Families Often Go to Great Lengths to Switch Schools : Education: Last year, L.A. Unified denied about 1,200 students permits to enroll in other districts. To get around the rules, some parents lie about child care or give phony addresses.

About 1,200 students are being held captive within the boundaries of the Los Angeles Unified School District, tied in a tangle of what some parents say are unreasonable rules.

These students want to leave the district for a variety of reasons: fear of campus violence, convenience, better schools elsewhere--reasons not accepted by the district as grounds for departure.

Some parents hire attorneys to negotiate their children’s release. In heart-wrenching letters, they beg the district to free their children. And when all else fails, mom and dad often just lie to get out.

To be sure, the giant Los Angeles school district says “yes” far more times than “no” to transfer requests. But those who are denied are left feeling deprived of what they say should be a basic right: deciding where their children go to school.

“I am a taxpayer, I do community work for this city, and I feel like my child should be able to go where I want her to go to school,” said Sharlene Woods of Highland Park, whose daughter has been told she cannot leave the district to attend Pasadena High School. “I feel frustrated about it, but there is not much I can do.”

Like districts everywhere, Los Angeles has a strong interest in keeping its students. When a child leaves, so does $5,200 in state funding.

“We run schools, build facilities, hire staff to serve resident area students,” said David Bice, who heads the district’s permit and student transfer office. “When enrollment decreases, the school suffers. Every institution is concerned with keeping itself running.”

The district grants transfers for 13 reasons, including concerns about traffic hazards on the walk to school, special education and health needs, and overcrowding at the home school. Proximity to day care is another reason, but it cannot be used for first-time applicants in high school.

During the 1991-92 school year, the last year for which figures are available, Los Angeles Unified granted 5,399 students permits to enroll in other districts. Another 1,182 were denied. The majority of the transfers were work- or day-care related.

But for crafty parents who do not want to risk a “no” answer, lying about child-care arrangements is the easiest way to circumvent the rules, Bice said. Giving a phony address is another avenue for desperate parents, but that one is more risky and prone to discovery because schools send mail home and in emergencies, counselors make home visits.

The district will deny transfer requests that cite the desire for a better curriculum, transportation convenience, anxiety or apprehension over the home school, or other personal preferences.

Officials say such policies are needed to ensure equitable staffing and funding for all schools, as well as to prevent parents from leaving a district because they do not like its ethnic mix.

Parents with money and resources sometimes take drastic measures to enroll their children in what they believe is a better school.

One mother from an affluent Westside neighborhood said she plans to rent a small Beverly Hills apartment to ensure a slot for her son in that city’s school district. It will cost her several hundred dollars a month, but, the mother says, that is still cheaper than going to a private school.

“Private schools are $1,000 to $1,200 a month. You can get a little apartment for $600 to $800,” she said. “If worse comes to worst, we will go to private school.”

Safety issues are a prime concern for most parents when it comes to school choice. But Los Angeles district policy does not allow a student to leave just because a parent believes that the home school is unsafe.

Wrote one east San Fernando Valley father of a high school girl: “At the school my daughter was going to, I have many problems. She had bad friends. Friends who were gang members. She was in a lot of danger. I ask to please let her go to Burbank High School. I just want my child to be a good person. I want her to be alive, not killed. Please HELP US.”

The district responded no in a form letter. The father appealed to a five-member panel, but his request was denied in another form letter. An exception to district policy “was not warranted in your case,” the letter said. But staff at his neighborhood high school are “available, of course, to assist your daughter in making a comfortable transition to your school of residence.”