Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
(1)
Recruitment and Retention
Plan. A charter school must develop a plan that includes
deliberate, specific strategies the school will use to attract, to enroll, and
to retain a student population that is demographically comparable to similar
grades in schools from which the charter school enrolls students. Charter
schools shall submit recruitment and retention plans for approval by the
Department that meet the requirements of M.G.L. c. 71, § 89; 603 CMR 1.05;
and any guidelines issued by the Department.
(2)
Non-discrimination. Charter schools shall not
discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, creed, sex, gender
identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, age,
ancestry, athletic performance, special need, proficiency in the English
language or a foreign language, or prior academic achievement. For purposes of
603 CMR 1.05, gender identity shall mean a person's gender-related identity,
appearance or behavior, whether or not that gender-related identity, appearance
or behavior is different from that traditionally associated with the person's
physiology or assigned sex at birth. Gender-related identity may be shown by
providing evidence including, but not limited to, medical history, care or
treatment of the gender-related identity, consistent and uniform assertion of
the gender-related identity, or any other evidence that the gender-related
identity is sincerely held as part of a person's core identity; provided,
however, that gender-related identity shall not be asserted for any improper
purpose.
(3)
Enrollment
Process and Applications for Admission.
(a)
Enrollment
Process. Charter schools may not administer tests to potential
applicants or predicate enrollment on results from any test of ability or
achievement. Charter schools may not use financial incentives to recruit
students. Requirements for enrollment in a charter school, including but not
limited to attendance at informational meetings and interviews, shall not be
designed, intended, or used to discriminate. Charter schools may not require
potential students and their families to attend interviews or informational
meetings as a condition of enrollment.
(b)
Application for
Admission. Every charter school must submit its proposed
application for admission, and any subsequent revisions, beyond changing dates
indicated and correcting minor grammatical errors, to the Department for
approval.
(c)
Principal
Application Deadlines. Charter schools may not set any principal
application deadlines or hold any enrollment lotteries for student admissions
for the upcoming school year until after January
1st. Every charter school shall conclude its
principal enrollment process no later than March
15th of each year.
(4)
Written Notice.
Charter schools shall notify all applicants in writing of the rights of
students with diverse learning needs to attend the charter school and to
receive accommodations and support services, including students who may have
disabilities, require special education, or are English language learners.
Charter schools must include this notice as part of the school's application
and enrollment materials. Every charter school must make information regarding
the availability of services for students generally available in the school's
outreach materials, through the student handbook, and on the school's
website.
(5)
Application Deadlines. Charter schools shall give
reasonable public notice, of at least one month, of all application
deadlines.
(6)
Enrollment in Commonwealth Charter Schools. In
conformance with M.G.L. c. 71, § 89, enrollment in Commonwealth charter
schools shall be conducted as follows:
(a) In
such cases where there are fewer spaces than eligible applicants, students
shall be accepted for admission by a lottery process.
(b) A Commonwealth charter school shall
provide an enrollment preference to:
1.
Siblings of students already attending the school; and
2. Students who reside in the city or town in
which a Commonwealth charter school is located or, in the case of a regional
charter school, to students who reside within the charter school's
region.
(c) If there are
fewer spaces for admission to the charter school than eligible applicants, the
charter school shall hold an enrollment lottery for all such
applicants.
(d) The Department
shall notify each Commonwealth charter school no later than February
15th of any limitation(s) on the number of students
from a district that may be enrolled in charter schools for the upcoming school
year.
(e) A charter school may
initiate a request once a year for a mailing to the students enrolled in each
district specified in the school's charter, and a district may initiate a
request once a year for a mailing to the students enrolled in any charter
school serving that district. When such a request is made, the district or
school, as the case may be, shall provide the names and addresses of students
within 30 days, in electronic format, to an approved third party mailing
service. Any vendor listed on the statewide procurement or master services
agreement for mailing services shall be deemed approved for the purposes of 603
CMR 1.05(6)(e). The district or school must provide parents or guardians with
the opportunity to request that such information be withheld. The cost of
copying and mailing shall be borne by the charter school or district requesting
the mailing. Neither school districts nor charter schools shall charge for the
provision of the required names and addresses. Charter schools shall provide
any such mailing in the prevalent languages of the district. A language shall
be deemed a prevalent language if it is the primary language of 1% or more of
the district's total enrollment.
(7)
Enrollment in Horace Mann
Charter Schools. In conformance with M.G.L. c. 71, § 89,
enrollment in a Horace Mann charter school shall be conducted as follows:
(a) In such cases where there are fewer
spaces for admission than eligible applicants, students shall be accepted for
admission from among applicants by lottery.
(b) In order of priorities, a Horace Mann
charter school shall provide an enrollment preference to:
1. for the initial lottery, any students
attending said school, or attending school in the school building previously
occupied by said school, on the date that the final application is filed with
the Board;
2. for the initial
lottery, siblings of any students attending said school, or attending school in
the school building previously occupied by said school, on the date that the
final application is filed with the Board;
3. in all subsequent lotteries, siblings of
students currently attending the school;
4. students who are currently enrolled in the
public schools of the district in which the Horace Mann charter school is
located; and
5. students who reside
in the city or town in which the Horace Mann charter school is
located.
(8)
Repeat Enrollment Process. If the principal enrollment
process fails to fill the available admission spaces, a school may repeat the
process more than once, providing such process is fair and open and the school
gives reasonable public notice at least one month prior to the application
deadline. As spaces become available during the school year, a school may
repeat the enrollment process to fill these openings and to meet the
requirements of M.G.L. c. 71, § 89(n). No student entering an enrollment
process may be admitted ahead of other eligible students who were previously
placed on a wait list during a prior enrollment process, except in cases where
enrollment preferences change or as described in to 603 CMR 1.05(10)(b). The
total number of students attending a charter school in a given school year
cannot exceed the total number of students reported to the Department in the
previous spring in accordance with
603 CMR
1.08(5).
(9)
Public
Lotteries. All lotteries for charter school seats shall be
conducted in a public place with a neutral party drawing names and with
reasonable public notice given at least one week prior to the lottery. Such
lotteries may be conducted electronically; in such cases a neutral party shall
certify that the process is fair and that selection is random.
(10)
Waitlist.
Charter schools shall place the names of students not selected in an enrollment
lottery on a wait list in the order the names are drawn.
(a) Schools shall maintain waitlists only for
the school year for which the students applied, provided that a charter school
may choose to maintain any waitlists that were established prior to March 31,
2014 until such waitlists are exhausted, provided that such maintenance is
clearly articulated in the school's enrollment policy approved by the
Department. Charter schools must keep accurate records of their wait list
containing students' names (first, middle, last), dates of birth, cities or
towns of residence, and grades levels of students who entered the lottery but
did not gain admission. When an offer of admission is made, reasonable proof of
current residency or sibling status may be required at the time an offer of
admission is made.
(b) In cases
where the enrollment of a student, who is not a sibling of another currently
enrolled student, from the waitlist would exceed the district charter tuition
cap, the student should be skipped over but kept on the waitlist. In cases
where the enrollment of a student who is a sibling of a student already
attending a charter school would exceed the district charter school tuition
cap, the sibling may be enrolled with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
providing tuition for the sibling, subject to appropriation.
(c) In conformance with M.G.L. c. 71, §
89, charter schools shall, when a student stops attending the school for any
reason, fill vacant seats up to February 15th,
excluding seats in the last half of the grades offered and grades 10, 11, and
12. If a school has an odd number of grades, more than half of grades offered
shall be included in grades for which the school must fell vacant seats. A
vacancy not filled after February 15th moves into
the subsequent grade, to be filled the following September if such grade is not
in the last half of the grades offered and is not grades 10, 11, or 12. Seats
for students who have accepted an offer of admission in the charter school but
have never attended are exempt from 603 CMR 1.05(10)(c).
(11)
Integrated Enrollment
Process. A school may integrate its enrollment process with that
of the school district(s).
(12)
Maximum Age and Thresholds. Each charter school shall
specify age thresholds for kindergarten and maximum ages for high school
programs, consistent with state and federal law.
(13)
Multiple Campuses Under
Single Charter. A charter school that operates multiple campuses
under a single charter may assign students, in accordance with the charter
school's enrollment policy, to a specific campus for reasons of geographic
proximity, student safety, or program delivery.
