(a) Participation in a public charter school shall be based on parental choice or the choice of the legal guardian or custodian.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 49-13-113
Authorizer: means : (A) A local board of education, the Tennessee public charter school commission, or the achievement school district as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 49-13-104
Governing body: means the organized group of persons who will operate a public charter school or schools by deciding matters, including, but not limited to, budgeting, curriculum and other operating procedures for the public charter school and by overseeing management and administration of a public charter school. See Tennessee Code 49-13-104
Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
local board of education: means the board of education that manages and controls the respective local public school system. See Tennessee Code 49-1-103
Public charter school: means a public school in this state that is established and operating under the terms of a charter agreement and in accordance with this chapter. See Tennessee Code 49-13-104
Sponsor: means a proposed governing body filing an application for the establishment of a public charter school, that:(A) Is not a for-profit entity. See Tennessee Code 49-13-104
State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) A public charter school authorized by the commission is open to any student residing within the geographic boundaries of the LEA in which the public charter school is located. A public charter school authorized by the commission may enroll students residing outside the geographic boundaries of the LEA in which the public charter school is located pursuant to the out-of-district enrollment policy of the LEA in which the public charter school is located and in compliance with §§ 49-6-3003 and 49-6-403(f), unless the LEA in which the public charter school is located has a policy prohibiting out-of-district enrollment.(c) A public charter school authorized by a local board of education may enroll students residing outside the geographic boundaries of the LEA in which the public charter school is located pursuant to the LEA’s out-of-district enrollment policy and in compliance with §§ 49-6-3003 and 49-6-403(f).(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 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;(C) Siblings of students already enrolled in the public charter school;(D) 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(E) 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 children of a teacher or member of the governing body of the charter school, not to exceed ten percent (10%) of total enrollment or twenty-five (25) students, whichever is less.(6)(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.(7) 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.
