Tullahoma City Schools has updated its process for out-of-zone requests and out-of-district applicants for the 2023-2024 school year.
In-district kindergarten registration will begin at each elementary school with a push to get as many registered as possible from March 20-31. Kindergarten registration will continue through May 19. Registration will re-open for any new in-district students in any grade level from July 18- Aug. 1. These registrations take place at the student’s school of zone.
Beginning April 5, TCS will post the number of open spaces available for in-district out-of-zone transfer requests by school and grade. From April 19- May 19, TCS will start accepting new, in-district open enrollment applications (out-of-zone transfer requests).
It is important to note that if a student is already attending a school on a previously approved transfer request or out-of-district application, reapplying to continue attending the same school is unnecessary.
Following the open application window, if there are more requests than open spaces, a random lottery must be conducted to determine which applicants are approved for a zone exemption; this is required per state law. Applicants will be notified of their status following the close of the window process.
A waiting list will be created based on the results of the lottery. If open spaces become available, the waiting list will be used – in order – to determine the next student granted an out-of-zone transfer request. If the number of applicants is less than the number of slots for a particular school, all applicants will be granted a zone exemption.
If a family already has a sibling attending the requested school, the existing sibling will remain a student at the school for the 2023-2024 school year. According to state law, those families will get priority if a slot is available.
Standard out-of-zone exemption applications will not be accepted after May 19 because of the lottery requirements of the state law. TCS can no longer consider requests for medical or other reasons based on hardships. The Director of Schools maintains the authority to grant administrative placements on a case-by-case basis, but these will be rare and for severe situations only.
Employees may make out-of-zone transfer requests and out-of-district applications for their children beginning March 20.
On May 22, the application will open for new out-of-district student requests. Applications will be processed from May 29 – June 9. Non-resident applicants entering grades 1-12 must submit the student’s grade report and attendance and behavior records from their previous school year with the application. Should there be any remaining available spots, non-resident applications will also be accepted from July 18- Aug. 1.
Families will not have to reapply each year for all granted out-of-zone requests or out-of-district acceptance. However, students must maintain appropriate behavior, attendance, and grades, or their zone exemption/out-of-district status may be revoked.
The TCS Board of Education recently updated policy 6.204, Attendance of Non-Resident K-12 Students, which includes the timeline for tuition payments. The first half of the balance will now be due by Aug. 10, with the remaining balance due by Jan. 10.
All information regarding Out-of-Zone Transfer Requests and Out-of-District applications can be found on the TCS homepage under the Enrollment tab or by clicking here. For any additional questions, please get in touch with the TCS Director of Student Services, Dr. Shannon Duncan, at 931-222-4196 or shannon.duncan@tcsedu.net.
