LAPLACE — East Bank eighth graders wishing to begin high school at West St. John High School may now request a transfer.

The St. John the Baptist Parish Public School District will give students entering the ninth grade at East St. John High School the option to request a transfer to West St. John High School for the 2018-19 school year.

Current eighth graders interested in attending West St. John High School next year must fill out an application and return it to the Child Welfare and Attendance Department located in the annex building behind the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board Office by May 1.

Applications are available from the Child Welfare and Attendance Office or can be downloaded at stjohn.k12.la.us. Eighth graders also received an application at school this week.

Should the number of applicants exceed the available openings, a lottery process will be used to randomly select the students who may transfer. However, majority to minority student transfers will be granted automatically prior to the lottery process as required by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Except in the case of a majority to minority student transfer, students permitted to transfer must provide their own transportation. All attendance and tardy policies will still apply.

Should any student granted a transfer wish to transfer back to East St. John High School he or she will be required to submit an application as required for all transfers.