School Choice

School choice only offered under Georgia House Bill 251 for 2012-2013

As a part of the waiver from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that Georgia received in February, there will be no more Public School Choice in the state under federal law.

Instead, Georgia students will follow Georgia House Bill 251 Intra-District School Choice law in applying for transfers out of their designated attendance-zone school.

House Bill 251 has been one of the options for students to request transfers in years past along with the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and state Senate Bill 10 for special needs students.

“In Griffin-Spalding, school transfers under federal law would begin to be severely limited because 17 of 18 schools made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) this year. However, even now, there are no choice options because  all of the high schools are on the Needs Improvement list (even though they made AYP),” said Ashley McLemore, Director of Federal Programs. 

“Cowan Road Middle School was already removed from the Needs Improvement list in November so students were no longer able to apply for a transfer to Carver Road or Kennedy Road middle schools.

“However if students have transferred from Cowan Road Middle to one of these schools, they can remain until the highest grade level is reached. If they desire to remain, they will have to provide their own transportation though,” she continued.

Letters about these changes are being sent to A.Z. Kelsey Academy and Griffin High School students as well as parents of students who previously transferred to let them know they can remain at their transfer school until the highest grade level is reached, while providing their own transportation to that transfer school.

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