Родители в Сакраменто могут остаться без мест в начальных классах из-за жеребьевки

Sacramento parents could face lottery uncertainty over school transfers Parents at Theodore Judah Elementary in Sacramento are upset after learning their first-grade class is overenrolled, with a lottery potentially deciding if their children must transfer schools. Parents at Theodore Judah Elementary in Sacramento are grappling with uncertainty after learning their first-grade class is overenrolled, with a lottery system potentially determining if their children will need to transfer schools. Amanda and Jim Littlejohn, whose daughter just started first grade at the school three blocks from their home, said they were blindsided by an email from the principal. "We were getting excited. We went back-to-school shopping. Out of the blue, we get this email, and it was bizarre," Jim Littlejohn said. The email informed parents that the first-grade class at Theodore Judah Elementary was over capacity and asked for volunteers to transfer their children to another school. "It was like whoa, this is dramatic. It took a while to process, and I texted my wife. Don't check your email," Littlejohn said. The change to the process of what to do when a grade is overenrolled, called ConCapping, comes after California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Sacramento City Unified School District, and reached a settlement with the district earlier this year. The investigation alleged that SCUSD's previous method of handling overenrolled classes discriminated against Black, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and homeless students. The district previously transferred students based on when they enrolled but has now agreed to use a lottery system to address overenrollment. Under the new policy, parents in impacted grades are first asked to volunteer to transfer their children. If a kindergarten through sixth-grade class remains overenrolled after 15 school days, a lottery will determine which students are moved. "Let's say we volunteer. Where's the list of schools that are underenrolled? Oh! We don't have, we don't know. Then what are we even volunteering for?" Littlejohn said. The district stated that teachers can choose to accept additional students above the cap, or parents can opt to volunteer. The exact number of students impacted will not be known until the 15-day window has passed. Jim and Amanda Littlejohn said they will not volunteer to transfer their daughter but hope the situation does not come down to a lottery. "So we're in this damage control. What can we do if we get chosen?" Littlejohn said. How the lottery system works and who is exempt The first ConCap lottery includes every student in the overenrolled grade who registered at their school between the last day of the previous school year and the date of the lottery. If that first run can't select enough students, a second lottery run would include every student who registered during the third trimester of the previous school year. If a third lottery is needed, it would include every student who registered during the second trimester of the previous year. Certain exemptions apply to the lottery system. These include students with siblings at the same school, foster children, homeless students, those with disabilities, students whose parents work at the school and students who were ConCapped into or out of the current school they attended the previous year. The district has also formed a work group to review the process. The group will include staff from schools most affected by overenrollment and parents of students who have been transferred. They will analyze data on how the policy impacts students and gather community input. Public meetings are planned throughout the school year to address the issue. Parents at William Land Elementary School also received letters about a possible ConCap lottery. A viewer shared a letter with KCRA 3 from the principal at William Land Elementary School about an overenrolled first-grade class there. It's not clear how many other schools throughout SCUSD are dealing with the same issue. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel.