HAR §8-13-7. Application procedure

(a) The geographic exception process commences in January for the following school year. Applications for exceptions shall be submitted between January 1 and March 1 to facilitate a decision before the end of the school year. However, applications shall be accepted at other time periods whenever unforeseen circumstances arise, for example, transferring into the school system and opting to pursue a program of study offered in another geographic area. (b) The applicant shall initiate and complete action for a geographic exception by: (1) Obtaining the application form from any public school; (2) Explaining on the form the reasons for the geographic exception and attaching substantiating documentation; and (3) Submitting the completed, signed form to the home or receiving school. (c) Priority consideration for a geographic exception shall be given to applicants requesting an exception because of any of the following reasons: (1) Authorized physical residence in the receiving school's geographic attendance area; (2) Program of study of the receiving school that is not available at the home school; (3) Siblings of students currently enrolled in the receiving school who will continue to be enrolled in the coming school year; or (4) Children of staff at the receiving school. The reasons for priority consideration are not ranked and each shall be given equal consideration. An exceptional student may apply for a geographic exception, including priority consideration, as long as the receiving school is capable of providing reasonable accommodations for that student. All other requests for geographic exceptions shall be considered only after priority requests have been accommodated. (d) A chance selection process shall be implemented by the receiving school on a day predetermined by the department if: (1) There are more priority requests than there are spaces; or (2) All priority requests are filled and there are still spaces for some but not all remaining requests. (e) For applications received by March 1, notification of the decision for priority consideration shall be mailed no later than two weeks after March 1. The notification shall: (1) Be signed by the receiving school principal and include the effective date of the geographic exception or inclusion of the student in the chance selection process; (2) Inform the applicant that an alternative student may be selected by the principal if the student is not registered at the receiving school within ten working days from the postmarked date of mailing, unless the student is to be considered in the chance selection process; and (3) In the case of a denial, explain the reasons for denying the request and that an appeal of the denial may be filed with the district superintendent. [Eff. 09/30/83; am FEB 22, 1992] (Auth: HRS §302A-1112) (Imp: HRS §302A-1143)