There are many reasons why parents might want their children to attend school in a different school district. Sometimes a school in another district is closer to where parents work, making parenting and child care arrangements easier. Sometimes parents wish for their children to attend a school in another district that offers special programs or has a distinct emphasis in its curriculum. Sometimes parents simply want a fresh start for their child.

For parents who wish to transfer their children into or out of any Oklahoma school district for the 2007-2008 school year, the time to act is between January 1 and April 1, Putnam City officials say.

State law requires that students attend school in the district in which their custodial parents, legal guardians or others having legal custody reside. That’s why for the most part, Putnam City students go to Putnam City schools, Oklahoma City students go to Oklahoma City schools, Yukon students go to Yukon schools, and so on.

However, state law also allows families to request an "open transfer" for their children so that families may reside in one district while students attend a school in another district. By state law, open transfers must be requested between Jan. 1 and April 1 for the next school year.

In some cases, students need an open transfer to continue schooling in the same district. If students move out of a district during the school year, they may if they choose finish out the school year in the school they were attending. If they want to continue at the school during the next school year, though, they need to seek an open transfer.

Parents requesting open transfers should always begin in the school district in which they want their children to attend, says Mike Fry, director of Student Services for Putnam City. Parents who want to transfer their children into a Putnam City school from outside the district should visit Fry’s office at 5604 N.W. 41st, Suite 100, to obtain the open transfer request forms.

Not all requests for open transfers are granted by school districts that parents want their students to enter. In Putnam City, district officials review all open transfer requests, granting them only if there is space available in schools and if students have a good discipline and attendance history.

Still, when it comes to transfers between districts, open transfers are the closest thing to a sure bet. Parents who follow the provisions of the law, and whose students in kindergarten through grade 12 have acceptable discipline and attendance records, can transfer their students between districts with little problem. Official word on whether the transfer has been granted comes to parents in early June.

Fry says every year thousands of students in Oklahoma use open transfers to attend school in a district other than where they live.

"It’s clearly something in which the public has a continuing interest. Because of that, it’s important to continue to get the message out that state law designates a timeframe for requesting open transfers. That timeframe is Jan. 1 to April 1, and that’s when parents should act if they want their child to go to school in a different district the following year," Fry says.