Unified School District Open Enrollment Statutes

Open enrollment allows students to select and transfer to a public school of their choosing rather than attending a public school based on where they live. It is one of the school choice policies employed most frequently in the Unites States. State open enrollment statutes and regulations typically address intra-district (within district) enrollment, inter-district (between districts) enrollment, whether the policy is voluntary or mandatory, and whether certain students should be prioritized for open enrollment programs over other students.

Open Enrollment in Kansas

Kansas has mandatory inter-district open enrollment policies but allows for districts to determine how many out-of-district students to accept.

KSA 72-13,101 pertains to inter-district open enrollment through agreements between
boards of education of any two or more unified school districts. Under this law, boards of education are permitted to enter into agreements, not to exceed five years, to provide for the attendance of students residing in one school district at a school maintained by another school district.

KSA 72-3123 also concerns inter-district open enrollment and authorizes boards of education of any school district to permit students who are not residents to enroll and attend the schools of the district.

Recent Kansas Legislation

2022 Senate Sub. for HB 2567 amended KSA 72-13,101 to prohibit school districts from charging students for attending nonresident schools and provide that the costs of providing for the attendance of a student at a nonresident district must be paid by the student’s school district of residence.

2022 Senate Sub. for HB 2567 also amended KSA 72-3123 to authorize, beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, any student eligible to attend a public school within the state to attend a school within a district regardless of whether the student is a resident of the district, if the nonresident, or receiving, district has open capacity.

Students will be able to submit an application to a nonresident school district between June 1 and June 30 each year for the fall semester. School districts must accept all student applicants if the number of applications is equal to or less than the available capacity for a grade level in the district. If the number of applications exceeds the capacity for a grade level within the district, the district will randomly select nonresident students via a lottery process. Capacity limits are determined by the district on a grade by grade level.

Priority enrollment will be given to siblings of an accepted nonresident student during the initial acceptance or at any other time the district considers application, and siblings will not be subject to the open seat lottery. In addition, any student in the custody of the Department for Children and Families who is living in the home of a nonresident student will be allowed to attend school in the receiving district.

School districts will be prohibited from charging tuition or fees to nonresident students, except for fees otherwise charged to every student enrolled and attending in the district, and from admitting or denying students based upon ethnicity, national origin, gender, income level, disabling condition, proficiency in the English language, measure of achievement, aptitude, or athletic ability. However, districts are not required to provide transportation to nonresident students.

Open Enrollment in Other States

Every state and the District of Columbia has open enrollment policies, except for Alabama, Alaska, Maryland, and North Carolina. Generally, states prioritize or give preference to resident students, returning students, siblings of enrolled students, and children of school personnel. A few states also prioritize students in foster care, students experiencing homelessness, students who qualify for free or reduced lunch, or students in low-performing schools.

States with Intra-district Open Enrollment

Currently, 27 states and the District of Columbia have policies permitting intra-district open enrollment:

• 16 states and the District of Columbia have mandatory policies;
• 8 states have voluntary policies; and
• 3 states have policies that are both mandatory and voluntary.
• States with Inter-district Open Enrollment
• Currently, 43 states have policies permitting inter-district open enrollment:
• 15 states have mandatory policies;
• 19 states have voluntary policies; and
• 9 states have policies that are both mandatory and voluntary.

States with Both Types of Open Enrollment

Currently, 24 states have policies permitting both intra-district and inter-district open enrollment.

The map below illustrates which states have open enrollment policies and whether they permit intra-district open enrollment, inter-district open enrollment, or both.