The Enrollment Processes Technical Advisory and the following Enrollment Policy and Practice Frequently Asked Questions provided by Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department) should be read carefully and reviewed in its entirety. An answer to one frequently asked question might lead a reader to an inaccurate conclusion when read in isolation from the Department’s guidance and answers to other frequently asked questions. Answers should not be reviewed or relied upon in isolation from the entirety of the Department’s guidance regarding enrollment processes. Please reach out to the Department if you have a question or concern that is not currently found in this FAQ.
Eligibility Criteria
Enrollment Process and Lottery Procedures
Waitlist
Backfilling
Acceptance of an Offer of Admission and Students Attending
Students Who May Be Considered Homeless or Students Placed in a Foster Care Setting
General Inquiries
All
Can a Commonwealth charter school unenroll a student who subsequently moves to a city or town in Massachusetts?
No. A Commonwealth charter school cannot unenroll a student because the student moved to another city or town in Massachusetts even if that municipality is outside of the district in which the school is located or outside of the school's region. For homeless students, please see Q&A No. 52 for more information. For students in foster care, please see Q&A No. 54 for more information.
Can a student continue to attend a Commonwealth charter school if the student moves outside of Massachusetts?
In general, no. If a student is attending a Commonwealth charter school and moves outside of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, they cannot continue to attend the Commonwealth charter school, and the school must unenroll the student. For homeless students, please see Q&A No. 52 for more information. For students in foster care, please see Q&A No. 54 for more information.
Can a sending district review residency documentation for any student for whom the district has been assessed tuition?
Yes. Sending districts are permitted to review residency determinations of every student for whom the district has been assessed tuition. If the sending district has information that may indicate a factual error in the residency information, charter schools are expected to work with the district to verify or to correct the information. If necessary, the student's parent or guardian may be asked to meet with charter school and district officials. Disputes regarding residency should be referred to the Department only after the charter school and the district have made a good faith effort to resolve the matter. If a charter school fails to maintain documentation of a student's city or town of residence, or fails to make a good faith effort to respond to and to resolve residency questions raised by sending districts, the Department may place a hold on tuition payments for that student.
If a student is admitted to or attending a Horace Mann charter school and has provided accurate proof of residency at the time of application, can the student continue to attend the school even if the student moves to another city or town outside the school district in Massachusetts?
No. If a student attending a Horace Mann charter school moves to a different district, they can no longer attend the charter school.
Can a charter school unenroll a student who currently attends the school because they failed to complete an intent-to-return form?
No. Once a student is attending a charter school, the school may not unenroll students if the student fails to complete an intent-to-return form or fails to complete any other activity to "secure" a seat for the next school year. While such forms may be useful in projecting enrollment for the upcoming year, the responses on such forms are not binding, and students have a right to continue attending at the charter school. As a school assesses the number of seats it has available in an upcoming school year, the school should count any student currently attending the charter school as returning unless the family has explicitly and clearly communicated that the student(s) will not return.
1 Exhausted means an offer of admission for provided to every student on that waitlist, and they have either accepted or declined. Expired means that an offer of admission was not provided to every student on that waitlist due to the number of vacancies experience throughout the year and each charter school's plan to fill those vacancies.
2 "Hold a spot" refers to a charter school continuing to claim the student as being enrolled despite the student not actually attending the school. If the military-student relocates outside of Massachusetts, then the student would be considered withdrawn from the charter school.
Last Updated: May 10, 2024
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 135 Santilli Highway, Everett, MA 02149
Voice: (781) 338-3000 TTY: (800) 439-2370
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