MILITARY DEPENDENT PLACEMENT IN MAGNET SCHOOLS
Florida Statute 1003.05 requires that dependent children of active duty military personnel be given first preference for admission to special academic programs including charter schools, magnet schools, and certain other special academic programs. Military dependent students who apply by the deadline receive first priority for their first choice school in the magnet lottery. Military dependent students who apply after the deadline are placed in a program of their choice, but the choice of school is determined by the School Choice Office. Military dependent applicants must be placed in a program even though a school may have an existing waiting list. We do not move military dependent students from one program to another after the school year has started.
OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Florida Statute 1002.38 requires that school districts must offer students who live in the attendance area of a school designated by the State of Florida as a failing school the opportunity to transfer to a higher-performing public school (i.e., a school receiving a "C" grade or better). The State defines a failing school as one that receives a State grade of "D" or "F" as measured by the FCAT and is in one of the two lowest Differentiated Accountability categories - that is, Intervene or Correct 2 status. State grade designations for schools are not known until June or July of each year. Parents should be aware that magnet schools may be offered to students eligible for the Opportunity Scholarship Program and that these placements take precedence over any waiting list that may exist for a school or program.
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR THE ACADEMIC MAGNET SCHOOLS
Students who enroll in magnet programs at Darnell-Cookman, James Weldon Johnson, Julia Landon, Kirby-Smith, LaVilla School of the Arts, Frank H. Peterson, Paxon School for Advanced Studies, A. Philip Randolph and Stanton College Preparatory must meet specified academic performance standards in order to return from one year to the next. These standards are:
| Grade 6-7 | Pass all courses |
| Grade 7-8 | Maintain an overall unweighted 2.0 grade point average, and pass all courses |
| Grade 9-10 | Maintain an overall unweighted 2.0 grade point average, and pass all courses |
| Grade 10-11 | Maintain an overall unweighted 2.0 grade point average, and pass all courses |
In addition, students at LaVilla must earn a “C” or higher in each arts area. Students who are in danger of not meeting the performance standards are placed on probation and provided additional assistance.
TRANSPORTATION
Duval County Public Schools continues to review its entire transportation system in order to improve efficiency and to reduce costs. It is possible that the level of service provided to students in 2011-2012 may change for 2012-2013. When considering school choice options, parents should be aware of possible changes in the transportation system.
UTILIZATION OF MAGNET SCHOOLS
The school district strives to have the utilization of all schools between 85% and 105% of their current capacity. The 2011-2012 utilization of each magnet school helps determine the number of new magnet openings a school may offer for the 2012-2013 magnet lottery.
LOTTERY PRIORITIES
Priorities currently used for the magnet lottery may be reviewed and the assignment of Priority 1 for students who live in the former attendance areas of dedicated magnet schools could change before the magnet lottery is conducted in April.
