Frequently Asked Questions

A charter public school is an independently run public school granted greater flexibility in its operations, in return for greater accountability for performance. The “charter” establishing each school is a performance contract with the state detailing the school’s mission, program, students served, performance goals, and methods of assessment. Charter public schools are public schools of choice, meaning that families choose them for their children. They operate with freedom from some of the regulations that are imposed upon district schools. Charter public schools are accountable for academic results and for upholding the promises made in their charters. They must demonstrate performance in the areas of academic achievement, financial management, and organizational stability. Every five years, charter public schools undergo a charter renewal process. If a charter public school does not meet performance goals, it may be closed. Charters serve all students, including those with special needs and English language learners.

In the fall of 2016, a group of Massachusetts Commonwealth charter public schools located in and near Boston launched a common online application to ease the burden on parents from having to complete and submit applications to multiple charter public schools for one child or more. With technology created and provided by SchoolMint, families can now submit applications for their child (or children) to multiple schools at once using either a computer, iPad, tablet, or mobile phone. The process is quite simple and should take 10 minutes or less to complete.

Once completed, you will receive an email or text from SchoolMint confirming your submission of the Boston Charter Public School Application to the schools selected. If you started the application but did not complete it, you will receive an email or text prior to the application’s deadline to say your application is not yet complete and has not been submitted to schools.

The general deadline to submit an application for September 2027 enrollment is February 28, 2027 at 11:59pm.

A limited number of schools will continue to accept applications for September 2026 entry. Contact schools directly for application deadlines, lottery dates, and waitlist information. Please click here to see the list of schools currently accepting applications for the 2026-2027 school year.

Charter public schools accept students by random, public lottery. All schools participating in the Boston Charter Public School Application will typically hold their annual lotteries in early March. Please visit each school’s website to find out when they will hold their individual lotteries for the upcoming school year. Families will be notified in accordance to the timeline provided in the enrollment policy of each school to which they’ve applied, whether their child received a seat for the upcoming school year or has been added to their waitlist.

Yes. Applications submitted via the online Boston Charter Public School Application still need to be submitted on an annual basis, and families seeking a charter public school for their student will need to reapply each year by the stated deadline to be entered into a school’s lottery process. Please note that the waitlist does not roll over from year to year.

The following schools participate in the Boston Charter Public School Application:

• Academy of the Pacific Rim

• Boston Collegiate Charter School

• Boston Prep Charter Public School

• Boston Renaissance Charter Public School

• Bridge Boston Charter School

• Brooke Charter School

• Codman Academy Charter Public School

• Conservatory Lab Charter School

• Excel Academy Charter School

• KIPP Academy Boston Charter School

• Match Charter Public School

• Neighborhood House Charter School

• Phoenix Charter Academy Chelsea

• Roxbury Preparatory Charter School

No. If you are also interested in applying to a Horace Mann charter public school in the Boston Public Schools, you must complete a separate application form for each Horace Mann charter public school. Applications can also be obtained from BPS Welcome Centers, each school location, or from each school's website: Boston Day and Evening Academy, Boston Green Academy, Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter School, Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers, and UP Academy Dorchester.

If you are interested in applying to any other Boston Public Schools, you must first register at a BPS Welcome Center. You can learn more about all of the Boston Public Schools through the Discover BPS Tool.

Prospective charter public school students must be residents of Massachusetts to apply for admission and to attend a charter public school in Massachusetts. Residents of Boston have preference for admission to charter public schools located in Boston. Residents of Boston applying to charter public schools that serve Boston receive preference for admission over non-residents who do not live in Boston.

Residents of Chelsea applying to either Excel Academy Charter School or Brooke Charter School receive preference for admission over residents who do not live in either Chelsea or Boston. In accordance with their charter public school’s enrollment policy, please note that Excel and Brooke may assign students to a specific campus for reasons related to geographic proximity, student safety, or program delivery. 603 CMR 1.05(13). Residents of Chelsea, Everett, Lynn, and Revere will receive preference for admission to Phoenix Chelsea over residents who do not live in that school’s sending region.

Charter public schools do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, national origin, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, age, ancestry, homelessness, special needs, English language proficiency or foreign language proficiency, athletic ability, or prior academic achievement.

Yes, siblings of a student currently enrolled in a charter public school have preference for admission to that specific charter public school only. The word “sibling” refers to persons who have a common parent, either biologically or legally through adoption.

For entry to K1 (pre-kindergarten), prospective students must be age 4 on or before September 1 of the school year. For entry to K2 (kindergarten), students must be age 5 on or before September 1 of the school year. For schools with grade levels other than K1 or K2, you may need to demonstrate completion of the previous grade prior to enrollment, depending on the school. For more information, please refer to the specific enrollment policies of the schools to which you are applying.

Proof of residency must be presented to the charter public school at the time an offer of admission is made. If a school receives false residency information, the application may be deemed invalid. For more information, please refer to the specific enrollment policies of the schools to which you are applying. The following documents may be used to prove residency: a utility bill (not water or cell phone) dated within the past 60 days; a deed, mortgage payment dated within the past 60 days, or property tax bill dated within the last year; a current Lease, Section 8 Agreement, or landlord affidavit; a W2 form dated within the year or a payroll stub dated within the past 60 days; a bank or credit card statement dated within the past 60 days; or a letter from an Approved Government Agency dated within the past 60 days, which includes the Departments of Revenue (DOR), Children and Family Services (DCF), Transitional Assistance (DTA), Youth Services (DYS), Social Security, and any communications on Commonwealth of Massachusetts Letterhead. The McKinney-Vento Act prohibits students who meet the definition of homeless from being barred from enrollment due to lack of required documentation. Homeless students, however, must still provide reasonable proof of residency to receive an admission preference based on where they are temporarily living. What is reasonable proof of the city or town in which a homeless student is temporarily living depends upon the circumstances. In some situations, if other reasonable documentation is not available, an affidavit may be sufficient. Homeless students should receive a residency preference based on the location of their temporary residence; if their temporary residence is located within the charter public school’s sending region, they are entitled to a residency preference. The location of a student’s prior permanent residence does not provide a residency preference for admission. All students considered to be homeless are able to apply to charter public schools in Massachusetts. For the purposes of receiving residential preference for admission, schools should consider all applications from homeless students on a case-by-case basis to determine where they live. While an address is required to complete the online Boston Charter Public School Application, students who are homeless are able to enter either a temporary address or, if one is not available, may enter 215 Sydney Street, Dorchester, MA 02125. The address that is used has no implication on a student’s application.

Students with diverse learning needs (who may have disabilities, require special education services, or are English language learners) have the right to attend a charter public school and to receive appropriate accommodations and support services. Information regarding the availability of services for students is available here and on each school’s website. This notice will be made available in the native language of the parents or guardians.

As public schools, charter public schools are tuition-free. They are funded according to enrollment levels and receive public funds from the state on a per pupil basis. Charter public schools are entitled to federal categorical funding for which their students are eligible, such as Title I and Special Education monies. Federal legislation provides grants to help charters to manage start-up costs.

A list of all charter public schools currently operating in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts can be found on the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department) website or by accessing the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department) website or by accessing the charter school fact sheet . Collectively, these public schools educate over 50,000 students. All charter public schools in Massachusetts are regulated by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

There is a lot of misinformation, myths, and factual errors out there about charter public schools. Here are resources for learning more about charter public schools in Massachusetts:

Fact Check: Massachusetts Charter Public Schools

The Stanford Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) has conducted numerous studies on the performance of students at charter public schools across the country. While the performance of charters is mixed across the United States, CREDO’s studies show that charters in Massachusetts are the best in the country and those in Boston are even more effective at educating their students, including when compared to students at local district public schools. More information can be found on CREDO’s website: Stanford CREDO Urban Charter School Study.