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Massachusetts Charter Schools

Enrollment Policy and Practice Frequently Asked Questions

(Updated September 2016)

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

  1. Can a school carry, or "roll," its waitlist from one year to the next?
  2. Do schools have to accept new applications even if they have a waitlist?
  3. May a school add a student's name to the waitlist without holding a lottery?
  4. Are schools required to keep separate waitlists for siblings and residents?
  5. When does a waitlisted student preference change?

Backfilling

Acceptance of an Offer of Admission and Students Attending

General Inquiries

All

Waitlist

32.

May a school add a student's name to the waitlist without holding a lottery?

No. The charter school statute explicitly requires a lottery if the number of applicants exceed the spaces available for admission and states that "students who entered the lottery but did not gain admission shall be maintained on a waitlist." G.L. c. 71, § 89(n). A student's name must be drawn, either manually or electronically, in a lottery to be placed on a waitlist. Charter schools must follow all requirements when holding subsequent lotteries.

Last Updated: April 28, 2020

 
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