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
Are there restrictions around application deadlines and holding lotteries?
Yes. According to 603 CMR 1.05(3)(c), for the upcoming school year, a charter school cannot have a principal application deadline or hold any enrollment lottery for student admission until after January 1st and must conclude its principal enrollment process no later than March 15th of each year. Additionally, charter schools are required to notify the public at least one week prior to conducting the lottery. Charter schools must also exhaust applicable waitlists from earlier lottery(ies) before holding a new one. If the waitlist for any grade or all grades is exhausted, the charter school may hold a lottery after the deadline of one week's public notice has been met.
May a network of charter schools use one application for prospective students?
Yes, provided that it is clear to applicants that the application form is being used by different charter schools, that those schools hold separate lotteries and admit students separately, and that transfers between those charter schools is prohibited.
May a charter school with multiple campuses under one charter that serve the same grade levels assign students to specific campuses?
Yes. If the charter school operates multiple campuses under a single charter, the school in its enrollment policy may reserve the right to assign students to specific campuses for reasons of geographic proximity, student safety, or program delivery. See 603 CMR 1.05(13). The school's enrollment policy as approved by the Department, however, must clearly articulate this practice, and the application materials provided to applicants must state this clearly in a manner understandable by parents and guardians. Charter schools that operate multiple campuses under a single charter may permit applicants to indicate their campus preferences when seeking admission.
What information must charter schools include or request in an application for admission?
At minimum, the application for admission must contain the applicant's full name (first, middle, last); the applicant's date of birth; city/town of residence; address; telephone number; grade level for which they are seeking admission; home addresses; and telephone numbers. The application for admission must also contain the non-discrimination statement. As part of the application process, schools may also require the applicant's age, sibling status, and reasonable proof of residency. See the discussion of reasonable proof of residency in Q&A No. 2.
Is the number of pre-kindergarten students limited in classrooms that serve both students with and without disabilities?
Yes. In accordance with 603 CMR 28.06(7)(e), the number of pre-kindergarten students in each classroom is limited for programs serving children with and without disabilities and who are three or four years old in an inclusive setting. Class size in such programs must not exceed 20 students with one teacher and one aide and no more than five students with disabilities. If the number of students with disabilities is six or seven, then the class size may not exceed 15 students with one teacher and one aide.
Charter schools must conduct lotteries for pre-kindergarten in accordance with the charter school statute and regulations and their approved enrollment policy. Consideration of disabilities is prohibited when conducting admissions, and no set asides or additional preferences for admission are available. In the event that the number of pre-kindergarten students with disabilities does exceed six or seven students, then the class size cannot exceed 15 students for one teacher and one aide, and staffing must meet the requirements of 603 CMR 28.06(7)(e).
May a charter school retract or rescind offers of admission, unenroll students, or terminate the enrollment of currently attending students?
Yes. A charter school may only do so if the school's enrollment policy and application for admission includes clear language, readily understandable by the parent or guardian that prohibits the submission of false statements and documents. The school's enrollment policy, approved by the Commissioner, may specify for cases of falsified statements or documents, or ineligibility (such as minimum age requirements for kindergarten admission or successfully completing prior grades), that the school will retract or rescind offers of admission, unenroll students, or terminate the enrollment of currently attending students. This must be made available in the parent's native language and the parents must indicate that they understand the policy and potential consequence.
What information is a charter school prohibited from collecting through an application for admission but may collect after an offer of admission is made and accepted?
While schools may ask for the following information after a student accepts an offer of admission, an application for admission may not ask for:
The Department recommends that charter schools do not collect on their application for admission any personally identifiable student information that relates to protected classes; such as, ethnicity/race, religion, or national origin. Charter schools may not condition enrollment on the submission any of the items listed.
May a school administer diagnostic or placement tests to students before they are admitted?
No. Charter schools may not administer tests to potential applicants or condition enrollment on results from any test of ability or achievement. Schools may perform placement testing after acceptance of an offer of admission in order to best serve the needs of students attending the school.
Can a school administer diagnostic or placement tests to students after they are admitted?
Yes. Once a student accepts an offer of admission, the school may determine through placement testing which grades are best suited for students. If so, the charter school must provide a space in the appropriate grade. If the charter school does not offer that grade, it still must ensure that the student is educated at the appropriate grade level.
Can a school require informational meetings as part of the enrollment process?
No. The charter school regulations, 603 CMR 1.05(3)(a), prohibit charter schools from requiring potential students and their families to attend interviews or informational meetings as a condition of enrollment.
Can a school ask for either financial donations or commitments of volunteer time during the enrollment process?
No. Charter schools are prohibited from asking for donations of money or commitments of time during the enrollment process.
Can a school charge an application fee?
No. Charter schools are prohibited from charging an application fee.
Must a school hold a lottery if the number of applications received is fewer than the number of available seats?
No. There is no need to hold an enrollment lottery if the charter school can admit every student who seeks admission.
Do previously enrolled students have enrollment preference over other applicants?
No. Previously enrolled students who stopped attending the charter school do not have a preference over any other applicants. Students who are already attending the charter school have a right to continue attending, and schools may not require such students to apply for admission to continue attending.
How do I know if a student should receive sibling preference?
Applicants who have a common parent, either biologically or legally through adoption, and have a sibling attending the charter school when an offer of admission is made are entitled to a sibling preference during the enrollment process.
When should schools obtain proof of residency as part of the enrollment process?
A school must ask for reasonable proof of residency before an offer of admission is made by the school. See 603 CMR 1.05(10). We strongly recommend that the school ask for and receive reasonable proof of residency before the lottery and confirm residency before making an offer of admission. Students become residents the day they move to a city or town. See also Q&A No. 2 for additional information on residency.
If a student submits an application and provides reasonable proof of residency at the time of the lottery and is placed on the waitlist, does the student need to provide updated proof of residency before an actual offer of admission?
Yes. Current residency information is required to receive a residency preference. In order to establish a continued residency preference, a charter school should ask students to update their reasonable proof of residency before making an offer of admission to a student on the waitlist.
Must a charter school accept an application for admission from a student residing in an at-cap or near-cap district when the student may not receive an offer of admission due to 'skip over' requirements in Department guidance?
Yes. Charter schools must accept applications from all students who are eligible to apply. If a student is unable to receive an offer of admission due to residency in an at-cap or near-cap district and the student is not a sibling of a currently enrolled student, then the student shall be placed on the waitlist in the order their name was drawn. The charter school can offer admission to a student who resides in an at-cap or near-cap district and is the sibling of a currently enrolled student. If the waitlisted student's residency changes to a district not subject to skip over requirements or if Department guidance for the district of residency changes, then the waitlisted student may receive an offer of admission, pending a vacancy at the charter school.
Can a charter school deny admission to students suspended or expelled from previous schools?
No. Charter schools must accept applications from all students who are eligible to apply and extend offers of admission as they would other applicants. This includes students suspended or expelled under the provisions of G.L. c. 71, § 37H(e). If such a student is admitted, the charter school may conduct its own disciplinary process to determine whether the student will attend the charter school or will receive alternative education services from the charter school in an education service plan, under G.L. c. 76, § 21.
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
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