Idaho Administrative Code
Title IDAPA 08 - Education, Board of and Department of
Rule 08.02.04 - RULES GOVERNING PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS
Section 08.02.04.203 - ADMISSION PROCEDURES

Universal Citation: ID Admin Code 08.02.04.203

Current through August 31, 2023

01. Idaho Public Charter School Commission. The Idaho public charter school commission shall adopt policies and procedures establishing a framework for the equitable selection process and make available to all public charter schools a model procedure. Petitioners are required to adopt admission procedures that align with the Commission approved model procedures. (4-6-23)

02. Equitable Selection Process. Admission to a public charter school shall be determined by an equitable selection process. The equitable selection process must be held within seven (7) days of the enrollment deadlines as defined in Subsection 203.02 and must take place in a public setting, the date and time of which must be noticed to the public at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance. (4-6-23)

03. Enrollment Deadline. A charter holder shall establish an enrollment deadline for each school year and may establish an enrollment capacity below that stated in the public charter school's performance certificate. The deadline shall be established either by annual vote of the charter holder's board of directors or by establishment of charter holder policy. The enrollment deadline shall be the date by which all written requests for admission to attend the public charter school for the next school year must be received. Neither the enrollment deadline nor a lowered enrollment capacity may be changed once the enrollment information is disseminated as required by Subsection 203.03. (4-6-23)

04. Enrollment Opportunities. A charter holder shall ensure that citizens in the primary attendance area, as it is defined in the school's performance certificate, are made aware of the enrollment opportunities of the public charter school. (4-6-23)

a. The notice must include the enrollment deadline, the public charter school's total enrollment capacity for the next school year, and an advisory that all prospective students will be given the opportunity to enroll in the public charter school, regardless of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion, gender, socioeconomic status, or special needs; (4-6-23)

b. One (1) or more notices must be publicly disseminated within the primary attendance area by an independent third party. Notices include, but are not limited to, printed publications, technology and social media broadcasts, or signage displayed by community partners outside of the school's physical location. (4-6-23)

05. Requests for Admission. A parent, guardian, or other person with legal authority to make decisions regarding school attendance on behalf of a child residing in this state, must make a request in writing in electronic or hard-copy format for such child to attend a public charter school. (4-6-23)

a. The written request for admission shall contain the name and contact information of a legal guardian of the prospective student; the name of the student, the last grade level completed, and address of the prospective student if different from the legal guardian. Requests must indicate whether the prospective student is a sibling of a currently enrolled student. The request for admission may only request that information that is necessary for determining the students eligibility for admittance as approved in the charter school performance certificate. (4-6-23)

b. In the case of a family with more than one (1) child seeking to attend a public charter school, a single written request for admission must be submitted on behalf of all siblings. The written request for admission must be submitted to, and received by, the public charter school on or before the established enrollment deadline. The written request for admission shall contain the name, grade level, address, and telephone number of each prospective student in a family. If the initial capacity of the public charter school is insufficient to enroll all prospective students, then an equitable selection process, such as a lottery or other random method, shall be utilized to determine which prospective students will be admitted to the public charter school, as described in Subsection 203.09 of this rule. Only those written requests for admission submitted on behalf of prospective students that are received prior to the enrollment deadline established by the public charter school shall be permitted in the equitable selection process. Written requests for admission received after the established enrollment deadline will be added to the bottom of the waiting list for the appropriate grade. (4-6-23)

c. Where a weighted lottery has been approved through the charter school's petition and in compliance with the admission preference requirements established in Section 33-5206, Idaho Code, the charter school may request such data as is necessary to apply the provisions of the weighted lottery. (4-6-23)

06. Admission Procedure. Admission to a public charter school shall be determined by an equitable selection process. The equitable selection process must be held within seven (7) days of the enrollment deadlines as defined in Subsection 203.02 and must take place in a public setting, the date and time of which must be noticed to the public at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance. (4-6-23)

07. Final Selection List. The names of the persons in highest order on the final selection list shall have the highest priority for admission to the public charter school in that grade, and shall be offered admission to the public charter school in such grade until all seats for that grade are filled. A waitlist of prospective students shall be compiled each year after the equitable selection process has been completed. The waitlist shall consist of students for whom no open seat is currently available and shall prioritize first, prospective students for whom a request for admission was received before the enrollment deadline in the order in which the students were selected during the equitable selection process, and second, prospective students for whom a written request for admission was received after the enrollment deadline in the order in which the request was received. (4-6-23)

08. Notification and Acceptance Process. With respect to students selected for admission to the public charter school, within seven (7) days after conducting the equitable selection process, the public charter school shall send an offer letter to the legal guardian who submitted a written request for admission on behalf of a student, advising such person that the student has been selected for admission to the public charter school. The offer letter must be signed by such student's parent, or guardian, and returned to the public charter school by the date designated in such offer letter shall be retained by the public charter school in the student's permanent record. (4-6-23)

a. With respect to a prospective student not eligible for admission to the public charter school, within seven (7) days after conducting the selection process, the public charter school shall send a letter to the legal guardian who submitted a request for admission on behalf of such student, advising such person that the prospective student is not eligible for admission, but will be placed on a waiting list and may be eligible for admission at a later date if a seat becomes available. (4-6-23)

b. If a legal guardian receives an offer letter on behalf of a student and declines admission, or fails to timely sign and return such offer by the date designated in such offer letter by the public charter school, then the name of such student will be stricken from the final selection list, and the seat that opens in that grade will be made available to the next eligible student on the final selection list. (4-6-23)

c. If a student withdraws from the public charter school during the school year for any reason, then the seat that opens in that grade will be made available to the next eligible student on the final selection list. (4-6-23)

09. Subsequent School Years. The final selection list for a given school year shall not roll over to the next subsequent school year. The legal guardian of a student who remains on the waitlist when the next enrollment deadline is noticed to the public must be notified that a new written request for admission must be completed prior to the new enrollment deadline in order for the student to be added to the prospective student list. If the capacity of the public charter school is insufficient to enroll all prospective students during the next subsequent school year, then a new equitable selection process shall be conducted by the public charter school for such school year. (4-6-23)

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Idaho may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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