Geographic Exceptions

Parents nowadays have more options on where to send their children to school.  While some parents send their children to neighborhood district schools assigned to them for proximity reasons; others send them to schools where they feel their children will flourish academically and imbibe values that is important in their family. In Hawaii, and in most states, school-aged children are required to attend school in the school district where they reside. Geographic Exception permits your children to attend school outside your district assignment.  This may be granted or denied after careful evaluation of the reasons on why the student is requesting for transfer.

The application for Geographic Exception is made by the parents or legal guardians of the student.  Application forms are available in any public school office.  Applications for Geographic Exception for the following school year must be submitted between January 1 and March 1, to give time for a decision to be made before the end of the present school year.  However, if there are unexpected circumstances, such as a student's immediate relocation, then applications will be accepted at other time periods.

The following is a step by step procedure on applying for Geographic Exception:

1. Obtain an application form from any public school office.
2. Fill out the forms and explain the reasons why you are requesting for transfer.
3. Gather supporting documents for your transfer request and attach these with the application forms.
4. Submit completed forms and documents to your home school (school where you are presently enrolled in) or the receiving school (school where you wish to be transferred)

Priority consideration is given to students whose program of study is available in the receiving school and not available in their home school; and whose physical residence is in the receiving school's geographic attendance area.  Consideration is also given to students whose siblings are enrolled in the receiving school and will continue to be enrolled in that school for the following school year; or if either parents of the student are employees of the receiving school.

Sometimes a "chance selection process" is done when priority applications out number available slots, or when all priority requests are filled but there are still remaining spaces for some but not for all requests. 
If an application is denied, the applicant will receive a denial notification explaining why the request was denied. In this case, an appeal can be filed, with the district superintendent of the receiving school, within ten school days after the postmarked date of the denial. The appeal can be a letter or the use of form CHP-2 (Request for Review of Denial of Priority Consideration for GE). The receiving district superintendent will then review the appeal and render a decision within ten school days after the postmarked date of the filing for appeal.

Once a Geographic Exception is granted, the student will belong to the receiving school and will remain a student of that school until another request for transfer is made and granted, or if the student graduates from the school.

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