The Muscogee County School District will open its application window for student transfer options on May 8, 2019. The window will close at 11:59 p.m. May 22, 2019; late submissions will not be considered for selection. Approval and/or denial statuses will be sent, by email, to the parent and/or legal guardian by July 12, 2019. Applications will be accessible online athttps://www.muscogee.k12.ga.us/Families.

The District currently offers two student transfer request options: 1. Open Seat Transfers, in accordance with Georgia House Bill 251 (HB 251); and 2. Hardship Transfers. Parents and/or legal guardians can apply for either an Open Seat or Hardship transfer, not both. Students currently enrolled under an Open Seat or Hardship transfer do not need to reapply except in the case of an elementary student moving to middle school and/or a middle school student moving to high school.

Parents should note the following important information if preparing to apply for either of the student transfer request options:

Open Seat Transfers (HB 251)

HB 251 allows parents or guardians of students enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school in Georgia to elect to enroll their student in a public school that is located within the school district in which the student resides, other than the one to which the student has been assigned, if such school has permanent classroom space available after its assigned students have been enrolled.

The parent and/or legal guardian shall assume the responsibility and cost of transportation of the student to and from the school.

If the student receives Special Education services, the school being applied to must already have the Special Education services in place, as required by the student's current Individual Education Plan (IEP) or the transfer request will be denied.

If the number of requests exceeds the number of spaces available at a school, the requests will be selected via a lottery. There will be no appeals.

The parent and/or legal guardian will have 14 days from the receipt of approval to confirm enrollment. Failure to confirm enrollment by the deadline will forfeit the transfer approval.

Any change of school placement which is not the result of a bona fide change of residence, such as transfers under HB 251, may impact a student's eligibility to participate in Georgia High School Association (GHSA) sanctioned varsity activities and events for a period of one calendar year. The parent and/or legal guardian is responsible for investigating and determining the impact on such a transfer.

There will be no sibling priority with the exception of a student with simultaneous multiple birth (e.g. twins, triplets, etc.) who is selected for a seat. Siblings of that exception will be drawn at the same time during the lottery with the other sibling(s) of that set receiving placement, if a seat is available.

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Hardship Transfers

Requests for transfers to another school are only approved under certain conditions based on available space at the requested school and the validity of the reason stated in the request.

The parent and/or legal guardian shall assume the responsibility and cost of transportation of the student to and from the school.

Eligibility for Georgia High School Association (GHSA) governed activities such as athletics or literary events, could be lost by a student granted a hardship, especially where a high school student has already attended another high school within the District. Parents are encouraged to discuss eligibility with the school principal before applying for transfer requests.

Hardship requests are automatically denied for the following reasons:

Inadequate documentation to support hardship being submitted prior to the application deadline

No available seats due to class size restrictions at requested school

The inability to accommodate all siblings

The request is based on the following:

You are unhappy with or dislike your student’s currently assigned school.

The request is for the older sibling of a Pre-K student. The school system provides transportation within the feeder patterns of the Early Success Center locations.

The requested school would be more convenient due to its location.

School performance or state assessment scores.

Your student would like to play sports or extracurricular activities for the requested school.

Hardship requests may not be submitted for the following schools:

Britt David Elementary Magnet Academy

Clubview Elementary School

Columbus High School

Rainey McCullers School of the Arts

The Muscogee County School District maintains attendance zones for school assignments. Parents are encouraged to register students at the school of assignment based on the legal residence. Approved Open Seat or Hardship transfers may be revoked if issues with attendance, grades, or behavior expectations arise.

For more information related to transfer requests or assignments, parents and guardians should contact the zoned school of assignment or Central Registration at [email protected].