HB 5893 Summary

• Adds enrollment priority for pupils who reside in specified geographic boundaries and meet income eligibility criteria for free or reduced-price meals, if at least 50% of public school pupils in those boundaries qualify for such meals and the school board adopts a resolution supporting this preference.

• Applies the new low-income geographic preference enrollment priority to public school academies (Section 504), urban high school academies (Section 524), and schools of excellence (Section 556).

• Requires the school board to determine that the geographic income-based preference is needed to better serve low-income and at-risk pupils within the specified geographic area.

• Maintains existing enrollment priority policies including preferences for siblings, matriculation agreement transfers, and children of employees/board members, while adding the new income-based geographic preference as an option.

• Establishes that schools using this preference must still select at least 5% of pupils through random selection when matriculation agreements are in place.