GILROY
– Even though federal education officials have handed down their
interpretation of a law allowing parents to move their children
into better-performing schools, Gilroy administrators are waiting
for the state to weigh in before making changes here.
GILROY – Even though federal education officials have handed down their interpretation of a law allowing parents to move their children into better-performing schools, Gilroy administrators are waiting for the state to weigh in before making changes here.
The United States Department of Education released last week Secretary Rod Paige’s summary of how schools and school districts will be impacted by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. In the document, the feds state that schools cannot deny a student the option to transfer based on a lack of space or sufficient staff at the school of choice.
On its face, the assertion seems to clear up questions the Gilroy Unified School District has regarding its own transfer policy it currently is rewriting to comply with federal law. However, GUSD administrator Dom Galu said Thursday he still needs the state Department of Education to develop a set of student transfer regulations that accommodate the federal law.
Galu said he is expecting to hear from the state “very soon.”
“This is the most complex legislation that’s come out in the last 20 years. I don’t ever remember a situation where the state is so at odds with a federal interpretation,” Galu said. “Our intent is to abide by the legislation but not get caught in a crossfire.”
Among other directives to improve student performance and school accountability, the No Child Left Behind law allows parents to move children out of their current school and into a better-performing one starting next school year.
Schools that receive federal funding and have not improved sufficiently on standardized exams two years in a row fall under the law’s jurisdiction. Only one GUSD school, Glen View Elementary, will be affected by the legislation next year.
Gilroy Unified has been operating under the impression that it would permit transfers out of Glen View and into a school that has produced better standardized test scores, if space was available at the school of choice. Last week’s interpretation from the federal government, however, puts the onus on school districts to create more space at a site even if it means needing to bring in portable classrooms or more teachers.
The interpretation is puzzling for Galu.
“If an elementary school has a capacity of 700, but it increases its enrollment by 10, 20, or 30 percent, then we’ve acted in a way that undermines our attempt to create a successful school with successful students,” Galu said.
The district plans to have its transfer policy and procedures finalized and approved by the board early this spring.
