MUKILTEO — A dozen Mukilteo School District campuses will close enrollment to out-of-district students next fall because of growing enrollment and overcrowded classrooms.
That’s twice as many as this year.
It’s the fifth straight year that Mukilteo has placed restrictions on admission to students who live outside the school district.
Many of the Mukilteo schools would not be full if it weren’t for provisions in the federal No Child Left Behind law, said Andy Muntz, a school district spokesman.
The law gives families options if the school near them fails to meet requirements.
Under the law, schools and districts are judged on their overall reading and math test scores and on how specific groups of students perform. A percentage of students classified as low-income, English-language learners, special education, or members of five different races or ethnicities must pass the WASL in order for schools to make adequate yearly progress.
In Mukilteo, more than 150 students from five elementary schools transferred to three higher-performing schools because schools fell short of federal requirements.
“The old idea of a service attendance boundary is in a lot of respects an old notion, especially with No Child Left Behind,” Muntz said. “Kids can pretty much go where they want to go.”
All public schools are required by state law to accept the admission of all students, even those who live outside its boundaries, Muntz said. Schools can deny admission only if a student has had behavior or attendance issues at a previous school or if admitting the student will cause the school district financial hardship, such as adding to an already-overcrowded school.
Each year, Mukilteo analyzes enrollment forecasts and building capacities from its approved Capital Facilities Plan to determine which of its schools will not have enough room available the following fall. The enrollment restrictions were placed on schools where the projected enrollment for the 2009-10 school year exceeds the capacity of the building.
Schools closed to out-of-district students next year are: Kamiak High School, Olympic View Middle School, Voyager Middle School, Challenger Elementary, Columbia Elementary, Discovery Elementary, Endeavour Elementary, Horizon Elementary, Mukilteo Elementary, Odyssey Elementary, Olivia Park Elementary and Picnic Point Elementary.
Out-of-district students already enrolled in any of the 12 schools can continue to attend that school, but the restriction does mean that some out-of-district students currently attending a Mukilteo elementary school may not be able to move up to middle school with their current classmates.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.
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