In-District Transfers: For Families Who Reside Within the FHPS District, But May Want to Attend a Different FHPS School Than Assigned Based On Their Residency

Procedure

Any student/parent/guardian who is a resident of Forest Hills and would like to request a transfer from the school in his/her attendance area, to a different school in the district, needs to:

1. Complete the In-District Transfer Application to begin the process. Applications are only accepted from November 1 – November 30 for current school year and May 1 – May 25 for the following year.
2. Approval of a request to transfer is based on space and services available in the requested school.
3. Requests for transfer may not be related to participation in athletics. Students who transfer between high schools after the start of ninth grade, must comply with MHSAA guidelines.
4. If a request to transfer is approved, parents agree to provide transportation.
5. Schools of Choice students are NOT eligible for in-district transfers. Specific programs that the District provides that are in addition to what is required by law, do not have to be made available to students that live outside of the attendance area or who have been enrolled under the District’s schools of choice program (e.g., Chinese Immersion program, Spanish Immersion program, environmental school).
6. Only one IDT application per student (per enrollment at Forest Hills Public Schools).

In-District Transfer (IDT) Committee

The principal or designee will contact the parent/guardian regarding their appointed meeting time.

1. The In-District Transfer (IDT) Committee (composed of an administrator from each high school, one social worker, two counselors, and one designee from the Instruction Office) will meet to determine if the request for transfer meets the criteria outlined above.
   1. The student will be afforded 15 minutes to state his/her case for the transfer request.
   2. The student may bring others (parent/guardian, medical personnel, personal counselor, etc.) to support the request.
2. If the request meets the criteria, the receiving school will determine if the current student/teacher ratio and projected enrollment will accommodate adding additional students to the school.
   1. The number of transfers may be limited based upon the capacity of the program. In situations where requests exceed capacity, transfers will be determined through a lottery process conducted at the Instruction Office.
3. The IDT Committee and the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources will make the final decision on whether or not to allow the transfer.
4. The resident school shall communicate the decision to the requesting student within five working days of the IDT Committee meeting.
5. Approved request will coincide with semester breaks.
   1. On occasions when the principal and Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources agree that an immediate transfer is in the best interest of the student, the transfer can occur immediately.

Click here to download and print a copy of this IDT policy

Further questions about the In-District Transfer process can be directed to Connie Sutherland, Pupil Accounting Specialist, at (616) 493-8826, or csutherland@fhps.net