on transfer students, school corporations were cherry picking so they took only the best students. That went against what the legislatures said they intended to do,” Boggs said. Indiana Code states that requests for transfer must not be denied on the basis of a student’s academic record, ISTEP scores, discipline records, disability or upon factors not related to capacity. A request can be denied if: space is needed for current transfer students, siblings of such students and employees’ children; the student has been suspended or expelled for more than 10 school days in the 12 months preceding the request for transfer; the student was suspended or expelled for possessing a firearm, deadly weapon or destructive device in the 12 months preceding the transfer request; the student was suspended or expelled for causing physical injury to a student, school employee or visitor to the school; the student was suspended or expelled for violating a drug or alcohol rule in the 12 months preceding; if the student does not qualify for a special program; or the request for transfer is primarily for athletic reasons. Boggs stated, “The point made by the new law is that parents must provide records or information necessary to determine whether the request for transfer may be denied for the discipline infractions as outlined. An application for the transfer may not ask for records or information related to the prohibited criteria, but can ask for records or information on the specific discipline infractions listed in the statue.” He told the board he gave each member a copy of the transfer application so they can see that it does follow the criteria. The school corporation must annually establish its capacity to accept transfer students at each grade level. If the number of requests for transfer exceeds the advertised capacity for a grade level, the school board must conduct a random drawing in a public meeting. The new transfer policy establishes the spring semester average daily membership count date as the new deadline to submit a transfer application into the Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. “This year our spring ADM count day is Feb. 3,” Boggs said. In other business, the board: • Re-elected Bryan Murphy as board president; Mark Wise, vice president; and Dave O’Brien, secretary. Jessica McFarland was reappointed corporation treasurer. Regular monthly meetings will continue to be on the second Monday of every month at 6:30 p.m. in the Mentone Elementary board room, except for those months where the board chooses to meet at the other schools. • Announced upcoming board meetings are Feb. 10, Tippecanoe Valley Middle School; March 10, Tippecanoe Valley High School; and April 14, Akron Elementary School. All meetings are at 6:30 p.m. • Heard the highlights of each of Valley schools’ School Improvement Plans for the 2013-14 school year. A new statue applies to the SIP for 2014-15 with each school’s SIP due to the Indiana Department of Education by June 30 this year. On April 21, the school board will be asked to approve each school’s SIP for the 2014-15 school year. • Heard a brief report on Valley’s A-F Accountability Report Card. Overall, TVSC received a “C” from the State Board of Education. Individual school grades in 2013 were a “C” for Akron Elementary; “B’s” for Mentone Elementary and TVHS; and an “F” for the middle school. A more detailed presentation will be made at the Feb. 10 board meeting, and will include a public hearing for TVMS. • Accepted resignations, including Jeff Shriver, head football coach, TVHS. • Approved for Scott Bibler, Darren Parker and Jeff Sprunger to attend an out-of-state football coaching clinic. After the regular board meeting, the annual Board of Finance meeting was conducted. The board elected to have the finance board’s officers be the same as the school board. The register of investments also was shared.
