Fulton County Schools reviews draft exchange-student policy; staff asked to inventory enrollments

The Fulton County Schools Board of Education on Feb. 11 discussed a draft exchange-student policy and directed staff to inventory current exchange-student enrollments at each high school and seek principals’ feedback before bringing the draft to first read.

The draft, presented by Dr. Moore during the board’s pre-work session, changes the policy title to align with GSBA coding, requires a J-1 visa from approved exchange agencies and distinguishes students here through approved exchange programs from short-term visitors. “We have changed the title of the policy to align with GSBA coding…we've done some redefining,” Dr. Moore said, describing updates that also include timelines, required documentation, enrollment and withdrawal procedures, and participation rules for school-sponsored activities.

Board members said they supported clearer language and operational detail but asked staff for more data and safeguards. Kimberly Dove, representative for District 6, asked, “can we add a link to what the j 1 visa is?” and requested clearer guidance on the district’s capacity and how cultural and language differences would be managed. Francesca Warren, District 4 representative, praised a new requirement that each high school principal name a faculty member as an exchange-student adviser and asked whether principals had been consulted about that change.

Board members reported about 10 exchange students districtwide at present, and several members raised the possibility of a per-school cap to avoid concentrating placements in a single attendance zone. Dr. Moore noted the district’s current total is low but asked whether the board wanted to set a cap anyway. Superintendent Mike Looney said exchange organizations tend to recruit in pockets and could quickly raise enrollment at a few schools: “these organizations…this is what they do for a living is placing families,” he warned.

A proposed cap of five exchange students per host high school was discussed as a possible default; board members considered an exception process that would require zone-superintendent approval for placements above the cap. Dr. Moore suggested tracking principals’ comfort with assignments and indicated the board could revisit a cap after collecting data.

Board members also discussed who handles host-family placement and district responsibilities if problems arise. Dr. Moore said approved exchange agencies handle host-family recruitment and placement, while Fulton County Schools would retain mandated-reporting obligations if staff became aware of abuse or other concerns. “We would be responsible for reporting,” Dr. Moore said, and he said the policy draft will reference the district’s mandatory-reporting policy and the district code of conduct.

The board also discussed funding treatment for exchange students. Board members were told the district receives no special funding for exchange students beyond regular funding rules, but staff reported that if an exchange student is enrolled during the district’s FTE count period at the start of the year the student would be captured in the district’s FTE (full-time-equivalent) count and thus factor into funding.

Next steps: board members asked staff to (1) determine current exchange-student counts at each school, (2) query principals about capacity and advisor workload, (3) verify placement and host-family procedures with approved agencies, and (4) return with those data and a revised draft for further discussion at the next meeting. “Sounds like we've got a plan. We're going to go and look, and see how many we currently have enrolled at each individual school… and I'm sure we'll be discussing this next month,” the board president said.

No formal motions or votes were recorded during the pre-work session on this item.