The adoption of House Bill 251 this year by the Georgia General Assembly provides for students to transfer within a given school system, and Fayette County School System Safety, Discipline and Athletics Coordinator C. W. Campbell said that there will be a limited number of transfer openings locally.

For the 2009-2010 school year all transfer requests must be received by the school system no later than Wednesday, July 15. The transfers pertain only to students within the school system and excludes those wanting to transfer from other systems.

Campbell said HB 251 calls for the school system to determine which schools have space available for transfers, the capacity for each school in the district to accept intra-system transfers and a list of school status classifications. Those determinations will result in either “limited status” or “closed status.”

As the label indicates, closed status schools are those that are closed for transfer requests. Limited status schools, or grade levels within them, are those where transfer requests can be considered.

Campbell said “closed status” schools include those that are already full or not staffed to handle any more students, adding that the state imposes guidelines on classroom size for elementary schools, while middle and high school classroom space is viewed in terms of projected enrollment compared to capacity.

Campbell said the idea of transferring from one school to another within the system is not new to Fayette County. Last year alone, a total of 1,508 elementary, middle and high school students transferred under conditions of available space. Those moves occurred between June 16 through Sept. 15.

What is new this year is the methodology for determining who can transfer. The law now calls for a lottery whereas in the past transfers were made on a first come/first serve basis, Campbell said. This year’s lottery will be held July 22 at 1:30 p.m. in Room 24 of the old East Fayette Elementary. Lottery winners will also be notified by mail or email, said Campbell.

A list of limited status and closed status schools can be found on the school system’s website. Closed status schools include Burch Elementary, Fayetteville Intermediate, Bennett’s Mill Middle, Booth Middle, Rising Starr Middle, Whitewater Middle, Fayette County High, McIntosh High and Whitewater High.

Limited status schools all have one or more grades where transfers can occur.

Campbell said that, as in years past, high school students approved for transfer will have to abide by state requirements stating that they will not be eligible to participate in varsity-level athletics for the duration of the school year.

The fly in the ointment could come with the fact that things change, including with the historic move of families into and out of communities during the summer months. Last year a total of 1,874 students enrolled in Fayette schools between June 16 and Sept. 15, Campbell said. But with the state-mandated July 22 lottery and the likelihood that even more students will move into the county by September, Campbell said that is what causes concern since it may result in the reallocation of teachers.

“Most new students come in during the two weeks prior to school starting,” Campbell said. “But the limited status numbers are based on the openings we have right now.”

For a complete run-down of the transfer process, school status classifications, administrative student transfer guidelines and the transfer application visit the school system homepage at www.fcboe.org.

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