Appealing District Denials of Enrollment in Virtual Public Charter Schools

+ What is the 3% Rule?

In order to enroll in a virtual public charter school, parents or guardians must send a Notice of Intent to enroll to their local school district, meaning the school district that the student would be part of if they went to traditional public school. If 3% or more of the district has opted to switch to a school outside of the district, students must get the approval of their district to enroll elsewhere, and the district can deny the request.

+ What do I do if my request to switch to a virtual public charter school is denied by my resident school district?

You can appeal! You can mail, fax, or personally deliver a notice of appeal to the school district and the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the Oregon Department of Education. You can find the appeal form here. This must be done within 10 days of when you received the denial of enrollment from the school district. You have to include a copy of the notice of appeal. Scanning apps like Genius Scan are great for making PDF copies of printed letters.

You also have to send a copy of your notice of appeal to the school district so they know you are taking actions to appeal. These notices need to be sent within 24 hours of each other, so it’s best to send them at the same time.

In addition to filing the appeal, you should also contact your local school district directly and ask to meet with the district superintendent. In your meeting, you can explain your appeal to the superintendent of your district and put a face to your appeal. The appeal is not guaranteed to be accepted based on district timelines and denial requirements, so it can help if you talk to the superintendent face-to-face and share why virtual school is the best choice for your student. Occasionally, the superintendent will reconsider their decision based on the information you present.

+ What do I include in my notice of appeal?

1. Parent/guardian and student name with contact information
2. The name of the local school district (Bend-La Pine, Portland Public Schools, etc)
3. The name of the virtual public charter school you wish to attend
4. A copy of your original notice of intent to enroll that you sent to the school district (the first time you applied)
5. A copy of the notice of denial from the district
6. The reason for the appeal with any supporting documents that could help support your case for appeal. This is your evidence and reasoning for why you want your student to attend the virtual charter school. Make sure to include documentation if the district failed to meet the timelines or requirements of the OAR.
7. If your district denied your request because they have a similar program, include an explanation of why that program does not meet the needs of your student and how the program you applied to is different. Some examples of these reasons could be: school philosophy or mission statement, availability of one-on-one sessions, synchronous lessons, SPED programming, types of electives, student-to-teacher ratio, type of curriculum, learning platform, etc.

+ What happens after I appeal?

The Superintendent will review your appeal. The school district can file a reply to your appeal with the Superintendent. Below are the reasons a Superintendent might decide to overturn the school districts decision and allow your student to attend a virtual public school:

1. The district actually has less than 3% enrollment in virtual public schools
2. The parent/guardian did not receive a denial of enrollment within 14 days of sending the intent to enroll
3. The health and safety of the student
4. The student’s educational needs and interests
5. The availability of other online options
6. Anything else the Superintendent deems relevant. (This is why including extra documentation is important)

The Superintendent will issue a final order within 30 days of receiving the notice of appeal.

+ What if the Superintendent and ODE deny my appeal request?

If the Superintendent denies your appeal, you can contact your representative to let them know you support legislative change of the 3% rule. Send them a letter outlining your appeal using the same information as the appeal letter in What do I Include in My Notice of Appeal? You can find your representative by clicking here and entering your address.

+ How can I stay informed about proposed legislation that could affect my student’s school choice?

You can search for legislation that might affect your students by using this website. You can continue to write to your state legislature about why school choice is important for your child’s education. You can also participate in the school choice Capitol Day event to help make your voices heard in Salem.