Permit season opened this week with much less stress

This time last year, plenty of parents across the South Bay and Harbor Area were panicking when they learned that Los Angeles Unified planned to stop issuing most transfer permits.

That meant students who live in LAUSD but attended other -- usually higher-achieving -- school districts would be forced to return to their neighborhood campuses. The Breeze did a series of stories on this change, which caused an uproar.

It's different this March, not just because LAUSD reversed its policy change after the parent outcry. A state law that went to effect Jan. 1 ensures that parents do not have to reapply to continue to send their children to "receiving" or transfer school districts.

"We're very relieved. I can't tell you what it means not to have to worry about that," said Lynda Mitsakos, a Playa del Rey mom who sends her daughter to Mira Costa High in Manhattan Beach.

Mitsakos last year helped start a Facebook group for parents frustrated with LAUSD over the permit issue. Posts on the group's wall show that there remains some confusion about permitting, despite the new law.

The period for inter-district transfer permit applications opened March 1 and ends April 30. LAUSD has information on its website.

Some parents say they've been incorrectly told they need to reapply. That's not the case if they already have a transfer permit for their child.

"Until they graduate, there's no need to reapply," said Victor Thompson, who oversees the permit appeals process for the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

"I know that there's been some confusion because it's new," said Thompson, whose title is director of division of student support services. "A few parents couldn't believe it because they've been used to going back year after year after year to get a permit."

The law, Assembly Bill 2444, was sponsored by Warren Furutani, who represents Assembly District 55, including Carson, Harbor City, Harbor Gateway and Wilmington.

The bill was introduced in mid-February of last year, less than two weeks after the LAUSD board gave Superintendent Ramon Cortines permission to change the policy with the intent of bringing attendance-based dollars back to the district.