The grandfathering of students is a transitional issue. In other words, it is something that will occur as we phase in the implementation of the new student assignment plan. When the plan is fully implemented, the concept of grandfathering is no longer applicable.

• Will students currently attending schools outside their attendance areas be grandfathered into those schools under this plan?
• Will the younger siblings of current students be grandfathered into the same schools attended by their older siblings?
• I know that the District will address the topic of grandfathering siblings in the transition plan. How soon will I receive this information so I can make the best choices for my students? - NEW! 10/30/09
• Are students attending pre-kindergarten classes grandfathered into the schools where those classes are held? - NEW! 10/30/09
• If a student is grandfathered to stay at a school during the transition period, and leaves that school, will they still be grandfathered into that school if they want to return to it?
• If a student’s home address changes during the school year, how does that change affect his or her grandfathered status? - NEW! 10/30/09
• Will elementary school students who are grandfathered into schools outside their attendance areas be assigned to that school’s feeder middle school—or to the middle school in their attendance area?

Yes. Students currently attending a non-attendance area school will be grandfathered into those assignments through the highest grade at that school as long as the services the student needs are available at that school—and they will not have to reapply for those seats.

Once students complete the highest grade at a school, they will be assigned to the attendance area school serving their next grade level.

The issue of grandfathering incoming kindergarten siblings is not part of the student assignment plan itself but is an implementation issue. It is the School Board’s desire to address grandfathering of incoming kindergarten students as part of a transition plan—to be developed after the approval of new attendance area boundaries—provided that it is feasible without displacing incoming attendance area kindergarten students.

I know that the District will address the topic of grandfathering siblings in the transition plan. How soon will I receive this information so I can make the best choices for my students?

After the School Board adopts the final attendance area boundaries, we will identify the grade K-4 students who do not live within the attendance area boundaries of the schools to which they will be assigned. We will contact their families to get information about whether they have any incoming kindergarteners. This information will help inform our efforts as we create the transition plan. We will make this information available before the Open Enrollment period, which occurs in March.

Are students attending pre-kindergarten classes grandfathered into the schools where those classes are held?

Students attending pre-kindergarten classes at South Shore and at Graham Hill Montessori will be grandfathered into those schools.

No. The purpose of grandfathering is to provide stability and continuity while the plan is being implemented. Once a student has left a school outside their attendance area they lose their grandfathered status. If they wish to reenter the Seattle Public Schools system, they would be assigned to their attendance area school. They could then apply to any school outside their attendance area and would be subject to the tiebreakers for that school.

For more information about tiebreakers, please click here.

If a student’s home address changes during the school year, how does that change affect his or her grandfathered status?

For currently enrolled students, changing addresses does not affect their status: they are enrolled through the highest grades of their respective schools—as long as the services they need are available at those schools.

At full implementation, students who are not currently enrolled and move to another attendance area during the school year may enroll in the new attendance area school, or may complete the school year at the current school. The student’s enrollment in the original school ends at the end of the school year, and the student would be reassigned to the attendance area school based on the new address. However, the student may apply to continue attending the current school through the regular school choice process.Standard transportation eligibility would apply.

An elementary student grandfathered into a school outside their attendance area may complete the highest grade at a school, as long as the services the student needs are available at that school. Assuming they complete the 5th grade, students would receive an initial assignment to their attendance area middle school. However, they could apply to the middle school fed by their current elementary school and be eligible for a feeder school tiebreaker to that school. Because multiple elementary schools will be served by the same middle school, it is possible that the student in this non-attendance elementary area would go to the same middle school anyway, regardless of their elementary school.

The student could also apply to another middle school outside their attendance area, or an option school, but they would be subject to that school’s tiebreakers and would not be eligible for the feeder school tiebreaker.

For more information about tiebreakers, please click here.

Comments or questions on the New Student Assignment Plan - Grandfathering?

Last Updated: October 30, 2009 Designates documents that require Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer.
Click here for instructions on how to download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Top