Inter-district transfers occur when a student enrolls in a school outside of the district he or she resides in (known as the district of residence). If a student resides within the boundaries of the Santa Maria-Bonita school district but would like to attend a school in a nearby district (district of attendance), an inter-district transfer request must be submitted. These outbound requests are processed as they are received and transmitted to the district the student wishes to attend.
If a student resides outside of the district, but would like to attend a school within the Santa Maria-Bonita school district, a transfer request must be submitted to the student’s local district to first obtain permission to transfer to the Santa Maria-Bonita school district. The student’s local district will transmit the request to SMBSD for processing. The primary open enrollment window for the 2024/2025 school year begins on May 15, 2024 and runs through June 15, 2024. Processing of these requests will begin on June 17 with placement decisions occurring no later than August 28. Every effort will be made to process transfer requests prior to the start of the school year, however it is not always possible due to the need to ensure that there is available capacity for students living within the school boundaries. A secondary open enrollment window for the 2024/2025 school year begins on August 1, 2023 and runs through August 21, 2024. Applicants will be notified of the status of their request no later than August 28.
Applicants have 7 calendar days from notification of an approved boundary exception to confirm their enrollment. Failure to do so shall be deemed an abandonment of the request.
The Superintendent or designee may deny initial requests for inter-district attendance permits due to limited district resources, overcrowding of school facilities at the relevant grade level, or other considerations that are not arbitrary. Other considerations include a student's negative behavioral history, which includes attendance. However, once a student is admitted, the district may not deny him/her continued attendance because of overcrowded facilities at the relevant grade level.
Please note that inter-district attendance agreements are good for one year only and must be renewed on an annual basis. Transfers may be revoked at any time during the school year for unacceptable attendance, including excessive tardiness or supplying falsified information to the school or district.
Inter-District Transfer Acceptance Criteria
Due to a lack of available space, inbound Inter-District Boundary Exception Transfers are not being accepted except for students who meet one or more of the following criteria:
- Students who are children of district employees.
- To allow the students to complete a school year when their family has moved out of the district
during that school year.
- When the parent/guardian provides written evidence that the family will be moving into the district
within the first 30 days of the school year.
- To allow the student to remain in the district until they have completed the final grade offered in
their current grade span (i.e., TK-6, 7-8, or 9-12). (EC 46600(a)(4)).
- To allow a student with an existing Inter-District boundary exception to remain in the district.
- A student who will suffer or whose immediate family member(s) will suffer an extraordinary
hardship due to a denial of their inter-district transfer request may apply for an exemption.
Extraordinary hardship is defined as a documented severe and exceptional financial, educational,
safety, or health impact on the student or an immediate family member of the student. An exemption
for extraordinary hardship will be granted only in very rare and unique situations where there is a
profound negative impact upon a student or immediate family member that cannot be reasonably
mitigated by other means. The Superintendent or designee may require evidence that he or she
deems necessary to verify a claim of extraordinary hardship. Absent such dire
circumstances, inter-district transfers will not be granted (1) because of special characteristics of a
particular school, (2) due to child care considerations, (3) because of employment within the
district, (4) as a result of parental separation or divorce, or (5) on account of transportation issues.
An extraordinary hardship exemption shall not be granted if permitting the attendance will
adversely impact district class size or otherwise result in unacceptable cost to the district.
- Inter-District Boundary Agreement
- Acuerdo Sobre Los Linderos Entre Distritos
Inter-District Attendance Board Policy
Inter-District Attendance Administrative Regulation
Inter-District Transfer Appeals Process
All denied inter-district transfer requests are subject to an appeals process:
- The family first appeals in writing to the Santa Maria-Bonita School District Chief Business Official or designee within 15 calendar days of the transfer denial. The appeal must state in detail the grounds for appeal. No new information shall be considered outside of that which was considered by the Superintendent or designee in initially denying the inter-district transfer request. A response to the family is given in writing within 30 calendar days of receiving the appeal.
The appeal may be sent to the Chief Business Official via email at boundary-exceptions@smbsd.net or mailed to:
Attn: CBO Inter-District Transfer Appeal
Santa Maria-Bonita School District
708 S Miller St
Santa Maria, CA 93454
- Upon denial of appeal the family has the right to appeal to the Santa Barbara County Board of Education. The Santa Barbara County Education Office can be reached at 805-964-4711.
- You may appeal this decision, within 30 calendar days of the school district’s final denial. Failure to appeal within the required time is good cause for denial of an appeal. An appeal shall be accepted only upon verification by the county board's designee that appeals within the district have been exhausted.
- The county board of education shall, within 30 calendar days after the appeal is filed, determine whether the pupil should be permitted to attend in the district in which the pupil desires to attend and the applicable period of attendance.
For questions, please contact Student Housing Technician Matt Cameron at 805-361-8278 or email boundary-exceptions@smbsd.net