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Transfer Information

Petaluma City Schools welcomes students who reside outside of our district boundaries, and also allows students who live in our district to transfer to a school outside of their neighborhood. Students who reside within a particular school zone have enrollment priority at that school, and transfer students may be enrolled based on the availability of space and acceptance of a transfer application.

Intra or Inter? What's the difference?

Intra:

Intra-district transfer is a transfer from one school to another school within the same school district.

Inter:

Inter-district transfer is a transfer from one school district to another school district.

If you need help or have questions, contact:
Student Services Secretary Jennifer Ortiz at jortiz@petk12.org or (707) 778-4605

Please note that not all addresses within Petaluma are part of the Petaluma City Elementary District. If you are unsure which elementary school district you belong to, please review our Find Your School page.

You can find more information about different types of transfers on the SCOE website by clicking the button below.

The Intra-district Transfer Form is to be submitted by the parents/guardians of students who live within Petaluma City Schools district boundaries, and are submitting registration to attend a school other than their neighborhood school. If you are submitting an application for the 2024-25 school year via SchoolMint, you do not need to complete an intradistrict transfer form. The form is embedded within the SchoolMint application. If you intend to move from one PCS school to another for the 2024-25 school year (ex: moving from Grant to McNear or from Kenilworth to Petaluma Junior) OR if you are submitting an application at any grade level for the current school year (2023-24), please complete the form below. For questions, email Jennifer Ortiz (transfers@petk12.org).

The Inter-district Transfer Form is to be submitted by the parents/guardians of students who reside outside of the Petaluma City Schools District, and are submitting registration to attend a school at one of our schools. If you are applying to a charter school, you do NOT need to complete an inter-district transfer form. All inter-district transfer forms are to be submitted to your district of residence or you can email the form to Jennifer Ortiz, (transfers@petk12.org) in the Petaluma City Schools Student Services Department. Please note that parents/guardians who work within the Petaluma City Schools District boundaries, but do not live in the district will want to complete an Employment-Related Transfer.

How to complete and return:

  1. Download and save the PDF of the appropriate form below.
  2. Fill out the form completely. You will need to sign the form so please print and sign. You can then scan the form or take a photo with your phone of each page. If you take a photo, please make sure the page fills the frame and that you have enough light so the image is not blurry.
  3. Optional: If possible, you may want to consider saving the form with the following filename convention: "Last Name-First Name-Registration".
  4. After you finish filling out the form, please email it to transfers@petk12.org or drop it off in person at 200 Douglas Street in Petaluma.

Employment-Related Transfers are for families who have at least one parent or legal guardian of the student who is physically employed within the boundaries of that school district for a minimum of 10 hours during the school week. (Ed Code 48204)

More Information

  • Interdistrict Transfer Timeline
    • November 1st: We will begin accepting Interdistrict Transfer requests.
    • February 26th: We will begin processing Interdistrict Transfer requests.
    • Please Note that we will notify families submitting a current year request of our final decision within 30 calendar days from the date it was received.
    • Please Note that we will notify families submitting a future year request of our final decision as soon as possible, but no later than 14 calendar days after the commencement of instruction in the school year for which the interdistrict transfer is sought.
    • Failure of the family to meet any timelines established by the school district shall be deemed an abandonment of the request.
  • Grounds For Approval of Interdistrict Transfer
    • When the student has been determined by staff of either the district of residence or district of proposed attendance to be a victim of an act of bullying as defined in Education Code 48900(r). Such a student shall be given priority for interdistrict attendance under any existing interdistrict attendance agreement or, in the absence of an agreement, shall be given consideration for the creation of a new permit. (Education Code 46600) (cf. 5131.2 - Bullying)
    • To meet the child care needs of the student. (Such students may be allowed to continue to attend district schools only as long as they continue to use a child care provider within district boundaries.)
    • To meet the student's special mental or physical health needs as certified by a physician, school psychologist, or other appropriate school personnel (cf. 6159 - Individualized Education)
    • When the student has siblings attending school in a receiving district, to avoid splitting the family's attendance
    • To allow a student to complete a school year when his/her parents/guardians have moved out of the district during that year
    • To allow students to remain with a class graduating that year from an elementary, junior or senior high school
    • To let seniors attend the same school they attended as juniors, even if their families moved out of the district during the junior year
    • When the parent/guardian provides written evidence that the family will be moving to the receiving district in the immediate future and would like the student to start the year in that district
    • When the student will be living out of the district only for one year or less
    • 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 (cf. 5113.1 - Chronic Absence and Truancy)
    • When there is valid interest in a particular educational program not offered in the district of residency
    • To provide a change in school environment for reasons of personal and social adjustment

    AR 5117 Students: Interdistrict Attendance

  • Grounds For Denial of Interdistrict Transfer
    1. Overcrowding within district schools, program capacity, or limited district resources.
      Students under consideration for expulsion or who have been expelled
    2. Students who are currently attending school under the terms of a Student Attendance Review Board (SARB) contract, or who are not maintaining an attendance rate of at least 90%
    3. Students who are currently not making grade-level progress (K-6), have a current cumulative GPA of less than 2.0 (7-12), or are more than 10 credits behind on-track progress toward a diploma for each year of high school enrollment (9-12).
    4. Students with suspensions for bullying, harassment, threats, violence, possession of weapons, use/possession/sales of illegal substances or alcohol or other suspendible school conduct violations

    The Superintendent or designee shall notify parents/guardians of a student who is denied interdistrict attendance regarding the process for appeal to the County Board of Education as specified in Education Code 46601 within 30 days of the denial. (cf. 5145.6 - Parental Notifications)

    AR 5117 Students: Interdistrict Attendance

  • Grounds For Revoking or Rescinding an Existing Interdistrict Transfer

    Students 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)

    Every interdistrict attendance permit shall stipulate the terms and conditions under which the permit may be revoked. (Education Code 46600)

    Grounds for revocation may include:

    1. Information on the permit, or information upon which the permit was granted, is determined to be false or fraudulent;
    2. The terms of the Interdistrict Attendance Agreement are not met; See E 5117 Students: Interdistrict Attendance
    3. The district makes a determination that the continuing presence of the student would interfere with the needs of the district, the best interests of the students, or both.
    4. The district will give ten school days' notice to parents/guardians prior to the revocation of the permit. (cf. 5144 - Discipline)

    AR 5117 Students: Interdistrict Attendance