Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Application
deadline. For admission to a charter school, a charter holder shall:
(1) require the applicant to complete and
submit an application not later than a reasonable deadline the charter holder
establishes; and
(2) on receipt of
more acceptable applications for admission under this section than available
positions in the school:
(A) except as
permitted by subsection (b) of this section, fill the available positions by
lottery; or
(B) subject to
subsection (c) of this section, fill the available positions in the order in
which all timely applications were received.
(b) Lottery exemption. The charter holder may
exempt students from the lottery required by subsection (a) of this section to
the extent this is consistent with the definition of a "public charter school"
under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001,
P.L.
107-110, §5210 (NCLB), as interpreted by the
United States Department of Education (USDE).
(c) Newspaper publication. To the extent this
is consistent with the definition of a "public charter school" under the NCLB,
as interpreted by the USDE, a charter holder may fill applications for
admission under subsection (a)(2)(B) of this section only if it published a
notice of the opportunity to apply for admission to the charter school. A
notice published under this subsection must:
(1) state the application deadline;
and
(2) be published in a newspaper
of general circulation in the community in which the school is located not
later than the seventh day before the application deadline. For purposes of
this chapter, a newspaper of general circulation is defined as one that has
more than a minimum number of subscribers among a particular geographic region,
that has a diverse subscribership, and that publishes some news items of
general interest to the community.
(d) Student admission and enrollment. Except
as provided by this section, the governing body of the charter holder must
adopt a student admission and enrollment policy that:
(1) prohibits discrimination on the basis of
sex; national origin; ethnicity; religion; disability; academic, artistic, or
athletic ability; or the district the child would otherwise attend under state
law; and
(2) specifies any type of
non-discriminatory enrollment criteria to be used at each charter school
operated by the charter holder. Such non-discriminatory enrollment criteria may
make the student ineligible for enrollment based on a history of a criminal
offense, a juvenile court adjudication, or discipline problems under Texas
Education Code (TEC), Chapter 37, Subchapter A, documented as provided by local
policy.
(e) Student
admission and enrollment at charter schools specializing in performing arts. In
accordance with the TEC, §12.111 and §12.1171, a charter school
specializing in performing arts, as defined in this subsection, may adopt a
student admission and enrollment policy that complies with this subsection in
lieu of compliance with subsections (a)-(d) of this section.
(1) A charter school specializing in
performing arts as used in this subsection means a school whose open-enrollment
charter includes an educational program that, in addition to the required
academic curriculum, has an emphasis in one or more of the performing arts,
which include music, theatre, and dance. A program with an emphasis in the
performing arts may include the following components:
(A) a core academic curriculum that is
integrated with performing arts instruction;
(B) a wider array of performing arts courses
than are typically offered at public schools;
(C) frequent opportunities for students to
demonstrate their artistic talents;
(D) cooperative programs with other
organizations or individuals in the performing arts community; or
(E) other innovative methods for offering
performing arts learning opportunities.
(2) To the extent this is consistent with the
definition of a "public charter school" under the NCLB, as interpreted by the
USDE, the governing body of a charter holder that operates a charter school
specializing in performing arts may adopt an admission policy that requires a
student to demonstrate an interest or ability in the performing arts or to
audition for admission to the school.
(3) The governing body of a charter holder
that operates a charter school specializing in performing arts must adopt a
student admission and enrollment policy that prohibits discrimination on the
basis of sex, national origin, ethnicity, religion, disability, academic or
athletic ability, or the district the child would otherwise attend under state
law.
(4) The governing body of a
charter holder that operates a charter school specializing in performing arts
must adopt a student admission and enrollment policy that specifies any type of
non-discriminatory enrollment criteria to be used at the charter school. Such
non-discriminatory enrollment criteria may make the student ineligible for
enrollment based on a history of a criminal offense, a juvenile court
adjudication, or discipline problems under TEC, Chapter 37, Subchapter A,
documented as provided by local policy.
(f) Maximum enrollment. Total enrollment
shall not exceed the maximum number of students approved in the open-enrollment
charter. A charter school may establish a primary and secondary boundary.
Students who reside outside the primary geographic boundary stated in the
open-enrollment charter shall not be admitted to the charter school until all
eligible applicants that reside within the primary boundary and have submitted
a timely application have been enrolled. Then, if the open-enrollment charter
so provides for a secondary boundary, the charter holder may admit students who
reside within the secondary boundary to the charter school in accordance with
the terms of the open-enrollment charter.
