Hannah Hatfield attended Casa Montessori School, a private school located in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Her third-grade teacher told Ms. Hatfield that she recommended a public school for Hannah's fourth grade and beyond to better accommodate Hannah's academic and social needs.

The Hatfield family resides in the Waterloo Community School District, but Ms. Hatfield wanted Hannah to attend Cedar Falls because she would already know some of the children who would be in class. Ms. Hatfield was not familiar with the open enrollment deadlines and filed her application on January 8, 2001.

We concluded that Hannah's situation did not constitute good cause for a late-filed open enrollment application as defined by the Legislature and the Department of Education rules.

The decision of the Board of Directors of the Waterloo Community School District was affirmed.