Frequently Asked Questions


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Why do school attendance areas (boundaries) change?

Who determines the boundary process?

What School Board policy and regulation guide the conduct and implementation of a boundary study?

What authorizes the School Board to conduct and implement boundary studies and changes to attendance areas?

What are the steps of the boundary process?

What is the time line for the boundary process?

When do boundary decisions become effective?

How can parents, guardians and community members give input?

How can parents, guardians, and interested citizens find out about scheduled community meetings?

Where are community meetings held?

Who facilitates the process to record citizen input?

Who develops possible boundary scenarios for public response?

Who should I call with questions about the boundary process?

Why would the School Board plan a building addition instead of initiating a boundary study?

How many town meetings occur during a boundary study and what has the School Board done to enhance citizen participation in this issue?

Why do some schools become over enrolled and others become under populated?

Why is there no public input when establishing the scope of a boundary study?

Question: Why do school attendance areas (boundaries) change?

Answer: School attendance areas (commonly referred to as boundaries) change as a result of the opening of a new school, significant over or under enrollment of an existing school, program location requirement changes or school closing. Generally, a boundary adjustment for a school would only be considered after it has been determined that other capacity accommodations such as trailers, modular additions, or program adjustments are not appropriate.

Question: Who determines the boundary process?

Answer: The Fairfax County School Board’s policy and regulation outlines the steps used to establish boundaries for school attendance areas.

Question: What School Board policy and regulation guide the conduct and implementation of a boundary study?

Answer: Policy 8130 and Regulation 8130. (pdf)

Question: What authorizes the School Board to conduct and implement boundary studies and changes to attendance areas?

Answer: The School Board is empowered by the Code of Virginia: Section 22.1-79 (4) to undertake boundary studies as one of many School Board functions related to maintaining and furthering the quality of education that Fairfax County Public Schools provide. School Board policy and regulation ensures full public access to the process, encourages participation, and strongly considers public comment in the decision making process.

Question: What are the steps of the boundary process?

Answer: Regulation 8130.5 provides for a series of community “town meetings” where parents and community members are invited to work with Fairfax County Public Schools' staff to identify goals, considerations, and areas for reassignment. Each meeting consists of a “general session” where a presentation and information is shared. This is followed by the “small group” work sessions. During these sessions the audience is divided into groups of about 20 to 25 community members who, working with a trained facilitator, identify issues and evaluate scenarios.

Question: What is the time line for the boundary process?

Answer: The time line, per Regulation 8130.5, is as follows: 1) Community Meetings –October through December; 2) Presentation to School Board – January; 3) Public Hearings – February; and 4) Final vote by School Board – February/March.

Question: When do boundary decisions become effective?

Answer: Changes are generally implemented at the beginning of the school year following the vote by the School Board.

Question: How can parents, guardians and community members give input?

Answer: All parties can attend community meetings, speak at public hearings and address the School Board members via letters and emails.

Question: How can parents, guardians, and interested citizens find out about scheduled community meetings?

Answer: Notification identifying the meeting dates is distributed directly to parents/guardians from the school their children attend. Meeting dates are posted on the Office of Facilities Planning Services webpage: http://www.fcps.edu/fts/bndry.htm; local newspapers; FCPS Channel 21 and Keep in Touch announcements.

Question: Where are community meetings held?

Answer: Meetings are held in schools centrally located in the affected areas.

Question: Who facilitates the process to record citizen input?

Answer: The Office of Educational Planning under the Department of Accountability provides trained facilitators to record citizen input and comments. This information provides the basis for various scenarios that staff uses to develop potential attendance areas.

Question: Who develops possible boundary scenarios for public response?

Answer: The Office of Facilities Planning Services, using community input, develops possible boundary scenarios. Each scenario includes data reflecting current and projected student enrollment and demographics of affected schools.

Question: Who should I call with questions about the boundary process?

Answer: Questions can be directed to the Office of Facilities Planning Services at 703-246-6930 or emailed to boundaries@fcps.edu.

Question: Why would the School Board plan a building addition instead of initiating a boundary study?

Answer: The surrounding schools may not have sufficient capacity to provide the needed relief for an over-crowded school, which would require an addition to the school, modular classrooms, or the placement of classroom trailers as the options.

An addition would also make sense if the school is small in comparison to other existing schools of equal grades. Smaller schools may also lack many of the resource rooms, technical and support areas available in new or recently renovated schools.

Question: How many town meetings occur during a boundary study and what has the School Board done to enhance citizen participation in this issue?

Answer: Depending upon the complexity of the boundary study, there may be one to three town meetings. Typically, there are at least two meetings for a boundary study. School Board Policy and Regulation 8130.5 provides the guidance for the conduct and content of town meetings. The town meetings are structured to provide opportunities for all citizens participating in the town meeting process. After each town meeting’s general session, citizens are randomly assigned a classroom with 20-25 other community members; a trained facilitator is provided to ensure that all view points are expressed and objectively recorded. Comments from each town meeting’s small group sessions are transcribed and posted on the FCPS boundary web site. Subsequent boundary proposal scenarios are presented based on comments from citizens. Staff prepares a final recommendation to the School Board, and a public hearing is conducted giving citizens an opportunity to express their comments to the School Board.

Question: Why do some schools become over enrolled and others become under populated?

Answer: Enrollment increases or decreases in schools are dependent on many factors.

Among them are economic conditions, such as the price of fuel and the cost of housing, the number and type of new housing units developed and the existing housing stock, the mobility of persons occupying housing, the marital status and the relative ages of heads of households and ages of school-aged children, income levels, and family preferences by race and ethnicity. Other factors could include specific academic school programs offered or special needs programs available.

Question: Why is there no public input when establishing the scope of a boundary study?

Answer: The State Code requires a School Board to conduct a public hearing before acting on a student reassignment plan (boundary change); it does not require a public hearing to determine what schools should be studied for potential boundary adjustments. The staff recommendations and School Board discussions, regarding the scope of the study, take place during regularly scheduled School Board work sessions which are open to the public. The staff recommendations presented at that work session are also available on the FCPS web site before the work session commences.