By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
The educational landscape of which schools students are allowed to attend and where they can compete in athletics is consistently being reviewed and tweaked. The Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB) recently released a revised policy regarding enrollment for nonresident students. In the future, out-of-district students will need to apply to attend specific schools and meet certain requirements.
USD 431 Hoisington Superintendent Patrick Crowdis said the new revision from KASB recommends current out-of-district students be required to apply through the new enrollment process if the Hoisington school district is over their established capacity.
"My continued interpretation is that those are our kids," said Crowdis. "They have been here and they have proven themselves. Those are our kids. My recommendation is to not change our policy that we have already looked at in draft form, except to clarify to say we will grandfather students that are nonresidents in the 2022-2023 school year...those will be grandfathered in."
Kansas law requires the board to allow nonresident students to enroll in and attend the schools of the district if the board’s capacity determination finds there are open seats.
Crowdis said the Hoisington school district had 133 out-of-district students during the 2022-2023 school year. Crowdis and school board member Don Fisher discussed eventually all nonresident students will be evaluated to see if they meet the criteria for students in good standing.
"I would hate to be a parent that watched my kids come through elementary and all way through middle school, and then the school district says 'Sorry, you can't graduate from here,'" said Fisher. "
"The way we have it written right now, any of those things that would keep them from being a student not in good standing, are all things the student and parent can control," said Crowdis.
The USD 431 school board was in favor of making the application process for nonresident students begin after the next school year. Current nonresident students would be grandfathered into the district’s enrollment. The board will take an official vote on the policy at the November meeting.