Rule 691-2-.05 State Charter School Student Admissions and Lotteries

  1. Enrollment Eligibility. A state charter school shall enroll any student who resides in the charter school's attendance zone and who submits a timely application for admission unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or building. The attendance zone and any deadlines for submitting applications for admissions shall be specified in the school's charter. A state charter school may also provide for a single-sex educational opportunity, and in such case, the state charter school may enroll students in a manner consistent with its single-sex program provided the state charter school otherwise adheres to the requirements of this paragraph.

  2. Enrollment Preferences.
    1. A state charter school may utilize any enrollment preferences authorized by state law and as specified in the school's charter contract.

    2. Utilizing all enrollment preferences allowed by state law may disqualify a state charter school from being eligible for grant funding through the Federal Charter School Program. State charter schools that may seek grant funding through the Federal Charter School Program are encouraged to review the program's guidance prior to utilizing enrollment preferences.

  3. Admission Applications. The application for admission to the state charter school shall only request information necessary to allow the state charter school to identify the student and determine the grade to which the student will be enrolled. The application for admission may request the student's name and grade as well as basic contact information for the parent, such as a telephone number and email address. Applications for admission shall not request any information related to the student or parent's race, ethnicity, religion, or socio-economic status. Applications for admission shall not request information related to the student's previous school or academic performance, including, but not limited to: the name of the student's school, the student's transcript, the student's work product, whether the student received special education services, or whether the student received language assistance. Information needed by the state charter school to verify the student's eligibility for enrollment and appropriate placement may be obtained after the student is assured an enrollment space in the school.

  4. Admission Lotteries.

    1. When the number of applications exceeds the capacity of the program, class, grade level, or building of the state charter school, the state charter school shall, after granting any applicable enrollment preferences, conduct an admission lottery.

    2. When a state charter school must conduct an admission lottery, the governing board of the school shall approve a written policy detailing how the admission lottery is to be conducted. The admission lottery shall be a random selection process to ensure that all applicants that do not have an enrollment preference have an equal chance of being admitted.

    3. A state charter school shall conduct an admission lottery in accordance with its written policy.

  5. Notification of Enrollment and Admission Procedures. Each state charter school shall actively communicate its enrollment and admissions opportunities and procedures to parents and the community to ensure that students and parents have an equal chance to learn about and apply to the school. If the state charter school will conduct an admission lottery, the notification to parents and the community shall include information regarding the use of an admission lottery. The notification of enrollment and admission communication activities may include advertisements in newspapers or community flyers, posting information on bulletin boards or online forums, and any other method designed to disseminate information to the targeted audience. The state charter school shall conduct notification activities over a period of time, which shall begin no later than two weeks prior to the enrollment or admission opportunity.

Authority: O.C.G.A. §§ 20-2-2066; 2083; 2091.
Adopted: October 29, 2014
Effective: November 24, 2014