Road to Redistricting: Policy Changes

At the Alexandria City School Board meeting on June 12, 2025, the School Board made adjustments to multiple policies affecting the school boundary redistricting process. amended nine policies. The following is a summary of the key changes and details on the changes are available on BoardDocs.

Student Placement, Transportation, and Redistricting Policies and Regulations - Effective June 13, 2025

JC/JCD - R - ACPS Student Placement Regulations

• Added projected building utilization to the criteria for programmatic transfers.
• Aligned K-8 programmatic transfers in policy between the two programs.
• Clarified that the sibling rule is only for elementary school.
• Added that all transfers require central office authorization.
• Revised to reflect the 2025 amendment to Va. Code § 22.1-7.2 by HB1881, which extends the scope of kinship care for active duty military.
• This regulation will be effective through June 30, 2026, when it will be replaced by the fully revised version of JC/JCD-R.

EEA - Student Transportation Services

EEAB - School Bus Scheduling and Routing

EEA-R/EEAB-R - Student Transportation Services Regulations

EEA-R2/EEAB-R2 - Requesting Transportation Services for Non-Eligible Students

• Virginia School Board Association (VSBA) model policy alignment.
• Added provisions around transportation of children in foster care (required under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act)
• Clarified that walking distance is ‘door to door.’
• Updated routing to include priorities of safety and efficiency.
• Added a new regulation for requesting transportation for students who live in walk zones.

Student Placement and Redistricting Policies and Regulations - Effective July 1, 2026

DC - Planning Factors

IHB - Class Size

IHB-R - Regulations Pertaining to Class Size

• New policy DC
  • Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA) model policy IHB (staffing standards of quality)
• Separated the concepts of class caps from staffing allocations through the budget.
• Changed small classes to reasonable class size.
• Added reasonable school capacities.
• Relocated class caps from IHB-R to IHB and revised to provide flexibility if actual enrollment differs from projected enrollment.
• Retired IHB-R.

 

JC/JCD - Student Placement

JC/JCD-R - ACPS Student Placement Regulations

• Removed capacity reassignments.
• Removed Kindergarten lotteries.
• Added building utilization to the criteria for accepting programmatic transfers. 
• Removed references to the Modified School Calendar Program.
• Clarified that the sibling rule only applies to elementary school.
  • Added an exception to the sibling rule for students who were redistricted out of a program and have received a transfer back into the program.
  • Added examples of where the sibling rule does not apply.
• Created a tiered programmatic transfer admissions process.
  • Neighborhood students.
  • Siblings of students currently enrolled in the school.
  • Other new requests.
• Added certain federal employees to the military placement exception.
• Added an appeals process.
• Added a neighborhood transfers option and process.
• Removed the provision that twelfth graders who move out of ACPS during the last semester may remain until graduation; these students may only remain if they move out during the last quarter.
• Reorganized and reworded content to improve readability.

JCE - Enrollment Changes

JCE-R - Accommodating Enrollment Changes

JCE-R2 - Redistricting Implementation

• New policy and regulations.
• Established criteria for triggering a boundary analysis.
• Established a tiered set of responses to enrollment changes.
• Established the implementation schedule and exceptions for the Fall 2026 redistricting:
  • Deferrals for certain grades.
  • A deferral request process and deadlines.
  • Ending of capacity transfers.
  • Confirmation of administrative transfers.
  • Early enrollment options.
  • Phase Two redistricting for specific study areas.
  • Process for students redistricted out of dual-language program attendance areas.

ACPS has over 400 policies and regulations that are systematically revised prior to being presented to the School Board for information. The revision process includes alignment with the associated VSBA model policy, alignment with the Code of Virginia, an equity review, a legal review, revisions by a team of staff members, a Senior Leadership Team review, and a School Board Policy Committee review. Public input on proposed revisions is taken at School Board Policy Committee meetings and regular School Board meetings.

To learn more about the school boundary redistricting process, view the final maps, or access meeting materials, visit the ACPS School Boundary Redistricting webpage.