As Columbia Public Schools prepares for next year’s attendance area changes, it is finalizing guidelines to offer exceptions for rising fifth and eighth graders.
Two phases of attendance area changes, approved by the Columbia School Board in July, will move students before next school year to accommodate for a new wing at Battle Elementary School and the new elementary school in southwest Columbia, set to open in 2026.
These changes will affect students at the elementary and middle school levels.
Under the proposed guidelines, rising fifth and eighth graders affected by the changes would be given an option to finish elementary or middle school where they currently attend. If they choose to do this, their siblings can also remain at the school for the 2025-26 school year.
After students advance to middle or high school, they will be expected to attend the school in their new attendance boundary.
The exceptions aim to help students transition to middle and high school more smoothly. The School Board reviewed the guidelines at a meeting Thursday and will vote on them in December.
The board plans to notify families about the guidelines in February, after which they will have three weeks to decide if they want to take the exception. The board will send weekly reminders until the window is closed.
Families choosing the exception will not be provided district transportation. Board member Paul Harper noted that this may differ for some students with disabilities, depending on whether transportation is included in their Individualized Education Plan.
“If a family chose to say, ‘I have a rising fifth grader, but my student has a disability and I want to stay here,’ but their services could be provided at the new building, they would not get transportation to stay,” district spokesperson Michelle Baumstark said.
Families who choose the exception would need to turn in an attendance area exception form through the district’s website or the school’s main office.
Naming the new elementary school
The board also approved members of a naming committee for the new elementary school Thursday.
Out of 45 applications, members were randomly selected to join the committee, which will include four parents, two community members and a student representative from the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council. District chief operations officer Lazell Ofield and John Warner Middle School principal Taylor Drennan will serve as co-chairs.
Name suggestions for the elementary school will open on the district’s website Friday. The board plans to review suggestions at its Jan. 23 meeting and vote on a name in February.
There will be a separate process for selecting the school’s mascot and colors, which will involve student input.
