4 AAC 31.016. Determination of attendance areas for space eligibility

(a) For purposes of calculating the number of unhoused students and the amount of square footage eligible for state school facility funding, each school district is divided into attendance areas. Annually, by February 1, the commissioner will issue a list of the department-established attendance areas within each school district. The list will be based on the criteria set out in (b) and (c) of this section.

(b) Each group of public schools in a school district that meet the following criteria will be established as a single attendance area:

(1) all schools serving students in any of the grades 9-12, and located within a single home rule, first class, or second class city; an attendance area under this paragraph includes all feeder schools, if any, for those schools;

(2) each school serving students in any of the grades 9-12, and located outside of a unified municipality or of a home rule, first class, or second class city; an attendance area under this paragraph includes all feeder schools, if any, for that school;

(3) all schools located within a unified municipality; however, a high school and all of its feeder schools within a unified municipality will be established as a separate attendance area, if the high school

(A) is located more than 13 road miles from the next nearest high school within the unified municipality; and

(B) together with all of its feeder schools has an ADM in excess of 1,000 in grades kindergarten through 12;

(4) all schools located on a military installation, if access to those schools can be limited by security measures of the installation.

(c) The commissioner will establish an attendance area in addition to those described in (b) of this section if the commissioner is satisfied that the schools in that attendance area are geographically separated from the nearest school in the attendance area established under (b) of this section in which the schools of the additional attendance area would otherwise be included.

(d) A school district may request an amendment to the attendance areas established in the annual list specified in (a) of this section. The commissioner will adjust the attendance areas if satisfied that the request is justified under the criteria set out in (b) or (c) of this section. A district request for amendment must be made in writing and received by the commissioner by March 1 following publication of the list to which an amendment is sought. The commissioner will provide notice of approval or denial of a district request under this subsection by certified mail posted on or before April 1.

(e) Except for an exceptional child transferred under AS 14.30.285 , a student who resides in one school district or attendance area but enrolls in and attends school in another school district or attendance area must be counted in the attendance area in which the student is enrolled.

(f) The enrollment calculated for correspondence study students will be excluded from use in calculating eligibility for additional square footage for facilities.

(g) Space in state-operated schools or schools operated on behalf of the state will be excluded from the attendance area in which the space is located.

(h) Once attendance areas are finalized under (d) of this section, a change in grade levels offered by a high school or feeder school must be approved by the commissioner. A request for a change in grade level must be made in writing to the commissioner before the statutory deadline for submission of capital improvement project applications for state aid under AS 14.11.011 or AS 14.11.100 in order for the change to be considered in the determination of space allocations for that year.

History: Eff. 7/13/2000, Register 155; am 12/19/2002, Register 164

Authority: AS 14.07.060

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