Grapevine-Colleyville ISD families will be able to request a campus transfer under a newly approved policy.
The policy, approved by the district's board Oct. 26, will open an intradistrict transfer period for enrolled GCISD students. Families will have the opportunity to request their child or children attend a campus their home address is not zoned to.
The policy is intended to give families flexibility and entice residents who may be looking to leave GCISD schools to remain within the district, Superintendent Jason Adams said.
“We’re in an environment right now where the choices are going to grow,” Adams said. “We have to be able to adapt to meet those needs.”
The GCISD board of trustees approved the transfer policy in a 5-2 vote during the Oct. 26 meeting. Trustees Shannon Braun and Kathy Florence Spradley voted against the policy.
The debate
Trustee Braun shared concerns about campus availability and families “jockeying” their students around for better sports positions.
“The thought process that we actually have a system where you’re going to be able to transfer to wherever you want to go isn’t actually real,” Braun said.
Trustee Darrell Brown spoke in support of the policy change, noting the parameters put into place with the policy and the political atmosphere of school choice.
“Choice is here and we have to adapt,” Brown said in the meeting. “Now is the time to change the policy and do the right thing for students and our community.”
The details
The ability to transfer into different district campuses will depend on the campus’s space and staffing availability. If a campus has 90% or more of its projected student capacity enrolled, then other students will not be able to transfer to the campus. The enrollment capacity is based on staffing projections by grade level.
To be eligible for the transfer process, students must meet several criteria. These include an attendance record of 90% at the time of the request and the student’s discipline history and academic record must be in good standing, according to the policy.
Students will only be allowed one transfer per school year; however, a student may return to their zoned campus at any time, pending space and availability, according to the policy. If a student returns to their zoned campus, then they are not allowed requests during the same school year.
Once assigned to a different campus, students will be able to remain at the new campus until it is time to move to another grade at a different campus. Students and their families will be required to apply for a transfer request for the next campus, if choosing not to attend their zoned school.
The transition years are:
If a transfer request is granted, then families must respond in writing to accept or decline within five business days. Failure to respond will result in forfeiture of the request.
What to expect
The transfer request windows for the 2027-28 school year are:
Primary window: Jan. 4-24
Second window: March 22-April 11
Final opportunity: June 28-July 9
Parents of transfer students will be required to provide transportation to and from school. The revised policy for the 2027-28 school year can be found here.
