Elementary Attendance Area Adjustments

The district has not completed a comprehensive review of elementary attendance areas since 1995, and our community has changed a lot since then. Today, there are significant disparities in enrollment, which impacts the opportunities and services available to students. As we work to relieve overcrowding in some schools, we are rebalancing enrollments across the district to ensure that all students have equitable access to opportunities and supports.

If a family wishes for their child to stay at their current school, they would need to apply through the Intradistrict Transfer process.

Zone 1: Rosemount Elementary and Red Pine Elementary: Based on past practice, we do not offer transportation for students to remain at their current school during a transition to a new school opening in the district. 

Zone 2: East Lake Elementary, Shannon Park Elementary, Highland Elementary, Diamond Path Elementary: If a family wishes for their child to stay at their current school, they would need to apply through the Intradistrict Transfer process.

Zone 1: Rosemount Elementary and Red Pine Elementary: The purpose of the attendance area changes is to relieve overcrowding. We expect all students zoned to change schools to attend their new school. Any family may apply for to attend a school outside their attendance area through the Intradistrict Transfer process. Applications are due December 15. Acceptance will depend on available space. Please note that transportation will not be provided.

Zone 2: East Lake, Diamond Path, Shannon Park and Highland: We are proposing a transition plan for our current 3rd and 4th graders who will be 4th and 5th grade next year to allow them to stay at their existing schools if they wish to do so. This plan would impact zone 2 only, where there are students who are moving from an existing school to another existing school. 

Current 3rd and 4th graders: These students may either move to their new attendance-area elementary school or stay at their current school until they finish 5th grade. Transportation will be provided in both cases. The Intradistrict Transfer process needs to be completed in this instance. 

• Sibling preference: This option extends to other grades as well. For example, a current 2nd grader with a sibling in 4th grade can remain at their current elementary school until their sibling moves on. Transportation will only be provided for the sibling through the 2026-2027 school year. The Intradistrict Transfer process needs to be completed in this instance. 
   

• Current 5th graders: These students will attend their assigned middle school in 2025. 

One middle school attendance area, zoned for Scott Highlands Middle School, will move to Rosemount Middle School for incoming students next year; there will be no other change for current middle school students. Students who have already started middle school at Scott Highlands Middle School will continue and finish middle school at Scott Highlands. 

There are students attending East Lake Elementary whose neighborhood will be moving to Shannon Park Elementary; 100% of the Shannon Park Elementary attendance area feeds into Rosemount Middle School.

This applies to homes on 155th Street West (the boundary is the backyards), goes through Jaycee Park, and includes Danbury Avenue West homes north of the access to Jaycee Park. Check your address using our look-up tool.

There are no changes to high school attendance areas.

No. Current middle school students (grades 6-7) will stay at their currently assigned schools. There is one small change in the middle school attendance area, which will apply to future enrollments (current 5th-grade students and younger). Any middle school family who wants to change schools should participate in the district’s intra-district transfer process, which opens on October 7.

Open enrollment: The Minnesota Statewide Enrollment Options program allows students to attend a public school outside their resident district. The family is responsible for transportation. The state deadline for open enrollment applications is January 15 each year. By law, once a student enrolls through open enrollment, they have a right to continue in the district through graduation (as long as they maintain continuous enrollment).

Intradistrict transfers allow students to attend a school outside their designated attendance area within District 196. The family is responsible for transportation; no bus service is provided. Intradistrict Transfer applications are due by December 15 each year.

As students move, staffing allocations will also need to be adjusted. A special internal staffing process will begin in January, consistent with past practice when East Lake opened and when secondary attendance areas were adjusted. We value our employees. We will work within the current contractual language to make an orderly transition for the 2025-26 school year.

Diamond Path Elementary will maintain its curricular focus as an International Studies School. Moving away from the magnet program means Diamond Path will have a defined neighborhood attendance area and only transport within that attendance area. Families from beyond the neighborhood attendance area who wish to enroll in Diamond Path may participate in the district’s intra-district transfer process, which opens on October 7. Transportation would be the family's responsibility.

Any district family may apply to attend any school outside of their attendance area through the district’s Intradistrict Transfer process. Acceptance is based on space availability. Transportation, in this instance, would be the family's responsibility.

To alleviate overcrowding and balance enrollments, we encourage neighborhoods to move together to the new school for their attendance area. There are some exceptions for students moving from an existing school to another existing school (not the new elementary school).

• Current 3rd and 4th-grade students attending East Lake, Diamond Path, and Highland may remain in their existing school with transportation through June 2027. Please complete an Intradistrict Transfer form by Dec. 15 if you choose this option.
   

• Siblings of current 3rd and 4th-grade students attending East Lake, Diamond Path, and Highland may apply to remain at their school through the Intradistrict Transfer process. Acceptance will be on space availability. Transportation will only be provided for two years; transportation will cease after June 2027.

Currently, we plan for 21.25 students per classroom in grades K-2 and 28.25 students per classroom in grades 3-5. When schools are overcrowded or under enrolled, class sizes may grow.

The new elementary school will be a late-start school; the day runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3:50 pm. 

An intradistrict transfer student may ride a District 196 school bus if space is available on the bus for an existing route. Once approved, the agreement will remain in effect for the duration of the student’s time at the specified school and bus stop.

The following conditions must be true:

• Complete a request for Transportation form; wait for approval.
• The student must use an existing bus stop on an existing direct route.
• There is available, unassigned space on the bus.
  
   

Intradistrict transfer students 
Students who reside within District 196 and wish to attend a school outside of their designated attendance area must complete an intradistrict transfer form one-time for each school level  (elementary, middle, or high school). Once approved for intradistrict transfer, the student can remain at the school until their grade-level transitions (end of 5th, 8th, or 12th grade). 

Open Enrollment students (Inter-district)
Students who reside outside of District 196 and wish to attend a District 196 school may apply through the General Statewide Enrollment Options Application. Once approved, through the statewide enrollment options program the student is allowed to stay in the district through grade 12; however, school placement when transitioning between levels (e.g., elementary to middle or middle to high school) will depend on space availability.

Daycare transfer student 
A District 196 elementary school student (grades K-5) transferring from one District 196 elementary school to another and seeking transportation from a daycare location within the elementary school's attendance area must complete both the intradistrict student transfer application and the daycare transfer application each year to qualify for transportation services from the daycare.

Non-residents using daycare within the district must complete a one-time per level open enrollment application, as well as an annual student transfer daycare application.

Once an intradistrict transfer form is submitted, the Student Information team will review it and provide a response after December 15. If you would like to confirm that your form has been received or have any questions, feel free to call Student Information directly at 651-423-7644. They’ll be happy to assist you!