To disseminate the procedures used by the Board of Education for changing school boundaries.
In accordance with Board of Education Policy 0113, it is the philosophy of the Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) to make the most economical and practical use of its physical resources in the implementation of its educational programs.
The school system will periodically determine, by systemic study, the status of the current and projected use of all educational facilities and, with regard to the efficient utilization of space and the effective delivery of instruction, the reassignment of students accordingly, when necessary. These advisory guidelines address the process of changing the boundaries in geographic attendance areas. The procedures shall ensure, at a minimum, that the following factors are considered:
A. Student Enrollment Trends.
B. School Building Capacities.
C. Scheduled Capital Improvements.
D. Capacity Utilization Rates.
E. Transportation.
F. Educational Programs.
G. Financial Considerations.
H. Community Input.
The following definitions apply to these terms throughout the procedure.
A. Capacity utilization rates: the percentage of a school building being utilized that is calculated by comparing building capacity to current or projected enrollment.
B. Enrollment projections: the total number of students expected to attend a school each year on the official September 30 census.
C. Exceptionally under-enrolled: a school facility that has operated at less than 60% of capacity utilization for more than 2 consecutive school years and, as a result, should be reviewed for closure, consolidation or redistricting.
D. School building capacities: the number of students that a school facility has the physical capacity to enroll based upon a calculation using standardized class sizes.
A. The Committee shall be comprised of members appointed by the Chief Executive Officer including, but not limited to:
1. Chief Academic Officer
2. Chief Operating Officer
3. Chief of School Support and Leadership
4. Chief Financial Officer
5. Associate Superintendent for Special Education
6. Associate Superintendent for Communications
7. Chief of Staff
8. Director of Building Services
9. Director of Capital Programs
10. Director of Transportation
B. The activities of the Boundary Advisory Committee shall be coordinated by the Department of Pupil Accounting and School Boundaries.
C. The Committee shall convene, at minimum, annually to:
1. Review updated school enrollment projections and capacity utilization. They shall offer their expertise in reviewing draft boundary studies; and
2. Review and finalize boundary proposals which will be presented to the Chief Executive Officer for his/her review.
A. Proposals to change a school’s boundary will be submitted to the Chief Executive Officer from the Boundary Advisory Committee.
B. The Chief Executive Officer, upon his/her approval of the proposal, will submit the proposal to the Board of Education for approval to proceed with a public hearing.
C. Upon its review of citizen comments from the public hearing, the Board of Education may direct the Chief Executive Officer to revise the proposal. The final proposal will be approved by the Board of Education and will be implemented by the Chief Executive Officer and staff.
The following illustrative timeline serves only as a guideline for the process to change a school boundary.
December: Refine five-year enrollment projections by school by grade. January: Assess school building capacities. Assess school utilization rates.
Identify schools over capacity and also those exceptionally under-enrolled;
February: School principals and/or school system administrators may forward issues regarding school over-crowdedness or under enrollment to the Department of Pupil Accounting and School Boundaries.
February: Convene Boundary Advisory Committee.
March– June: Refine boundary proposals (including maps and data analyses) with input from the community.
July: Boundary Advisory Committee convenes to finalize boundary proposals.
August: Boundary Advisory Committee presents boundary proposals to Chief Executive Officer.
September: Upon approval, Chief Executive Officer presents boundary proposals to the Board of Education.
October: Board of Education holds public hearing regarding the boundary proposals.
November: Present final boundary plans to Board of Education for final approval.
December: Distribute to families the final school assignment for the next school year for students affected by the approved boundary changes.
A. A Minor Boundary Change means:
1. It impacts twenty (20) or fewer students;
2. It does not materially impact facility utilization and transportation requirements; and
3. It serves to correct school assignments which are obviously inconsistent with adjacent properties.
B. Minor Boundary Changes may be introduced at any time during the school year and, if approved by the Board of Education, may be implemented during the same school year.
C. The families will be notified of the proposed changes and provided an opportunity to offer written or verbal comments prior to the Board of Education’s final vote on the proposal.
D. If approved by the Board of Education, the change may be implemented during the school year in which the change was approved.
E. Provisions will be made to allow those impacted by the proposed change to complete the school year at their current school, if desired.
On an annual basis, the Educational Facilities Master Plan shall include the most recent official school building utilization rates and identify potential for balancing enrollment through boundary changes.
This Administrative Procedure originates with the Department of Pupil Accounting and School Boundaries and will be updated as needed.
This Administrative Procedure cancels and supersedes Administrative Procedure 8391, dated November 11, 2013.
October 12, 2020.
Last Revised: October 12, 2020
