Regulation-Code-JC-R

Section J - Students

Regulation Title: Student Attendance Boundaries
Regulation Code: JC-R
Lead Department: Student Placement and Enrollment

Print Version (in PDF)

Purpose: To provide guidelines for boundary changes that address the demographic, facility and educational aspects of the District for the next 5 to 10 years. The process for these changes shall include the notification and involvement of stakeholders to help improve decisions and create support for the boundary changes.

Review of Attendance Boundaries: The Superintendent shall direct a review of attendance boundaries when the District:

1. opens a new school;
2. closes, repurposes, or consolidates a school;
3. alters the capacity of a school;
4. designates a school without an attendance boundary;
5. identifies oversubscribed schools; or,
6. in other situations where a boundary change is indicated to, among other things, balance enrollment with capacity, allow a change in academic programs, meet fiscal objectives or desegregate schools.

Criteria for Drawing Attendance Boundaries: When the District creates and evaluates attendance boundaries, it shall consider the following:

• demographics (i.e., race, ethnicity, current and projected enrollment, current and project development patterns, socioeconomic status)
• targeted operating capacities
• current and planned instructional programs
• compactness of the attendance area and distance to schools
• physical barriers and subdivision/neighborhood boundaries
• effects on school desegregation
• student transportation
• feeder patterns
• previous, recent boundary changes affecting the area
• fiscal impacts

In applying these criteria, the District shall propose and evaluate various options in an effort to desegregate schools.

Superintendent's Committee: The Superintendent will establish two committees:

1. an advisory committee of staff and external professionals to guide the boundary committee by conducting a preliminary evaluation of potentially affected areas, establishing a framework for the project, and developing a range of options based on the criteria for drawing attendance boundaries set forth above; and
2. a boundary committee of staff and community members to review options and make recommendations to the Superintendent for attendance boundary changes.

Criteria for Selecting Boundary Committee Members

Committee members should meet one or more of the following criteria:

1. Be a TUSD parent
2. Represent a reasonable mix of the diversity and ethnicity of the affected communities
3. Be a staff member of one of the schools in the potentially affected areas
4. Be an interested member of the community

Roles and Responsibilities of the Boundary Committee Members

Committee members shall:

• Attend all committee meetings and public meetings hosted by the committee
• Be familiar with the framework, including:
  • scope and objectives of the project
  • roles and responsibilities of the committee
  • schedule for boundary committee and public meetings
  • community notification means and requirements
  • criteria for evaluating boundary changes
• Review background data relative to the criteria (see above) for drawing attendance boundaries, such as demographics, attendance patterns, etc.
• Become familiar with the affected areas/communities through self-directed tours and study
• Create recommendations that equitably address enrollment growth and adequately consider the criteria set forth above.
• Prepare for and hold public meetings; help to facilitate public input
• Review public meeting results and refine boundary recommendations
• Prepare a report of recommendations for the Superintendent

The District shall take notes at all Boundary Committee meetings; these with any supporting documents and any committee reports will be available for public review.

Public Meetings

The Boundary Committee will hold at least one public meeting in each potentially affected area/region at which they will discuss attendance boundary changes and engage the public in an evaluation of options

Notification
These meetings will be announced at least one week prior to the date of the meeting by press releases, notices posted at schools within the potentially affected areas, and the TUSD website. These notices shall include a referral to the TUSD website and to another district location, both of which will include the proposed boundary maps.

Conduct
At the public meeting(s), the boundary committee will present its findings and the public will have an opportunity to evaluate the options through small-group processes or surveys. The public will also be asked to submit comment cards to be included, with the results of small-group sessions or surveys, in the committee's report to the Superintendent.

Desegregation Impact Analysis

The District will prepare Desegregation Impact Analyses for any options to be presented to the Governing Board.  Before the Board takes action on a proposed boundary change, the District will post the DIA(s) to the Public Notice section of the District's Desegregation webpage.

Following Board Action

Boundary Committee Notification
Following Board action, the District will notify the Boundary Committee members of the Board's decision and disband the committee.

Public Notification
Following Board action, when all necessary approvals have been granted, parents and guardians of students residing in the areas affected by boundary changes will be informed of the decision by means of the minutes, bulk mail to addresses in student records and other school and District communications. Landowners in the affected boundaries will also be notified by bulk mail and a notice will be placed on the District's web site.

Boundary Maps and Other Notification
Within ninety (90) days of the adoption of a boundary change by the Governing Board, and when all necessary approvals have been granted, attendance boundaries will be updated, made available to the public and placed on a District website. A direct link to the School District's attendance boundaries will be sent to the Department of Real Estate and the Tucson Association of Realtors. Digital maps will be provided to the Pima County GIS Department, TUSD Transportation Department and to the GIS server accessed by Synergy programmers. A direct link or hard copy maps will be provided to Student Placement & Enrollment, Leadership Offices and affected school principals.

If the boundary changes adopted by the Governing Board affect any school built on land donated to the District within the past five (5) years, the entity which donated the land will be informed of the Board's decision.

Reviewed: January 6, 2014
Revision:   February 7, 2014 (Friday Report)
Revision:   May 31, 2023

LEGAL REF.: A.R.S. §15-341, 20 U.S.C. 9532 No Child Left Behind; 42 U.S.C. 11301, McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 2001