Enrollment Information for New Non-Resident Students

Welcome to Shawnee Heights! Thank you for your interest in enrolling in Shawnee Heights USD 450.

Check our Boundary Map to see if you live in or out of the Shawnee Heights District.

In 2022, the Kansas Legislature passed a law requiring all school districts in the state to have a policy allowing for students living outside their district boundaries to attend their schools if there is capacity to do so.

Our district has determined the capacity for non-resident students.

Per state statute (K.S.A 72-3123, 72-3124, and 72-3126), in grades K-8, capacity is determined by grade level and by school for each of our elementary and middle buildings. It can be determined by factors such as student-teacher ratios, projected enrollment trends, and maximum capacity of classrooms and other spaces in the school. In grades 9-12, capacity is determined for each high school as a whole rather than at each specific grade. The same factors, plus anticipated demand for particular courses or programming, can be used in making this determination at the high school level.

The Shawnee Heights USD 450 Board approved an Enrollment of Non-Resident Students policy, which largely mirrors state law.

Concerns about the law and the requirement to admit non-resident students should be directed to the legislators who enacted the law. Here is a list of Kansas House of Representatives members and Kansas Senate members if you would like to contact them to share thoughts, questions, or concerns. 

If you live outside the Shawnee Heights School District and want your child to attend our schools, you must submit a request to the Superintendent. Students who were previously accepted as out-of-district transfers, attended Shawnee Heights last school year, and remain in good standing do not need to reapply. These students will complete enrollment during the district’s open enrollment period along with all other returning students. Read and complete the Application for Nonresident Enrollment.

This information can be mailed or delivered to the address below:

Shawnee Heights Central Office
Nonresident Student Enrollment
4401 SE Shawnee Heights Rd.
Tecumseh, KS 66542

fax: 785-379-5810

Requests for new Non-Resident students will be determined based on capacity and a lottery system if needed. See below for more information on our current capacity.

The USD 450 Shawnee Heights Board of Education approved the following recommendations at its regular meeting on April 15th, 2024.

Recomendation: Based on the projected enrollment, expected growth factor, support programs capacity, and limitations and capacity to operate effectively, USD 450 will not have the capacity to accept new nonresident students for the 2024-2025 school year.

Our district continues to add 50 – 70 residential housing units per year. This is in an environment of high interest rates and supply chain shortages which should be a headwind to district growth. As interest rates fall and supply chains open, we anticipate district growth will accelerate. There are several housing developments in the planning stages which may bring even more district growth over the next 4-10 years. We expect a growth factor of 1% - 2% each year moving forward.