Rhode Island Code of Regulations
Title 200 - Board of Education
Chapter 20 - Council on Elementary and Secondary Education
Subchapter 05 - General and School Operations
Part 2 - Charter School Regulations (200-RICR-20-05-2)
Section 200-RICR-20-05-2.6 - Charter school outreach and enrollment

Universal Citation: 200 RI Code of Rules 20 05 2.6

Current through September 18, 2024

2.6.1 Outreach

The charter school shall proactively engage and inform the community about the school for the purpose of generating interest in enrollment in the school. Such activities should include public notices, meeting, open houses, and other activities that attempt to reach and provide a forum to a broad audience. In order to diversify the pool of applicants so as to include underrepresented populations and otherwise achieve ends designed to serve at-risk youth, supplemental specially directed outreach and recruitment to these groups is permissible.

2.6.2 Enrollment lotteries

A. When fewer students apply than there are seats available, all applicants shall be offered enrollment into the school. When more students apply than are seats available, the school shall conduct a random lottery to determine enrollment. For charter schools that do not have defined enrollment percentages from their sending districts in their charter, lotteries shall be held no later than a date set by the Commissioner in the school year before the year in which students are to enroll. Charter schools shall use a lottery application developed by the Commissioner. Weighted lotteries are permissible if the Commissioner deems it necessary to fulfill statutory requirements.

B. All students in the lottery pool at the time of the lottery shall be drawn from the lottery. Once all available seats have been filled, the remaining applicants in the pool shall be drawn and placed on a waiting list ranked in the order that they were drawn. The school shall notify RIDE at least two weeks before the lottery so that a RIDE representative may be present during the lottery.

C. Schools are permitted to adopt a siblings policy to exempt siblings of currently enrolled students from participation in the lottery. Schools further permitted to adopt a policy to exempt the students of teachers or school founders from participation in the lottery so long as these students constitute no more than 10% of the school's total enrollment.

2.6.3 Notification

A. Families shall be notified in writing whether or not the student was selected from the lottery for enrollment into the school. Upon notification, the family shall confirm their intent to accept the enrollment by submitting a standard confirmation form to the school. Schools are permitted to establish a reasonable deadline of not less than fifteen days for the family to confirm their child's enrollment. Schools shall also make a reasonable effort within this period to make contact with the family. If the family fails to confirm enrollment by the established deadline, schools are permitted to offer enrollment to another family in first position on the waiting list.

B. Only after a family has confirmed enrollment shall the school ask the family to provide specific information and documentation about the student, including school academic records and special education records (IEP/504 plans).

C. Once all families have confirmed their student enrollment, schools shall notify the district of residence regarding the total number of students from each district that will be attending the charter school for the upcoming school year.

2.6.4 Waiting lists

A. Any student who has applied to the school but was not selected through the lottery shall be placed on a waiting list in the order that they were drawn within the design of the lottery. This shall constitute the school's official waiting list.

B. Families that have expressed an interest in the school, either by contacting the school directly, attended an open house, or other contact but has not submitted an enrollment form and selected through the lottery shall not be considered for the waiting list.

C. Enrollment forms received after the lottery shall not be considered on the official waiting list. Such applications shall only be considered for enrollment once the waiting list established through the lottery has been exhausted.

D. When filling vacancies that occur during the school year, schools shall offer enrollment to the student ranked in the first position on the waiting list as determined by the lottery. Should the family decline the enrollment offer, the school shall offer enrollment to the next ranked student until the enrollment seat is accepted.

E. Waiting lists shall not be carried over from year to year. Each year the school shall conduct a new lottery of all applicants in the lottery pool, including any applicants from the previous waiting list in addition to any and all new applicants. Applicants on the waiting list at the end of the previous school year must reapply to the school to be considered eligible for the lottery for the following school year.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Rhode Island 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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