In general, students who wish to attend Kentucky charter schools will be admitted. If the number wishing to attend exceeds the charter school’s capacity, some preferences will apply:
- For students who already attend the school, their siblings, and students who live in the district where the school is located
- If the school chooses, for students who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals, who attend persistently low-achieving schools, or whose parents are board members or full-time employees
- At conversion charter schools, for students who attended the school before the conversion
- At urban academy charter schools, for “ students who live in close proximity to the school as defined in the charter contract”
After the preferences are applied, remaining slots will be awarded by lottery.
These rules leave no place for a school to compare two applicants and choose the learner with higher test scores, better auditions, stronger recommendations, or fewer reports of behavior challenges.
That said, the rules do not create a fully level playing field. Families that know where they will be living next year will have an advantage over those with unstable housing. Similarly, families with more ability to explore options will be more likely to find and apply for charter options. Both advantages will often be tied to socio-economic privilege. And school decisions about when and where and how to advertise may also affect who applies.
Two additional enrollment issues look like they still need attention.
First, late admissions. if a student moves into the area on July 1 and wants to attend a charter school that has space, will the student have to be admitted? The lottery step is a solution for when there are too many applicants during the regular application season. But what if there are fewer applicants than seats, or if some who are admitted later move away or change their minds, making some seats available again? Will those seats be open to students who seek admission later on? For charters to be as public as other public schools, the answer has to be yes, but I don’t think Kentucky law says that.
Second, removals. Our earlier post on legal requirements that apply to charter schools mentioned the need to clarify Kentucky’s procedures for suspensions, expulsions, and services after expulsion, particularly regarding roles and responsibilities at schools not governed by an elected school board. Those clarifications are needed for health, safety, civil rights, and disability rights. The clarifications are also needed to build toward fairness in who attends charter schools, making sure that being admitted is not an illusion for students who are quickly pushed out for reasons or using procedures that would not be acceptable in other public schools.
Series Links:
Charter schools: taking on the questions (Introduction)
1. What is a charter school?
2. What student results are charter schools expected to deliver?
3. Which school laws do charter schools have to follow?
4. How can students be admitted to charter schools?
5. Who can authorize charter schools?
6. Who can apply to start a charter school?
7. How can charter schools be closed if they do not deliver?
8. What funding can charter schools receive?
Comments are closed.