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
May homeless students enroll immediately in a charter school?
No. All students, regardless of their living situation, must follow the same admission process. Homeless students must follow the enrollment procedures of the charter school, including application and response deadlines after an offer of admission. For an admission preference based upon where they live, homeless students should work with the charter school to verify the school district in which they live.
Can a charter school rescind an offer of admission made to a homeless student if they are unable to provide student records needed to complete registration?
No. Schools are required to remove enrollment barriers for homeless students, and therefore can attend school even without the typical student records. If a homeless student arrives without student records, the charter school should contact the school district the student last attended and request the needed student records, serve the student based on information from the student and parents or guardians, and use classroom observations and assessments to help determine appropriate placement and services. The student may attend school while the student records are requested. For additional information on supporting homeless students, please see Guidance on Supporting Homeless Students During the State of Emergency, August 24, 2023 .
Can a charter school rescind an offer of admission or unenroll a homeless student who is missing a birth certificate or health records required to complete the enrollment registration process?
No. Schools cannot unenroll or rescind an offer of admission made to a student who lacks a birth certificate or health records. While the immunization statute, G.L. c. 76 § 15, generally requires students to provide proof of immunization prior to admission, a charter school may contact the previous school attended, request a release to speak with the student's pediatrician to determine health and age, refer the parent or guardian to a local pediatrician to facilitate acquiring necessary records, and check the Massachusetts Immunization Information System (MIIS) to see if enrolling students have records entered in the system from vaccines given since they arrived. A charter school may limit a student's attendance until necessary documentation is provided or created.
If a student becomes homeless and moves, may the student still attend the charter school?
Yes. A student who becomes homeless while attending a Commonwealth or a Horace Mann charter school has a right to continue attending the charter school as their school of origin under the McKinney-Vento Act. This is true regardless of where they may be sheltered or living temporarily. Such students also have additional transportation rights. Please see Q&A Nos. 50, 51 and 53 and McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance - Advisories . for more information.
Alternatively, under McKinney-Vento, a student who becomes homeless may choose to attend school where they are temporarily living. If a homeless student attends school where they are temporarily living, they no longer have a right to attend the charter school as their school of origin and would need to reapply for admission.
Who is responsible for transporting a student who becomes homeless while attending a charter school?
If a student becomes homeless while attending a charter school and is sheltered or temporarily living in the district in which the charter school is located, the local district is responsible for providing transportation to the charter school "on similar terms and conditions as transportation is provided to students attending local district school." See G.L. c. 71, §89(cc), and McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance - Advisories .
Alternatively, if a student becomes homeless while attending a charter school and is sheltered or temporarily living outside the district in which the charter school is located, the charter school and the district where the student is temporarily living share responsibility to transport the student to the charter school. Districts and charter schools must communicate clearly and work together to find the most efficient and cost-effective option. The Department encourages both parties to create an acknowledgment of shared responsibilities, which details the costs and the transportation services being provided. The state budget includes reimbursement funding for transporting students who are homeless across district lines. Details and forms are posted at Transportation.
If a student is placed in foster care and moves, may the student still attend the charter school?
Yes. A student placed in foster care while attending a Commonwealth or Horace Mann charter school has a right to continue attending the charter school as their school of origin under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Title I, Part A. This is true regardless of where they may be placed in foster care. Such students also have additional transportation rights. Please see the following Q&A No. 55 and Massachusetts DESE and DCF Joint Guidance — Educational Stability for Students in Foster Care for more information.
Alternatively, under ESSA, a student in foster care and their Educational Decision Makers may choose for the student to attend school where they live. If a student attends school where they live in foster care, they no longer have a right to attend the charter school as their school of origin and would need to reapply for admission.
Who is responsible for transporting a student placed in foster care while attending a charter school?
If a student is placed in foster care while attending a charter school and is placed in the district in which the charter school is located, the local district is responsible for providing transportation to the charter school "on similar terms and conditions as transportation is provided to students attending local district school." See G.L. c. 71, §89(cc), and Massachusetts DESE and DCF Joint Guidance — Educational Stability for Students in Foster Care .
Alternatively, if a student is placed in foster care while attending a charter school and is placed outside the district in which the charter school is located, the charter school as the district of origin is responsible for providing transportation. The charter school must collaborate with the Department of Children and Families (DCF) "to implement policies and procedures governing how transportation will be provided and arranged to ensure that students in foster care who need transportation to remain in their school of origin will receive such transportation while they are in foster care." See Massachusetts DESE and DCF Joint Guidance — Educational Stability for Students in Foster Care . For more information on transportation requirements for students who are placed in a foster care setting, please see: Transportation . Federal funding under Title IV E of the Social Security Act has been made available to partially reimburse districts transporting students in foster care across district lines. Details and forms are posted on the Office of Administration and Finance webpage at Transportation.
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
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