Enrollment Policy and Practice Frequently Asked Questions

What are the backfilling requirements for charter schools?

In conformance with G.L. c. 71, § 89(n), charter schools shall, when a student stops attending the school for any reason, fill vacant seats up to February 15^th, excluding seats in the last half of the grades offered and grades 10, 11, and 12 . If a school has an odd number of grades, the school must backfill more than half of the grades offered. 603 CMR 1.05(10)(c). A vacancy not filled after February 15^th moves into the subsequent grade, and the school must fill the seat by the following September, provided such grade is not in the last half of the grades offered and is not in grades 10, 11, or 12. Seats for students who have accepted an offer of admission to the charter school but have never attended are exempt from this provision. If the school fills vacancies beyond the statutory requirements, the school must clearly articulate its practice in its enrollment policy. In order to increase access to charter schools at as many entry points as possible, the Department strongly encourages schools to consider enrollment policies that include backfilling grades beyond those required by law, with which a school must comply. Additionally, this may be required as a condition when granting requests for charter amendments, especially expansion requests.