LB550 LB550
2023 2023
LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 550
Introduced by Ballard, 21.
Read first time January 17, 2023
Committee: Education
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to schools; to amend sections 79-239, 79-240,
2 79-2,127, and 79-2,134, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, and
3 sections 79-233, 79-234, 79-235, 79-237, 79-238, 79-241, 79-611,
4 79-1009, 79-10,143, 79-2104, 79-2118, and 79-2120, Revised Statutes
5 Cumulative Supplement, 2022; to change and eliminate definitions and
6 provisions relating to the enrollment option program; to eliminate
7 obsolete provisions; to harmonize provisions; to repeal the original
8 sections; and to outright repeal sections 79-235.01 and 79-2110,
9 Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2022.
10 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Section 79-233, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
2 2022, is amended to read:
3 79-233 For purposes of sections 79-232 to 79-246:
4 (1) Enrollment option program means the program established in
5 section 79-234;
6 (2) Option school district means the public school district that an
7 option student chooses to attend instead of his or her resident school
8 district;
9 (3) Option student means a student that has chosen to attend an
10 option school district, including an open enrollment option student or a
11 student who resides in a learning community and began attendance as an
12 option student in an option school district in such learning community
13 prior to the end of the first full school year for which the option
14 school district will be a member of such learning community, but, for
15 school years prior to school year 2017-18, not including a student who
16 resides in a learning community and who attends pursuant to section
17 79-2110 another school district in such learning community;
18 (4) Open enrollment option student means a student who resides in a
19 school district that is a member of a learning community, attended a
20 school building in another school district in such learning community as
21 an open enrollment student pursuant to section 79-2110, and attends such
22 school building as an option student pursuant to section 79-235.01;
23 (4) (5) Resident school district means the public school district in
24 which a student resides or the school district in which the student is
25 admitted as a resident of the school district pursuant to section 79-215;
26 and
27 (5) (6) Siblings means all children residing in the same household
28 on a permanent basis who have the same mother or father or who are
29 stepbrother or stepsister to each other.
30 Sec. 2. Section 79-234, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
31 2022, is amended to read:
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1 79-234 (1) An enrollment option program is hereby established to
2 enable any kindergarten through twelfth grade Nebraska student to attend
3 a school in a Nebraska public school district in which the student does
4 not reside subject to the limitations prescribed in section 79-238. The
5 option shall be available any time only once to each student prior to
6 graduation, except that the option does not count toward such limitation
7 if such option meets, or met at the time of the option, one of the
8 following criteria: (a) The student relocates to a different resident
9 school district, (b) the option school district merges with another
10 district, (c) the student will have completed either the grades offered
11 in the school building originally attended in the option school district
12 or the grades immediately preceding the lowest grade offered in the
13 school building for which a new option is sought, (d) the option would
14 allow the student to continue current enrollment in a school district,
15 (e) the option would allow the student to enroll in a school district in
16 which the student was previously enrolled as a student, or (f) the
17 student is an open enrollment option student. Sections 79-232 to 79-246
18 do not relieve a parent or guardian from the compulsory attendance
19 requirements in section 79-201.
20 (2) The program shall not apply to any student who resides in a
21 district which has entered into an annexation agreement pursuant to
22 section 79-473, except that such student may transfer to another district
23 which accepts option students.
24 Sec. 3. Section 79-235, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
25 2022, is amended to read:
26 79-235 For purposes of all duties, entitlements, and rights
27 established by law, including special education as provided in section
28 79-1127, except as provided in section 79-241 and, for open enrollment
29 option students, except as provided in section 79-235.01, option students
30 shall be treated as resident students of the option school district. The
31 option student may request a particular school building, but the building
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1 assignment of the option student shall be determined by the option school
2 district except as provided in section 79-235.01 for open enrollment
3 option students and in subsection (3) of section 79-2110 for students
4 attending a focus school, focus program, or magnet school. In determining
5 eligibility for extracurricular activities as defined in section
6 79-2,126, the option student shall be treated similarly to other students
7 who transfer into the school from another public, private,
8 denominational, or parochial school.
9 Sec. 4. Section 79-237, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
10 2022, is amended to read:
11 79-237 (1) For a student to begin attendance as an option student in
12 an option school district, the student's parent or legal guardian shall
13 submit an application to the school board of the option school district.
14 Such application may be submitted at any time. between September 1 and
15 March 15 for attendance during the following and subsequent school years.
16 Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, applications
17 submitted after March 15 shall contain a release approval from the
18 resident school district on the application form prescribed and furnished
19 by the State Department of Education pursuant to subsection (8) of this
20 section. A district may not accept or approve any applications submitted
21 after such date without such a release approval. The option school
22 district shall provide the resident school district with the name of the
23 applicant on or before April 1 or, in the case of an application
24 submitted after March 15, within sixty days after submission. The option
25 school district shall notify, in writing, the parent or legal guardian of
26 the student and the resident school district whether the application is
27 accepted or rejected on or before April 1 or, in the case of an
28 application submitted after March 15, within ten sixty days after
29 submission. An option school district that is a member of a learning
30 community may not approve an application pursuant to this section for a
31 student who resides in such learning community to attend prior to school
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1 year 2017-18.
2 (2) A student who relocates to a different resident school district
3 after February 1 or whose option school district merges with another
4 district effective after February 1 may submit an application to the
5 school board of an option school district for attendance during the
6 current or immediately following and subsequent school years unless the
7 applicant is a resident of a learning community and the application is
8 for attendance to begin prior to school year 2017-18 in an option school
9 district that is also a member of such learning community. Such
10 application does not require the release approval of the resident school
11 district. The option school district shall accept or reject such
12 application within forty-five days.
13 (3) A parent or guardian may provide information on the application
14 for an option school district that is a member of a learning community
15 regarding the applicant's potential qualification for free or reduced-
16 price lunches. Any such information provided shall be subject to
17 verification and shall only be used for the purposes of subsection (4) of
18 section 79-238. Nothing in this subsection requires a parent or guardian
19 to provide such information. Determinations about an applicant's
20 qualification for free or reduced-price lunches for purposes of
21 subsection (4) of section 79-238 shall be based on any verified
22 information provided on the application. If no such information is
23 provided, the student shall be presumed not to qualify for free or
24 reduced-price lunches for the purposes of subsection (4) of section
25 79-238.
26 (2) (4) Applications for students who do not actually attend the
27 option school district may be withdrawn in good standing upon mutual
28 agreement with by both the resident and option school district districts.
29 (5) No option student shall attend an option school district for
30 less than one school year unless the student relocates to a different
31 resident school district, completes requirements for graduation prior to
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1 the end of his or her senior year, transfers to a private or parochial
2 school, or upon mutual agreement of the resident and option school
3 districts cancels the enrollment option and returns to the resident
4 school district.
5 (3) The (6) Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section or,
6 for open enrollment option students, in section 79-235.01, the option
7 student shall attend the option school district until graduation unless
8 the student relocates in a different resident school district, enrolls in
9 a different option school district, transfers to a private or parochial
10 school, or chooses to return to the resident school district.
11 (4) (7) In each case of cancellation pursuant to subsections (5) and
12 (6) of this section, the student's parent or legal guardian shall provide
13 written notification to the school board of the option school district
14 and the resident school district on forms prescribed and furnished by the
15 department under subsection (5) (8) of this section in advance of such
16 cancellation.
17 (5) (8) The application and cancellation forms shall be prescribed
18 and furnished by the State Department of Education.
19 (6) (9) An option student who subsequently chooses to attend a
20 private or parochial school and who is not an open enrollment option
21 student shall be automatically accepted to return to either the resident
22 school district or option school district upon the completion of the
23 grade levels offered at the private or parochial school. If such student
24 chooses to return to the option school district, the student's parent or
25 legal guardian shall submit another application to the school board of
26 the option school district which shall be automatically accepted, and the
27 deadlines prescribed in this section shall be waived.
28 Sec. 5. Section 79-238, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
29 2022, is amended to read:
30 79-238 Each (1) Except as provided in this section and sections
31 79-235.01 and 79-240, the school board of the option school district
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1 shall adopt by resolution specific standards for acceptance and rejection
2 of applications for enrollment and for providing transportation for
3 option students. Standards shall only include a random selection process
4 and the interest of the student and the student's parent or legal
5 guardian. Standards may include the capacity of a program, class, grade
6 level, or school building or the availability of appropriate special
7 education programs operated by the option school district. For a school
8 district that is not a member of a learning community, capacity shall be
9 determined by setting a maximum number of option students that a district
10 will accept in any program, class, grade level, or school building, based
11 upon available staff, facilities, projected enrollment of resident
12 students, projected number of students with which the option school
13 district will contract based on existing contractual arrangements, and
14 availability of appropriate special education programs. To facilitate
15 option enrollment within a learning community, member school districts
16 shall annually (a) establish and report a maximum capacity for each
17 school building under such district's control pursuant to procedures,
18 criteria, and deadlines established by the learning community
19 coordinating council and (b) provide a copy of the standards for
20 acceptance and rejection of applications and transportation policies for
21 option students to the learning community coordinating council. Except as
22 otherwise provided in this section, the school board of the option school
23 district may by resolution declare a program, a class, or a school
24 unavailable to option students due to lack of capacity. Standards shall
25 not include previous academic achievement; , athletic or other
26 extracurricular ability; , disabilities; , proficiency in the English
27 language; , or previous disciplinary proceedings, except as provided in
28 section 79-266.01; a student's residential address, provided the student
29 is a resident of this state; any capacity measurement; or any measurement
30 that discriminates against a student based on such student's race,
31 ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or any protected class. False or
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1 substantively misleading information submitted by a parent or guardian on
2 an application to an option school district may be cause for the option
3 school district to reject a previously accepted application if the
4 rejection occurs prior to the student's attendance as an option student.
5 (2) The school board of every school district shall also adopt
6 specific standards and conditions for acceptance or rejection of a
7 request for release of a resident or option student submitting an
8 application to an option school district after March 15 under subsection
9 (1) of section 79-237. Standards shall not include that a request
10 occurred after the deadline set forth in this subsection.
11 (3) Any option school district that is not a member of a learning
12 community shall give first priority for enrollment to siblings of option
13 students, except that the option school district shall not be required to
14 accept the sibling of an option student if the district is at capacity
15 except as provided in subsection (1) of section 79-240.<