WICHITA, Kansas — School districts across Kansas will announce this week how many students they can accept as part of a new statewide open enrollment law.
Districts are required to post by Wednesday the number of open seats at each building and grade level for the 2024-25 school year. A quick look at the data shows wide ranges based on enrollment trends, building capacity and staffing levels.
The Maize district, just west of Wichita, will not accept any nonresident students this fall other than employees’ children. Maize is the fastest growing city in the state, and leaders say schools simply don't have room for out-of-district students.
“We’re not trying to be difficult here,” said Maize Superintendent Raquel Greer. “But we do have to be cognizant of what’s happening in our community and make sure we take care of the needs of our resident students first.”
A controversial state law passed in 2022 goes into effect this year and lets Kansas students attend schools outside the districts where they live, as long as there is space available. Supporters see it as a way to help families move their kids out of local schools that aren’t meeting their needs.
Some districts have begun posting the number of slots they’ll have available for out-of-district students. Here’s a sampling:
Wichita
The state’s largest district will accept up to 455 students from outside the district — 275 in elementary schools, 120 in middle schools and 60 in high schools.
However, seats are available only at certain schools and grade levels. The only middle schools accepting nonresident students are Curtis, Robinson, Stucky and Truesdell.
The complete rundown of open seats is available on the Wichita district’s website.
Andover
The Andover district, east of Wichita, plans to accept up to 344 nonresident students this fall, but none in eighth, 10th or 12th grade.
A list of open seats by school and grade level is posted on the district’s website.
Maize
Maize leaders say their schools are at or close to capacity, so they will not accept any nonresident students this fall.
Goddard
Goddard schools, west of Wichita, will accept up to 78 nonresident students — 42 in first grade, 12 in second grade, four in fourth grade and 20 in seventh grade.
Derby
The Derby district, south of Wichita, plans to accept up to 553 nonresident students this fall, but none in kindergarten or 11th grade.
A complete list of open seats by school and grade level, along with enrollment information, is posted on the district’s website.
Valley Center
The Valley Center school district, north of Wichita, plans to accept up to 13 nonresident students next school year — three at Wheatland Elementary School (one in third grade and two in second grade) and 10 in fourth grade at Valley Center Intermediate School.
Blue Valley
The Blue Valley school district in Johnson County will accept up to 86 nonresident students this fall — 46 at Aspen Grove Elementary School and 40 at Blue Valley Southwest High School
Shawnee Mission
The Shawnee Mission district in Johnson County plans to accept up to 1,074 out-of-district students, but only at certain schools and grade levels. There are more than 900 seats available at elementary schools, 34 in middle schools and 124 in high schools.
District leaders say nine Shawnee Mission schools — Belinder, Briarwood, Brookridge, Corinth, Highlands, Prairie, Tomahawk and Westwood View Elementary, along with Indian Hills Middle School — are at capacity and will be closed to nonresident students.
DeSoto
The growing DeSoto school district, west of Kansas City, will have 34 open seats districtwide.
Under the new open enrollment law, families can apply for open seats beginning June 1st. If the number of applicants exceeds the spaces available, students will be selected by lottery.
Districts are not required to provide transportation to nonresident students.
Andover Superintendent Brett White said his staff looked at enrollment projections, building capacities and student-teacher ratios, but the result was still a lot of guesswork.
“We’re going to learn a lot,” he said. “And it’s also going to be nice to be able to adjust our projections based on what we’ve learned this year.”
Shawnee Mission Superintendent Michelle Hubbard expressed frustration during a recent school board meeting about the extra work it took to develop capacity guidelines and project enrollment trends. She said her district has accepted nonresident students for decades without being required to.
"This state statute has created hours upon hours of school resources and manpower to create this report," she said. "I just think that's sad, considering we had a really great policy that was working."
Suzanne Perez reports on education for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @SuzPerezICT.
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