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2021 Tennessee Code
Title 49 - Education
Chapter 13 - Tennessee Public Charter Schools Act of 2002
§ 49-13-113. Enrollment

Universal Citation: TN Code § 49-13-113 (2021)
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  1. Participation in a public charter school shall be based on parental choice or the choice of the legal guardian or custodian.

  2. 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.

  3. 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).


    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:

      1. Students enrolled in a pre-K program operated by the charter school sponsor;

      2. 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;

      3. Siblings of students already enrolled in the public charter school;

      4. 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

      5. 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.


      1. 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.

      2. 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.

  5. 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.
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