Appellants and their daughter reside in the Gilbert Community School District. In 1990, Appellants had filed open enrollment to the Ames District, which was approved for grades kindergarten through sixth grade. At the time this application was approved, the Board had declared insufficient classroom space at the junior high and high school level.

In September 1997, the District sent Appellants a reminder that Abigail's open enrollment application would expire at the end of the 1997-98 school year. This letter also stated there was insufficient classroom space for grades 7 through 12 and open enrollment requests would not be allowed. Abigail is halfway through the Ames District's "math in context" (MIC) curriculum. Appellants would like Abigail to continue through the 8th grade to complete her MIC program. Two expert witnesses testified for the District concerning its math program. The biggest difference between the expectations in the Ames framework and a more traditional framework is that the Ames program includes experiences with more content areas of math. A traditional program may focus on the skills and the concepts, but not as much on the problem solving and reasoning as the Ames program.

Appellants did not have a choice of whether Abigail would be in the MIC program when she began it. There was no evidence as to Abigail's mathematical abilities or whether she was meeting the District's math expectations for sixth grade. If the only consideration was with regard to Abigail, it would be in Abigail's best interest to stay where she is and complete the MIC program. However, Abigail is not the only child involved. The affected children are Abigail, the other children open enrolled into Ames, and the resident children. The needs of the resident children must be considered first. The middle school is overcrowded and all open enrolled children must be treated similarly.

We saw no error in the decision of the Board of the District. It was consistent with Statte law, the rules of the Department of Education and the Board's own policy.

That the decision of the Board of Directors of the Ames Community School District made on November 17, 1997, denying Appellants' request for open enrollment for Abigail Legg, was affirmed.