Open Enrollment

Thank you for your interest in the North Polk Community School District! We have restricted open enrollment spots due to capacity constraints and to maintain manageable class sizes.  Please be aware that we do not offer transportation for out-of-district addresses.

Open Enrollment is the process by which a parent or guardian residing in an Iowa district may enroll their child(ren) into another Iowa school district under the terms and conditions of Iowa Code 282.18 and Iowa Administrative Code 281-17.

Senate File (HF) 2435 reinstated the March 1 deadline for open enrollment. Applications must be received for students grade 1-12 prior to March 1st in the year prior to the student’s requested start date.  Incoming Kindergarten student applications must be received prior to September 1st.  The receiving district may deny an open enrollment request if one of the following applies:

• The application violates the district’s insufficient classroom space policy,
• The district does not have the appropriate special education program,
• The application would adversely affect the district’s implementation of a court-ordered desegregation plan, or
• The student has been expelled or suspended.

If a parent/guardian moves and wishes for their student to continue at the original resident district under open enrollment (often known as the “continuation rule”), requests cannot be denied due to insufficient classroom space policies.

Open Enrollment Application

For the 2024-2025 academic year, the following enrollment guidelines will be observed with maximum class sizes:

• Kindergarten: 140 students (7 sections with 20 students per class).
• 1st Grade: 168 students (8 sections with 21 students per class).
• 2nd Grade: 154 students (7 sections with 22 students per class).
• 3rd Grade: 176 students (8 sections with 22 students per class).
• 4th Grade: 176 students (8 sections with 22 students per class).
• 5th Grade: 176 students (8 sections with 22 students per class).
• 6th Grade: 144 students (6 sections with 24 students per class).
• 7th Grade: 168 students. (7 sections at 24 per class).
• 8th Grade: 168 students. (7 sections at 24 per class).
• 9th Grade: 165 students.
• 10th Grade: 165 students.
• 11th Grade: 165 students.
• 12th Grade: 165 students.

Priority for Open Enrollment:

1. Contracted regular employees of the North Polk CSD.
2. Enrollment is accepted for members of the nuclear family who have already enrolled; however, there is no guarantee that siblings will be approved.
3. Students with the intent of permanent residence in the North Polk Community School District by November 1st of the 2023-2024 school year may qualify for priority open enrollment, provided that adequate documentation accompanies the request. The school district still has the discretion to accept or deny this "intent" of permanent residence, and granting this request does not guarantee priority for the nuclear family in the future.
4. Remaining open slots will be processed in the order of receipt after the openings are announced. An announcement of these openings will be posted on the district website on February 27th, 2024.

Special Education:
Open enrollment requests from parents of special education students into the school district will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Approval of such requests will depend on whether the school district's special education program is suitable for the student's needs and whether enrollment would exceed the maximum allowable class size.

Home School Assistance Limitation:
The home school assistance program teacher may not serve on behalf of more than 10 families or 20 children of compulsory attendance age in an academic year.