The Tinsley Voluntary Transfer Program is a 1985 settlement of a lawsuit in which school districts surrounding the Ravenswood City School District in East Palo Alto, California agreed to accept up to 135 minority students entering grades Kindergarten through second grade from within the boundaries of the Ravenswood City School District.
They dropped out since their ratio of minority students has climbed over the 60 percent threshold mandated by the settlement.
[2][4] There is a reverse component to the settlement, in which non-minority students in the above listed districts can transfer in to the Ravenswood City School District in East Palo Alto.
If a school district receives more applications for transfer than there are open slots, students are chosen by a lottery.
The program is administered by the San Mateo County Office of Education, even though the Palo Alto Unified School District is located in Santa Clara County.