Montgomery Independent School District

Montgomery ISD

Board Policy for Foreign Exchange Students

A board or its designee shall admit into the public schools of a district free of tuition all persons who are over five and younger than 21 years of age on September 1 of any school year in which admission is sought, and may admit a person who is at least 21 and under 26 for the purpose of completing the requirements for a high school diploma, if any of the following conditions exist:

The person is a foreign exchange student placed with a host family that resides in the district by a nationally recognized foreign exchange program, unless the district has applied for and been granted a waiver by the commissioner of education because:   (Education Code 25.001(b)(6), (e)

1. This requirement would impose a financial or staffing hardship on the district;

2. The admission would diminish the district's ability to provide high-quality education services for the district's domestic students; or

3. The admission would require domestic students to compete with foreign exchange students for educational resources.

Students Holding F-1 Student Visas
Enrolling students with F-1 visas is optional for districts. To enroll students, a district must meet all requirements of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. Montgomery ISD does not hold SEVP Certification and does not enroll students on F-1 visas.

Montgomery ISD has been granted the waiver to limit the number of foreign exchanged students to 5 at each high school.  

Guidelines for Foreign Exchange Students

1. Foreign exchange organizations shall adhere to the requirements outlined by the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET).

2. Application forms and all required documentation must be received by the campus at least 6 weeks prior to the first day of instruction for which acceptance is being requested.

3. Official transcripts and immunization records should be translated into English.

4. Applications for enrollment in Montgomery ISD will be reviewed and accepted on a first-come/first-serve basis.  Each high school campus is limited to the number of foreign exchange students that may be accepted.

5. Upon receipt of the application and enrollment documentation, the school district will evaluate the transcript and place the student in appropriate classes. A variety of methods may be used to verify the content of courses for which a transfer student has earned credit.

6. Once accepted, the student will be classified and given a schedule with the appropriate courses. Foreign exchange students will be classified at a level no lower than the 10^th grade and no higher than the 11^th grade because of the difficulty interpreting course description equivalences from schools outside of the United States.

7. These students will not be included in a high school’s class rankings or graduation, except when a transcript reflects successful completion of all required credits for graduation and End-of-Course exams.

8. Students wanting to participate in UIL activities must communicate with their coach or sponsor to ensure eligibility. 

9. If the student has graduated from high school, or equivalent, in his home country, the student is not eligible to attend school in Texas.

10. The foreign exchange student will attend the high school determined by the attendance zone in which the host family resides.

11. Acceptance is based on one full instructional year and will not be accepted for a single semester.

12. Foreign exchange students are expected to follow the same attendance and discipline regulations as other MISD students and participate fully in their classes.

For further information and assistance with enrollment, you may contact the lead counselor at each high school:

Daniele Jordan, LCHS
Melanie Tullis, MHS