Open Enrollment debuts in Kansas K-12 this fall. The bipartisan legislation signed into law in 2022 allows students to transfer schools if the receiving school chosen has available capacity.
Shawnee County Schools
have all experienced recent declines in enrollment, presumably freeing up space for new students. But not all have rolled out the welcome mat. Many school districts opposed open enrollment legislation as superintendents did not want to give up the power to decide who to accept. The superintendents of USD 229 Blue Valley and USD 233 put it in writing.
Blue Valley Superintendent Tonya Merrigan and Olathe Superintendent Brent Yeager noted that allowing non-resident students to enroll through open enrollment would attract undesirable students.
“… we are certain to get a rush of special education students, (emphasis in original) as we already get inquiries almost daily from non-resident parents trying to enroll as both of our districts have a reputation of offering superior special education services.”
The districts went on to note that housing costs in the wealthy area help keep their districts performing at a high level.
“While we can certainly empathize with parents in lower-performing districts, both Blue Valley and Olathe are among the highest-performing districts in Kansas – indeed competing nationally – and, as such, would find our districts overwhelmed with requests from non-residents. Without intending to sound elitist, it is nonetheless true that housing costs in our districts often provide a check on resident student growth now.”
Now, Blue Valley and Olathe are setting aside seats to allow for 25% internal enrollment growth even though their enrollment history doesn’t support their position.
Shawnee County superintendents address their Open Enrollment decisions
Topeka Seaman USD 345 has 188 slots available. Brad Willson is Superintendent:
“Our capacity is determined slightly differently at secondary than elementary, but in both cases we determine our current enrollment and subtract it from our maximum class/course/program size. We have added a small cushion in each section (3 students at elementary and 2 at secondary) for growth due to in-district (resident) move-ins. From those calculations, we have determined the capacities at each grade-level and school as posted in this link .
“We currently serve roughly 300 nonresident students, so this policy has not caused much of a change in our procedures. We don’t reach out to nonresident students as we think this should be a decision made by and initiated by the families. Most families are well served in their district of residence and we do not intend to try to encourage those families to switch districts.”
Shawnee Heights USD 450 has determined it has no openings for the upcoming school year. Communications Director Tiffanie Kinsch explains why:
“USD 450 has a long tradition of accepting out-of-district students when and where we have had the capacity to do so. Over the last few years, we have gradually reduced the number of out-of-district students we accept due to our growing in-district population and reaching capacity limits in classes and programs throughout the district. This decision reflects our commitment to maintaining the high standards of education and support that all our students and families deserve.
“Our projections indicate an anticipated in-district growth of 1-2% annually, underscoring the importance of focusing our resources on the students we currently serve. As always, we will continually monitor our enrollment and capacity as we revisit this decision each year.”
At Topeka USD 501, enrollment is down nearly 1,300 from its peak, but the district is offering only 218 Open Enrollment slots. We asked Kylie Fleck-Talley, Communications Coordinator how that figure was determined:
“The new Kansas Law (KSA 72-3123) sets forth the criteria school districts are required to use in determining capacity in each school building, including the classroom student-teacher ratio in each grade K through 8 and, for high school students, the student-teacher ratio in each grade, plus the programs offered, including advanced placement or international baccalaureate programs.
“Based on this guidance, the Topeka Public Schools Department of Assessment & Demographics determined the number of slots available for incoming out-of-district students based on staff-to-student ratios at each school and the number of students projected to enroll in 2024-2025.
“Our website (topekapublicschools.net) lists the detailed capacity matrix per school and grade level under the non-resident open enrollment capacity link on our homepage.”
Scott McWilliams is the Superintendent of Auburn-Washburn USD 437, where no out-of-district slots will be available in the fall. He says overcrowding is an issue at his school:
“First, I want to clarify that student enrollment in the Auburn-Washburn School District has not decreased by 370 students compared to the previous school year.
“Second, I want to highlight a prevalent theme that emerged from our latest strategic planning listening tour within our school community. The predominant concern expressed by students, staff, parents, and patrons was the issue of overcrowding in our schools. In response to this feedback, we are reconfiguring our K-8 model in two considerable ways – by transitioning sixth-grade students from the elementary level to the middle level and by constructing a second middle school to alleviate the strain on our existing middle school, which currently accommodates nearly 1,000 seventh- and eighth-grade students. This strategic move will enhance our ability to cater to the needs of students at both elementary and middle levels. Until construction of the second middle school is finalized, our schools will likely continue to operate at full capacity.
“Third, we are in the process of adding a 50,000+ sq. ft. addition to our high school to alleviate space constraints there. Student enrollment at Washburn Rural High School continues to hover around 1,900 students and that number will increase over the next several years due to a large cohort of students entering high school.”
The Sentinel did not say the 370-student decline was from the previous year but from peak enrollment.
We did not get a response from the Silver Lake School District.
