§ 49-13-113 — Enrollment

(a) Participation in a public charter school shall be based on parental choice or the choice of the legal guardian or custodian. (b) A charter school authorized by the commission is open to students residing within the geographic boundaries of the LEA in which the charter school is located. (c) (1) If a public charter school's authorizer has a policy allowing out-of-district enrollment, then the public charter school may enroll students residing outside the geographic boundaries of the LEA in which the public charter school is located if capacity is available after all eligible in-district students have been enrolled. A public charter school's total enrollment of out-of-district students shall not exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the public charter school's total enrollment. (2) State school funds must follow a student into the LEA in which the public charter school is located and to which the student transfers. (3) Tuition may be charged by the LEA in which the public charter school is located and to which a student transfers, as provided in § 49-6-3003 . (4) If a public charter school's authorizer has a policy that prohibits out-of-district enrollment, then the public charter school may request to adopt an out-of-district enrollment policy through the waiver process outlined in § 49-13-111 ; provided, however, that the waiver request may only be submitted to the public charter school's authorizer for approval. (d) (1) A public charter school shall enroll an eligible pupil who submits a timely application, unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or building. (2) An enrollment preference shall be provided to students that attended the charter school during the previous school year. (3) If the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or building, the charter school shall select students through a lottery. The enrollment preference for returning students provided in subdivision (d)(2) shall exclude those students from entering into a lottery. (4) If an enrollment lottery is conducted, a public charter school shall give enrollment preferences in the following order: (A) Students enrolled in a pre-K program operated by the charter school sponsor; (B) Students who are economically disadvantaged as provided in subdivision (d)(5), if the enrollment preference is used by the public charter school; (C) Students enrolled in a charter school that has an articulation agreement with the enrolling public charter school; provided, that the articulation agreement has been approved by the authorizer; (D) Siblings of students already enrolled in the public charter school; (E) Students residing within the geographic boundaries of the LEA in which the public charter school is located who were enrolled in another public school during the previous school year; and (F) Students residing outside the geographic boundaries of the LEA in which the public charter school is located. (5) A public charter school may give an enrollment preference to students who are economically disadvantaged, as defined in § 49-3-104 . A public charter school may request information to verify that a student is economically disadvantaged on the application submitted pursuant to subdivision (d)(1) for purposes of an enrollment lottery, but shall not require it. Only students who legally qualify may be given an enrollment preference pursuant to this subdivision (d)(5). (6) A public charter school may give an enrollment preference to children of the public charter school's employees or to the children of a member of the public charter school's governing body, not to exceed ten percent (10%) of the public charter school's total enrollment or twenty-five (25) students, whichever is less. (7) (A) A charter school shall provide to the department of education certification by an independent accounting firm or by a law firm that each lottery conducted for enrollment purposes complied with the requirements of this section. In lieu of such certification, a charter school may request that the department of education review and approve the lottery process. (B) The charter school shall comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ( 20 U.S.C. § 1232g ), with respect to the publication of any students' names before, during, or after the enrollment and lottery process. (8) The state board of education is authorized to promulgate rules concerning lottery enrollment. The rules shall be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5. (e) Public charter schools authorized by the achievement school district (ASD) shall conduct an initial student application period of at least thirty (30) days. During this period, all students zoned to attend or currently enrolled in a school that is eligible to be placed in the ASD may enroll. If, at the end of the initial student enrollment period, the number of eligible students seeking to enroll does not exceed the public charter school's capacity or the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or building, then the public charter school may enroll additional students residing within the geographic boundaries of the LEA in which the public charter school is located; provided, however, that a public charter school's total enrollment of such students shall not exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the public charter school's total enrollment. (f) (1) (A) An opportunity public charter school must enroll an at-risk student who submits a timely application, unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or building. (B) Notwithstanding § 49-13-106(f)(3) , § 49-13-106(k) , subdivision (f)(1)(A), or another law to the contrary, an opportunity public charter school that provides a residential program shall not enroll a student who is in the custody of the department of children's services in the opportunity public charter school's residential program. This subdivision (f)(1)(B) does not prohibit: (i) An opportunity public charter school that does not provide a residential program from enrolling a student who is in the custody of the department of children's services; or (ii) An opportunity public charter school that provides a residential program from enrolling or re-enrolling a student who is in the custody of the department of children's services in the opportunity public charter school's residential program if the student was enrolled in the opportunity public charter school's residential program at the time the student was placed in the custody of the department of children's services. (2) Students who attended the opportunity public charter school during the previous year may re-enroll in the opportunity public charter school for the upcoming year and are not subject to an enrollment lottery. (3) If the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or building, then the opportunity public charter school must select students through an enrollment lottery. Returning students who re-enroll in the opportunity public charter school pursuant to subdivision (f)(2) are excluded from entering into an enrollment lottery. Students who are at-risk students, as defined in § 49-13-104 , must be given an enrollment preference.

Legislative History

Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1066,s 9, eff. 7/1/2024, app. to opportunity public charter schools applying to open in the 2026- 2027 school year or in a subsequent school year. Amended by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 206, s 5, eff. 4/24/2023. Amended by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 206, s 4, eff. 4/24/2023. Amended by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 206, s 3, eff. 4/24/2023. Amended by 2019 Tenn. Acts, ch. 219, Secs.s 47, s 48, s 49, s 50, s 51, s 52, s 53, s 54, s 55eff. 4/26/2019. Amended by 2017 Tenn. Acts, ch. 307, s 14, eff. 7/1/2017. Amended by 2014 Tenn. Acts, ch. 850, s 12, eff. 4/30/2014. Amended by 2013 Tenn. Acts, ch. 326, s 11, eff. 7/1/2013. Acts 2002, ch. 850, §13; 2009 , ch. 555, § 21; 2011 , ch. 466, § 13; 2012 , ch. 1021, §§ 10, 11.