The Coeur d'Alene School Board unanimously voted to approve the Grandfathering of Students 2020 Transition Plan during a video conference board meeting Monday evening.

Two 4-0 votes (Chairman Casey Morrisroe was not present) moved to go forward with the plan, with board suggestions that were incorporated following the March 18 board workshop and with regard to a request from the public regarding the reapplication process.

"Grandfathering" is a process by which a student who meets specific criteria may be exempt from attending his/her new attendance zone school once the school boundary changes go into effect this fall. District officials recognize some students may want to remain at the school where they are currently enrolled. Certain students will be eligible to be grandfathered, or exempted from the attendance zone changes, according to the priorities established by the district and described in this plan.

"Grandfathering is a one-time exception because of the boundary changes," Superintendent Steve Cook said during the meeting. "Ultimately, even after that point, just this one year, we’re still looking at open enrollment being the guiding documentation for every student that wants to go to some other school than where they’re currently zoned, so we're trying to connect those two for this one year where grandfathering and open enrollment would run parallel. And it shouldn't be much of a problem, I think we’ve been able to manage that and can continue to manage that in a reasonable fashion for our families.”

The procedures for grandfathering will mirror the district's open enrollment policy, which requires parents or guardians to apply if they wish for their student to attend a school that is not considered the "home-zoned" school. It is a state law that students who wish to open enroll reapply every year.

"Grandfathering and open enrollment means that we would have to recognize that (application process) needs to take place when it comes time," Cook said. "We would recommend approval on this and then we’ll make sure that our procedures are done in a way that it’s not obtrusive to students as they try to seek that continued four-year experience at the high school level.”

Cook said when the board passed enrollment qualifications a couple months ago, "We took a significant change to our policies about where you’re going to be assigned, and that is that you always have the authority to attend your home-zoned school.”

“By doing that, it changes the prioritization," he explained. "We were kind of living by de facto ‘once you’re in you’re always in’ across the district, and that’s not going to be the case any longer. The priority will remain with the students that live in the zone, and so we’re already talking about, ‘How does that administer differently at the building level?' and what those moves will have to be, whether we’re talking about grandfathering or open enrollment. So that enrollment qualification is established as the No. 1 priority. If you live in a zone and you want to go to school in that zone, you always have that right.”

Priority Level 1:

• All students currently enrolled at a magnet school will be approved to continue enrollment at that magnet school.

• All students currently enrolled at Northwest Expedition Academy (NExA) who do not reside in the new attendance zone for NExA for the 2020-21 school year will be approved to continue enrollment at NExA.

• Students of district staff members will be approved to continue at their current enrolled school.

Priority Level 2:

• Students previously required to transfer out of their attendance zone due to lack of space.

• Incoming fifth-grade students impacted by the zone changes, and their currently enrolled siblings (kindergarten through grade four) for the 2020-21 school year only.

Priority Level 3:

• Incoming kindergarten students who would lose access to full-day, tuition-free kindergarten as a result of being placed in a new attendance zone.

Visit www.cdaschools.org and click on the school board's April 6 meeting packet for full details of the plan.