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School Boundary Redistricting Policies

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.

School Board Meetings & Work Sessions

Visit the School Boundary Redistricting Meeting Recording and Resources webpage to access the School Board Meetings and Work Sessions during the School Boundary Redistricting Process. 

Elementary & K-8 Capacity Reassignment Clusters

Cluster

School Name

Notes

A

Patrick Henry K-8 School

 

A

James K. Polk Elementary School

 

A

William Ramsay Elementary School

 

A

Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School

Modified Calendar School

B

Ferdinand T. Day Elementary School

 

B

John Adams Elementary School

Dual Language School

B

William Ramsay Elementary School

 

C

Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy

 

C

Jefferson-Houston PreK-8 IB School

 

C

Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School

 

C

Douglas MacArthur Elementary School

 

D

Charles Barret Elementary School t

 

D

Cora Kelly School for Math, Science and Technology

 

D

George Mason Elementary School

 

D

Mount Vernon Community School

Dual Language School

Clusters were developed for the following reasons:

  • To help reduce/eliminate cross-city capacity reassignments
    • This past practice significantly increased the amount time capacity-transferred students spent on the bus, impacting their overall transportation and day-to-day educational experiences
  • To be more efficient with transportation routing
    • Efficient routing reduces carbon emissions/footprint, saves on fuel costs and complements current transportation staffing
  • This is in alignment with the glossary definition of “Clusters/Capacity Reassignment Cluster noted within School Board RegulationJC-R/JCD-R

Contact Information

For additional information or questions, please contact ASK ACPS at ask@acps.k12.va.us.