jamm13dodger

We have just moved to Bee cave, Austin, TX. We are in temporary accommodation for the next 55 days but want to get the kids enrolled in their schools before the holidays.

My daughter will be fine as she will be in middle school and there is only one in this district.

For my son who is Elementary school aged our zone means he will go to Lakeway Elementary school. However we think we are likely to want to live in Lake pointe just round the corner. This is zoned for Lake Pointe Elementary school.

My question is can we enrol him in Lake pointe elementary even though we are not zoned for it. I don't really want him to get started in one school just to move him again in 6 weeks time.

Thanks for any advice, Rob.

ChocolateBabz

We were allowed to enroll our son in the elementary zoned to our new house when we were living in our apartment (different zone) but the school wanted a copy of the contract to purchase. I don't know the rules if you haven't committed to the area yet.

Lion in Winter

You need the specific information from that school district. If the school you want him to be in is within the same school district, even though another "zone" you might be able to get permission to send him to the other school where you plan to live. I would just call and ask and see what evidence they will ask to see of your plans to move. Given the time of year (nearly May) schools will be ending for the summer sooner than you might think (here it's the beginning of June ) so you might just wait to enroll him until the summer when you have your permanent address. Unless of course Texas has different term dates.

In any case, all school districts have different rules and the best bet is to just ask them.

penguinsix

The general American-English term of art for what you are asking is called "school choice" and then it gets broken down into intra-district and inter-district. Intra- means basically any school in your community, inter- means basically any school in your state. I believe Texas has some laws allowing school choice.

Here is the Austin site on school intra-school transfers. You'll see some of the schools are 'frozen' meaning they are already at capacity.

http://www.austinisd.org/parent-info...er-information

Your best bet is simply to call the school and explain your situation. As mentioned, the school year ends on June 5th which is coming pretty soon.

petitefrancaise

Looks like your school year ends on May 26th according to the calendar on the lake travis ISD website.

Speak to the school registrars - at the one your child is supposed to go to and the one you want them to go to. With only 5 weeks til the end of the year, I suspect that they might suggest you wait and register at the new school when you have an address in that school area.

Me? I'd wait and enjoy the lovely weather with my child - take them to see the new school, find out about local summer camps/ park activities.

GeoffM

Not Texas so yours could be different, but FWIW the school district in the area we're moving to were happy with escrow documents (and I note rental agreements would have sufficed too) even though we're not moving for another 5 weeks. In fact they actively encouraged us to apply as soon as we had escrow paperwork in case the school filled up and we'd have to take DS to a different school. Seeing as the local school is two blocks away and rated 9/10 (best in the district), that was enough incentive for us to do so!

Weeze

A friend has enrolled her daughter in three different elementary Kindergarden classes. She is in temporary accommodation and is looking at houses in three different school zones. She explained the situation to the registar and will confirm in August which place they want. She had fun on the registration day getting round all three schools in their time slots!

MarylandNed

If you are in temporary accommodation for the next 55 days, then the school year finishes during that period. It finishes June 5th according to this:

https://www.austinisd.org/sites/defa...013_2014v2.pdf

Policies vary between different school districts so you need to check with the school. If you can't prove that you will be moving to another address, they will most likely place your son in Lakeway ES until the semester ends since you will be living in that school's catchment area. After you move, you can enroll him in his new school for the start of the 2014/15 school year.

LJSassy

When we moved to Katy, Texas, the school district was very strict. We had to provide evidence (i.e. rental agreement) that we would be living at a certain address that would then be zoned to particular schools. There was no flexibility at all.

petitefrancaise

The poster is in lake travis ISD..which is next door to ours I think. Our school district was also really, really strict about having proof of address before even beginning the registration process. If it was our school district, I wouldn't even bother trying to register at the first school since they'll all be on holiday soon anyway and I wouldn't want to have to send my kid to one school for a few weeks knowing they would be going to a different one at the end of August.

malch

As others have indicated this is very much a local issue -- you absolutely need to speak to the schools and school district concerned. Anything else is just blowing smoke.

However, you will not be shocked to learn that the better the school, the harder it will be for you to influence the situation.

I would encourage you to visit the local schools (before the summer break) and the local School District offices too. You might get lucky and find one or two people who are enthusiastic about helping you. Keep in mind these are bureaucrats so don't expect too much.

nadiarudy

We live in the area so let me know if I can help in any way. Just contact Rose De Caro, the registrar at Lake Pointe elementary - she is great and really helpful!