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Deadline for JCPS parents to choose their student's school approaching

For the first time in 50 years, Jefferson County Public School families can now pick a school closer to home for their students to attend.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For the first time in 50 years, Jefferson County Public School students can now pick a school closer to home for their students to attend.

It comes after the school district voted to change it's "school choice" system in early June.

Before, many students in west Louisville homes were being driven close to 30-minutes away. The new policy allows students to attend a school nearby, making drop off and pick up easier for families.

For Lissette Vazquez, choosing where her children go to school is a blessing.

"I'm a single parent with six children and I'm not working right now so I don't have the means to, you know, be driving around town putting gas in the car to pick them up," she said.

Vazquez said her kids are usually zoned for separate schools far away from their home. At the beginning of each school year, she has to apply for a hardship transfer.

"It's stressful not knowing if I'm going to be approved for a hardship transfer every, but I don't have to worry about that anymore," she said.

Thanks to the district's school choice plan, Vazquez’s 30-minute drive is now cut down to three blocks. It allows her children to attend the Academy at Shawnee and Portland Elementary School.

"It's very relieving to know that I can chose that they can stay closer to home," she said.

Families living in west Louisville can check online to see which schools are nearby and then apply.

Shawnee's Principal, Kym Rice says the choice plan gives parents better access to their children.

"Especially in this day in age where safety is a priority for everyone. If something does happen, if there's a family emergency, parents want to have that option to get to their child and get to their child quickly," Rice said.

The new plan also provides more resources to schools to ensure student success.

The deadline to apply for a choice school is Dec. 16. For more information or help applying, contact your nearby school.

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► Contact reporter Alexis Jones at AJones@whas11.com; on Facebook or Twitter  

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