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| Wilson and APS Announce Changes in Transfer Policy for Students in Failing Schools |
April 08, 2002 |
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Transfer deadline extended and options offered
Albuquerque, NM - Congresswoman Heather Wilson met today with APS administrators to discuss changes to the school system’s transfer policy for low-income families after Wilson raised red flags last week about the lack of choices for students in failing schools and the narrow window parents were given in which to make a decision.
Working with the school district and state and federal departments of education, Wilson today announced an extension of the deadline for parents to decide whether to transfer their students to a better performing school. Today at 4:30 p.m. was the original deadline for parents of students at failing schools to notify APS of their desire to transfer to a better performing school. Those parents will receive federal assistance with transportation costs.
APS also agreed that, once parents indicate their desire to transfer their children to other schools, they’ll also be afforded the opportunity to indicate a preference from a list of better-performing schools with vacancies.
Wilson also told APS that she and Senator Jeff Bingaman requested technical assistance from the Department of Education. Wilson spoke to Undersecretary of Education Eugene Hickok by telephone and the federal agency has agreed to provide technical assistance to APS, possibly as early as next week.
“Today, parents have options on where to send their children to school,” says Wilson. “And that option has been extended to parents who maybe couldn’t consider transferring their kids because they couldn’t afford the transportation costs. I want to thank APS for doing the right thing and making some changes.”
While implementing key portions of HR 1, the No Child Left Behind Act, APS administrators had announced to parents a very narrow window in which to decide whether to transfer their children to another school. The school system had also not told parents that they would later have an opportunity to indicate a preference in schools they would like their children to transfer to, despite the fact that students in other schools have that right under New Mexico state law. Wilson expressed her concern that denying that choice to students in failing schools while providing it to others could be discriminatory.
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