Changes to Garland ISD school admissions policy? (Dallas, Richardson: low income, apartment)

[Vicman]

The United States Supreme Court banned race-based public school admissions. See Parents vs. Seattle: FindLaw for Legal Professionals - Case Law, Federal and State Resources, Forms, and Code

This means that Garland ISD will have to change its school admissions policy, seen here: GISD Choice of School FAQ (broken link)

Will GISD introduce attendance boundaries? Will GISD instead use socioeconomic quotas (Quotas by socioeconomic status)?

[rantanamo]

If things are like they were before they won't need attendance boundaries. Most will go to the closest school except those at the academies and those attending school close to where a parent works. The academies make it interesting as they are in the more minority heavy areas of the city, so most neighborhood kids will end up choosing schools elsewhere. So that may negate the fact a bit. Also, Garland is very diverse pretty much all over the ISD, so you simply may not see much difference in the actual makeup of each school.

[DentonPirate]

All Texas schools have gerrymandered according to race, primarily to Judge Wayne Justice's rulings in the Dallas case (can you believe 30 years of judicial oversight?). Every year there is wailing from the parents as school boundaries are juggled. Don't anticipate a change this school year - too late. However, if someone stands up to the school board and says, HEY! Bet there wil be changes. However, don't expect extreme changes as the people pushing for schools based on race will still be doing the demographics and boundaries.

[momof2dfw]

What is kind of funny is on the GISD page they state they don't have "attendance zones" per se but in fact they do. Latter down the page you will find this:

5. Do many parents/guardians choose schools other than the neighborhood school?
In reality, most parents do choose the neighborhood school. Some considerations, however, might include availability of child care before or after school or proximity to a parent’s workplace. In addition, the district might offer special incentives to choose a different school to assist with building capacity and/or ethnicity requirements, such as availability of specialized academic programs that the child needs (special education, bilingual education, English as a second language (ESL) instruction, gifted/talented education, etc.) and bus transportation. We encourage parents to call a school they are considering to make an appointment to visit. While academic standards are the same throughout the district, each individual school will have its own “personality”.
You should also be aware that, in general, bus transportation is only provided for students living two or more miles away from the nearest available school. If you should choose to enroll your child at a school farther from your home when space is available at your neighborhood school, you will have to provide transportation for your child. Transportation may be offered in selected areas where hazards such as construction zones, dangerous intersections, etc. exist that might compromise student safety. These routes are reviewed yearly.

6. What is considered a neighborhood school?
The school closest to your residence or neighborhood is considered your neighborhood school. Since all schools have limited spaces/seats, not all 1st and 2nd choices may be honored for “neighborhood” schools.

7. How does GISD determine who will be asked to make a second choice?
The district strives to preserve the “neighborhood school” concept. In cases of overcrowding, parents of students residing farthest from the campus will be asked to make a second choice.



As a parent in the GISD they DO in fact honor the school boundries and they are pretty well set and followed. I have a child in the magnet program and those even have boundries. If your gifted elementary child wants to attend the g&t school that is NOT for their zone they must get on a waiting list. Same for those that want their kids in a school that is NOT their "neighborhood" school. The kids closest in the zone get first dibs. They do follow this pretty strictly and the only way it is not followed is when a teacher that lives out of the "neighborhood" zone wants their children in the same school as them. That is allowed. I know of many cases where parents have put their kids in the "new school" that was not their neighborhood school and a couple of years later they may not be allowed to continue there if the student population surrounding the school has grown. The GISD even publishes the attendance boundries for the schools so they do in fact have "neighborhood" schools and zones. It is just that parents are given the option of picking another school IF space is available.

As for this lawsuit I don't see it having any affect on how the GISD operates.

[Vicman]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

As for this lawsuit I don't see it having any affect on how the GISD operates.

But there is this section:
"Ethnicity Bands:

In 1987, the district amended the 1970 Choice of School Plan. Now, each individual school campus must reflect the ethnic make-up of the district as a whole. Enrollment is carefully balanced at each campus to ensure that these ethnic balances are maintained. Unfortunately, this sometimes means that a child may not be able to enroll in the school closest to his/her home. If the nearest available school is more than two miles from the student’s home, transportation is provided to a district-designated school."

This will have to go away (I know that schools tend to vary by ethnicity a bit prior to the court ruling, but...). Then what will GISD put in the "ethnicity band"s place?

Also, GISD has these transportation zones here: GISD Designated Transporation Areas

These determine which schools provide transportation for given areas.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by Vicman

But there is this section:
"Ethnicity Bands:

In 1987, the district amended the 1970 Choice of School Plan. Now, each individual school campus must reflect the ethnic make-up of the district as a whole. Enrollment is carefully balanced at each campus to ensure that these ethnic balances are maintained. Unfortunately, this sometimes means that a child may not be able to enroll in the school closest to his/her home. If the nearest available school is more than two miles from the student’s home, transportation is provided to a district-designated school."

This will have to go away (I know that schools tend to vary by ethnicity a bit prior to the court ruling, but...). Then what will GISD put in the "ethnicity band"s place?

Also, GISD has these transportation zones here: GISD Designated Transporation Areas

These determine which schools provide transportation for given areas.

I don't know of one single person that has been denied acceptance into their neighborhood school based on their race.

The schools in question are ones that have the ESL or bi-lingual centers for those that need such. This is on the same level as the magnet schools in that a student must qualify to be able to participate in such. Those are not based on "race" quotas at all.

The GISD is pretty well diverse in the neighborhoods all over. To have to bus kids into one area just to even it out is not going to be neccassary at all. My neighborhood school is VERY diverse and it is all neighborhood kids in a very well to-do area. Kids outside of the attendance zone can not get into it at all no matter what color their skin is. They have a waitlist every year for people wanting their kids there. Trust me, I live here and SEE it every day when I'm at the kids schools. It is diverse and there is no need at all to worry about having to change the way things are done.

[loves2read]

any school district has "transportation zone" --they do not have to provide free bus travel for any student living w/in 2 mi of school--which means most elementary kids have to walk or have own transportation--jr high more busing and high school the most--because there are more elementary zones and fewer hs zones within a district---
in HEB--buses in elementary schools are mainly for the apartment kids that have to be transported to schools they are zoned for--sometimes to balance out the classrooms and grades, some apartment kids are not really zoned for their nearest elementary schools but might be bussed to one that is like next one over--...complicated but has allowed HEB to only build 1 new elementary and no new jr highs in the 20 years we have lived here...

[rantanamo]

agree with momo2dfw. GISD is very diverse. I really don't know what schools will be affected. Perhaps elementaries because they are smaller and more neighborhood based, but most neighborhoods are very diverse. And in the highest minority areas, you have the academies, which breed their own diversity. It would be hard to see any affect at the high school level.

[FarNorthDallas]

It will be interesting to see what the ruling does to what McKinney ISD does and to Richardson ISD's Hamilton Park Pacesetter school.

It may not impact McKinney ISD since I think they shift kids around based on low income status and not race. I think. Maybe I'm wrong on that, but they do shift kids around.

Hamilton Park is a court ordered school - state court and I guess Supreme Court trumps that. But that school may not be impacted since they refer the kids as "neighborhood kids" (it's in a very historical African American neighborhood) and "volunteers" and there can't be more neighborhood kids than volunteers in any class.