Grapevine-Colleyville ISD trustees approved updates to the district’s intradistrict transfer policy, including adding a one-time elementary school transfer for students impacted by the closures of Bransford Elementary and Dove Elementary.
The board approved the updates, which take effect for the 2026-27 school year, by a 5-2 vote during the July 27 meeting, with trustees Shannon Braun and Kathy Florence-Spradley voting against.
The details
As part of the board approval, the GCISD administration can review a family's special circumstances transfer request for the 2026-27 school year, provided the family had a student impacted by the campus consolidations in kindergarten through fourth grade during the 2025-26 school year. To qualify, the request must be submitted within the 2026 transfer window, and it may be granted as long as it does not make enrollment untenable for the grade level and campus selected, according to district documents.
Once students with an approved transfer request enter middle school, they would return to the campus in their residential attendance zone.
Additionally, the updated policy will allow a one-time intradistrict transfer for students. The policy would allow families to transfer students to the feeder pattern based on the address of a grandparent rather than their residence.
Per district documents, if a family elects to send a student back to the determined feeder pattern based on the residence, the student would no longer be eligible for a future grandparent transfer.
GCISD approved several changes to the transfer policy last February, including allowing nonresident transfers into the district based on a residential address of a grandparent.
What they’re saying
Board President Dalia Begin said limiting choice within the district drives de-enrollment, and is not something that would financially benefit GCISD.
“The policy in its current state is one that I've been opposed to since its inception in 2025,” Begin said. “I believe that parents do know best what’s good for their kids. I think if we have space in our schools with the appropriate preparation to minimize any hardships on staff, we should try to accommodate those students so that they are engaged and thrive in their new school.”
Braun, who voted against the updates, had concerns about the foundation of the policy change and the precedent it could set going forward.
“The concern I have is fairness,” Braun said. "This creates a perception that the squeaky wheel is what gets the attention. When that becomes the precedent you’re setting, that’s how everything will start to go.”
