Arizona charter schools receive public funds and, as such, must comply with enrollment requirements set forth in federal law, Arizona Revised Statutes, Arizona Administrative Code, and the policy set by Arizona's education agencies. Arizona law states that “[a] charter school shall enroll all eligible pupils who submit a timely application, unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level or building”.[1] Accordingly, while district schools are required to enroll all students residing within their boundaries, charter schools may base enrollment decisions on individual school enrollment caps (on file with the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools) and/or the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or established construction occupancy limits.
Arizona law specifically states, however, that charter schools may not deny enrollment based on ethnicity, national origin, gender, income level, disabling condition, athletic ability, or English language proficiency.[2] The implementation of a school’s enrollment policy cannot disproportionately impact any group or class of students. Charter schools should ensure that enrollment documents and policies avoid the collection of documents or the asking of questions that would give the appearance that enrollment is determined based on any impermissible factor.
Charter schools should avoid the perception of discouraging students from enrolling for any reason. If a charter school chooses to include questions during the enrollment process that could be interpreted as discrimination to any of the above listed groups, it must be clear to the enrolling individual or family that the question is optional. This means a family or student must be able to move forward/submit an online enrollment application without providing an answer to any question of this type.
When considering the information contained in this guidance, it is important to consider the difference between enrollment and registration.
Enrollment is the process through which students are offered a seat or a spot.
Registration is the process through which the school collects the documents needed to begin serving the student (i.e. for the student to enter the classroom and receive instruction and/or services). The registration process includes items identified in Statute, Rule, and/or Policy as being required for attendance.
[1] A.R.S. § 15-184(A).
[2] A.R.S. § 15-184(F).