Inter-District Permits

Inter-District Permits are paper permits that are obtained from your resident school district. 

These permits are NOT RELATED to the District of Choice program. 

District of Choice/Open Enrollment window to apply is October 1st to December 31st of any given school year. If you miss this deadline then an Inter-District Permit is required.

Traditional inter-district permits are authorized by Education Code 46600-46607 and provide parents with the opportunity to transfer their child into Oak Park USD from their resident school district.  Unlike the District of Choice transfer this type of permit requires that the resident school district first release a student to attend school in Oak Park.  Acceptance into Oak Park is then dependent upon space availability as well as meeting the conditions stipulated in the inter-district permit.  Normally, inter-district permits are renewed every 5 years under the conditions outlined in a Transfer Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by all twenty school districts in Ventura County.  Parents may appeal the denial of a transfer into a school district to the Ventura County Board of Education.   

All inter-district permits between Oak Park and school districts outside of Ventura County (e.g., LAUSD, etc.) are handled on an individual basis. Each of the resident districts have their own policies for how the inter-district permits are processed and rules about renewals.  Parents from these districts can appeal denials to the County Board of Education where their district is located.

The following procedures must be followed when requesting an Interdistrict Transfer Permit to attend school in the Oak Park Unified School District.  (See Board Policy 5117 -   and Administrative Regulation 5117

Parent Employment-related Requests (Release from District of Residency not required): please include the following items in the application packet.

1. Proof of Employment: In order to apply for a Parent Employment-Related Transfer, one or both parents must be one of the following:

   • an employee of Oak Park Unified School District (parent must provide a recent paycheck stub and letter of verification from Oak Park Unified School District verifying employment)

   • a registered business owner with a physical business located in the District, and physically employed a minimum of 10 hours per week in a commercial space within Oak Park Unified School District boundaries 

   • “physically” employed a minimum of 10 hours per week in a commercial space within the boundaries of Oak Park Unified School District (parent must provide a recent paycheck stub and a letter from the parent/guardian’s employer verifying employment)

Please Note these Important Guidelines for an Interdistrict permit: 

1. For an interdistrict transfer request received by the district 15 or fewer calendar days before the commencement of instruction in the school year for which the transfer is sought, the district will notify the parent/guardian of its final decision within 30 calendar days from the date the request was received.

2. For an interdistrict transfer request received by the district more than 15 days before the commencement of instruction in the school year for which the interdistrict transfer is sought, the district will notify the parent/guardian of its final decision as soon as possible, but no later than 14 calendar days after the commencement of instruction in the school year for which transfer is sought.

3. The failure of a parent/guardian to meet any timelines established by the district shall be deemed an abandonment of the interdistrict transfer request. 

• Permits are available throughout the year and are approved based on available space in a grade level.

• Requires approval of release from a student's resident district.

• Oak Park USD can only review and accept/deny permits after the resident district has approved them.

• If you are not an Oak Park resident and you would like your student to attend one of the Oak Park schools, the first day you may apply for the current school year is January 1st, but only if you have a valid release from your home school district.  

Priority for interdistrict attendance shall be given to a student who has been determined by staff of either the district of residence or district of proposed enrollment to be a victim of an act of bullying, as defined in Education Code 48900(r), committed by a student of the district of residence. (Education Code 46600)

Oak Park Unified School District may approve an interdistrict attendance permit for a student for any of the following reasons when stipulated in the interdistrict agreement with the resident district:

1. To meet the child care needs of the student, only as long as he/she continues to use a child care provider within district boundaries.

2. To meet the student's special mental or physical health needs as certified by a physician, school psychologist, or other appropriate school personnel.

3. When the student has a sibling attending school in the receiving district, to avoid splitting the family's attendance.

4. To allow the student to complete a school year when his/her parents/guardians have moved out of the district during that year.

5. To allow the student to remain with a class graduating that year from an elementary, middle, or senior high school.

6. To allow a high school senior to attend the same school he/she attended as a junior, even if his/her family moved out of the district during the junior year.

7. When the parent/guardian provides written evidence that the family will be moving into the district in the immediate future and would like the student to start the year in the district.

8. When the student will be living out of the district for one year or less

9. When recommended by the school attendance review board or by county child welfare, probation, or social service agency staff in documented cases of serious home or community problems which make it inadvisable for the student to attend the school of residence

10. When there is valid interest in a particular educational program not offered in the district of residence.

11. To provide a change in school environment for reasons of personal and social adjustment.

If a student's interdistrict transfer request is denied, the Superintendent or designee shall, in writing, notify the parents/guardians of their right to appeal to the County Board of Education within 30 calendar days from the date of the final denial. (Education Code 46600.2)

All notices to parents/guardians regarding the district's decision on any request for interdistrict transfer shall conform to the translation requirements of Education Code 48985, and may be provided by regular mail, electronic format if the parent/guardian provides an email address, or by any other method normally used to communicate with parents/guardians in writing. (Education Code 46600.2)

1. Pending a decision by the two districts or an appeal by the County Board, the Superintendent or designee may provisionally admit a student who resides in another district for a period not to exceed two school months, provided the district is the district of proposed enrollment. If the decision has not been rendered by the conclusion of two school months and the districts or County Board is still operating within the prescribed timelines, the student shall not be allowed to continue attending the district school to which the student was provisionally admitted.  (Education Code 46603)

2. Students who are under consideration for expulsion or who have been expelled may not appeal interdistrict attendance denials or decisions while expulsion proceedings are pending or during the term of the expulsion.  (Education Code 46601)

3. Once a student is admitted to a school on the basis of an interdistrict attendance permit, they shall not be required to reapply for an interdistrict transfer and shall be allowed to continue to attend the school in which he/she is enrolled, unless reapplication standards are otherwise specified in the interdistrict attendance agreement.  Existing interdistrict attendance permits shall not be rescinded for students entering grade 11 or 12 in the subsequent school year.  (Education Code 46600)  

Can the District deny or revoke an interdistrict permit 

The Superintendent or designee may deny initial requests for interdistrict attendance permits due to limited district resources, overcrowding of school facilities at the relevant grade level, or other considerations that are not arbitrary.  

A permit may be revoked at any time by the district of enrollment for the following reasons:

• Student is excessively tardy or absent from school, or student is brought to school excessively early or picked up excessively late.

• Student fails to uphold appropriate behavior standards.

• Student fails to make appropriate academic efforts. 

• False or misleading information was provided on the Interdistrict Transfer Agreement and/or accompanying documentation.

• Other conditions that occur that would render continuance inadvisable.

However, once a student is admitted, the district may not deny him/her continued attendance because of overcrowded facilities at the relevant grade level.    

If a student's interdistrict transfer request is denied, the Superintendent or designee shall, in writing, notify the parents/guardians of their right to appeal to the County Board of Education within 30 calendar days from the date of the final denial. (Education Code 46600.2)

For Transfers out of Oak Park Unified School District

Parents/guardians requesting inter-district transfer of students to a school outside the District must first obtain a release from the Oak Park Unified School District.  The release should be taken to the receiving school or district, which will be responsible for notifying the parent guardian of the status of their request.

Oak Park residents who would like to use the inter-district permit process to transfer out of Oak Park into another school district can obtain the permit anytime throughtout the school year from our District Office located at 5801 East Conifer Street or call 818-735-3253. 

Contact Kara Newton and she will walk you through the process of obtaining an inter-district permit.

knewton@opusd.org. 

What to Expect:

Submit the inter-district permit form to your district of residence.

In some cases the district of residence will email the signed permit to us directly and copy you; however, as a way to make sure we receive it please email the signed copy to Kara Newton as soon as you receive it.

FORMS

• Click here for an Interdistrict Permit Application  

• Appeal Process with the Ventura County Office of Education for Interdistrict Permit Applications