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Lake Travis ISD board approves selective‑enrollment plan to fill available seats
Summary
The Lake Travis ISD board voted to approve a selective‑enrollment policy that allows limited out‑of‑district students to enroll on a rolling basis to fill available seats; the plan preserves intra‑district options, sets eligibility checks (space, grade, program), includes academic and discipline thresholds, and requires annual reapplication.
The Lake Travis Independent School District board on Monday approved a selective‑enrollment plan that will allow the district to accept a limited number of out‑of‑district students on a rolling basis to fill available seats.
Dr. Bethany Bedford, who presented the proposal, said the administration’s recommendation keeps the district’s intra‑district transfer policy unchanged while adding a targeted inter‑district pathway. "We would recommend that our intra district policy remain unchanged," she told trustees, and said the new process prioritizes campus space, grade‑level availability and special‑program capacity before advancing to academic review.
The plan sets clear eligibility checkpoints: campus space and grade availability; program capacity (special education, bilingual services, dyslexia supports and other specialized programs); attendance best practices (generally seven absences or fewer); an academic benchmark (around an 80 average or passing STAAR when applicable); and discipline limits (two referrals or fewer and no out‑of‑class placements). The administration also emphasized that the district will not provide transportation for transfer students and that University Interscholastic League rules apply to extracurricular eligibility.
Trustees pressed for operational and equity protections during a lengthy discussion. One trustee warned of limited spots in secondary school extracurriculars and cautioned that transfers could displace students seeking athletics or fine‑arts participation: "My only concern is at the secondary schools, middle school and high school specifically, and extracurriculars, athletics, fine arts, dance, where there's a limited number of spots for children to participate," the trustee said.
Board members and administration discussed rollout details including targeted marketing to neighborhoods and developers, a student‑led mascot selection to follow naming decisions, and ongoing monitoring of who enrolls and how transfer students perform. Dr. Bedford said the district will process applications as they arrive and return to waitlists when no space exists; initially, the district expects volumes to be managed slowly and to be reviewed frequently.
Trustee Rob moved to approve the 2026–27 selective‑enrollment plan; Trustee Phil seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Administration said it will begin targeted outreach and continue to return to the board with implementation details and any recommended refinements.
