Policy 1.04

Unitary School District

1. The School Board of Palm Beach County shall strive to maintain a unitary school system that will provide equal educational opportunity for all students without placing such burdens on the students that their ability to achieve a quality education is impaired.

2. Faculty and Staff Composition.-- It shall be the policy of this School District that principals, teachers, paraprofessionals and other employees of the District shall be employed and assigned to work locations in a non-discriminatory manner.

3. Transportation System.-- The transportation system shall be reviewed regularly to insure that the assignment of students to buses shall be on a nondiscriminatory basis. In situations where it is not feasible to provide bus transportation, the Superintendent shall recommend to the Board that custodial parents/guardians be paid mileage at the current state reimbursement rate.

4. Site Selection and School Construction.-- All school construction, school consolidation, and site selection (including the location of temporary classrooms) in the District shall be done in a manner which will maintain a unitary School District.

5. Student Transfers Into and Out of District.-- In the event the Board might grant transfers to students to attend public schools outside the District, or if it permits transfers into the District of students who live outside the District, it shall do so on a nondiscriminatory basis.

6. Intra-District Student Transfer.-- In the event the School District grants transfers to students living in the District to attend a school center other than that determined by approved attendance boundaries, such transfers shall be approved on a nondiscriminatory basis.

7. Majority to Minority Transfer Rule.-- Students attending their regularly assigned school and who are of the majority race/ethnicity/socioeconomic status (as classified by whether or not the student is eligible for free/reduced-price lunch) at that school have first priority for a transfer assignment to a school in which their race/ethnicity/socioeconomic status is in the minority, as provided by Policy 5.015(5)(g).