Transfers- Student, Info & FAQs

The parents and students requesting a transfer must agree to abide by the school’s standards for academic progress, attendance, discipline, and parental cooperation.

Transfers are granted for one year only and will be reviewed annually. A transfer student may not return to the home campus during that school year unless a written request to rescind the transfer is made by the parent AND both principals agree to an earlier return.

ESTABLISHED RESIDENCY PRIOR TO TRANSFER REQUEST
Elementary students new to Hutto ISD must attend their home campus for at least one grading period before requesting a transfer, although extenuating circumstances will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Hutto ISD employees are exempt from this provision.

RESIDENT STUDENTS WHO BECOME NONRESIDENTS
A resident student, who becomes a nonresident during the course of a school year, shall be permitted to continue in attendance for the remainder of the current semester provided that attendance, behavior, and academic expectations are met. To remain until the end of the school year, a transfer form (fee waived), approved by the campus principal, will need to be submitted to Hutto ISD Central Administration with the student’s nonresident address for coding purposes. 

NONRESIDENT Hutto ISD EMPLOYEES
Children of nonresident Hutto ISD employees shall be eligible to attend district schools in accordance with DEB (LOCAL) and the provisions of the policy.  Non-resident employees may enroll their children in Hutto ISD schools with no application fee charge, according to the following stipulations:

1. Hutto ISD shall assign the student to the school of the employee’s choice annually based on space availability.
2. If space is not available at the campus preferred by the employee, Hutto ISD shall assign the student to a campus with space available nearest the preferred campus. This policy shall be reviewed annually to ensure it is economically feasible to continue this practice.
3. Transfers for employee staff children are contingent upon continued employment with Hutto ISD. Should an employee terminate their employment/contract with Hutto ISD the transfer is void.

GRANDFATHERING FOR LEE MARTINEZ REZONING

Trustees approved the rezoning committee and administration’s recommendation to provide a “grandfathering” exemption allowing current 4th graders (SY 24-25) at Cottonwood Creek ES and Hutto ES to utilize the District’s transfer policies and established criteria so they may continue their 5th grade year at their current elementary school campus. Students affected by rezoning and entering the final grade-level year at their campus will have the option to stay at their current campus, if desired.

The policy approved by Trustees will also permit enrolling Pre-K and current Pre-K through 3rd grade (SY 24-25) students who are siblings of current 4th graders, to apply for a transfer request so that siblings are not split between two different elementary school campuses if they are affected by the new attendance zoning. All transfer application fees in these instances will also be waived for families.

It’s important to note, grandfathering exemptions will only be allowed for students with established residencies who are impacted by attendance rezoning in the 2025-26 school year. In addition, Hutto ISD will not provide District transportation for these transfer students to or from their residence and middle school.

Schools will be open to accept student transfers on a SPACE- AND STAFFING-AVAILABLE basis. Space availability will be evaluated in each grade level/program and transfers approved based on this evaluation. Parents should be aware that the transfer request will not be approved if additional staff or classrooms are needed to accommodate the transfer student.  Projected enrollment for the campus must be below 95% of the capacity of the campus. Other criteria that may be used on campuses that are near 95% and in high growth areas include:

• Elementary Grades K-5: The principal may approve transfers in kindergarten through grade 4 if the projected enrollment is less than or equal to a 19:1 ratio, in grade 5 that ratio is 22:1.

There are NO guarantees that children who transfer in will be able to continue at the requested campus in future school years.

It is important to consider that your child may not be able to continue in the feeder pattern of a school he/she transfers into, since every school and grade level is evaluated every year.

Example: If you have two or more children, one may be accepted as a transfer student into an open school for this year because space is available in his/her grade level. However, a sibling’s transfer may be denied because space is not available in his/her grade level.

Approval of transfer requests is subject to the student's good standing in attendance, behavior, grade and tardies, as well as program space availability.

Once the application and processing fee is received, the transfer application will be reviewed for approval/denial. The processing timeline is dependent on time of year, as well as priority of transfer. Priority levels are as follows:

• In District students with a Special Program sibling assigned to the same campus (Dual Language, Bi-Lingual, Functional Academics, Solid Roots)(Transfer fee waived upon verification for In District transfers only))
• Students of HISD employees
• Extenuating Circumstances*
• Other

NOTE:  Should there not be enough space to accept an otherwise approved transfer, HISD will use the lottery method for picking students. 

*Extenuating circumstances may include documented medical, psychological, or other special needs of students who seek to remain on a campus that they have attended for at least the previous year. The Board’s designee will investigate the petitions submitted on these grounds by consulting with the professional staff at the requested school. If campus professionals concur that there is risk of harm to the student by reassigning him/her, the request to remain will be given priority consideration.

Unfortunately, Hutto ISD will not be able to approve all student transfer requests, as noted above.  A student transfer request may be denied for the following reasons and/or for principal/superintendent designee discretion:

• No space available at the requested grade level/campus.
• The information provided on the Application form is erroneous.
• The student has a history of documented Student Code of Conduct infractions and/or commits a violation of the Student Code of Conduct, which results in an assignment to the District or Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program. These denials may not be appealed.
• Documented patterns of truancy, late arrivals, and/or late pick-ups requiring the supervision of the child by school staff. These denials may not be appealed.
• Poor academic performance.
• The principal has denied the previous year’s transfer request.
• The parent/guardian is no longer an employee of Hutto ISD.
• The educational needs of the student can be met at the zoned campus.  
• A parent does not cooperate with school staff or if they falsify information for the purpose of transfer approval.  Parent/Guardians may be punished under the Texas Penal Code, Chap. 37, Sec. 37.10 for falsified information.