[§302D-34] Enrollment. (a) A public charter school shall not discriminate against any student or limit admission based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, income level, disability, level of proficiency in the English language, need for special education services, or academic or athletic ability.

(b) A start-up charter school:

(1) Shall be open to any student residing in the State;

(2) Shall enroll all students who submit an application, unless the number of students who submit an application exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or building;

(3) Shall select students through a public lottery if, as described in paragraph (2), capacity is insufficient to enroll all students who have submitted a timely application;

(4) May give an enrollment preference to students within a given age group or grade level and may be organized around a special emphasis, theme, or concept as stated in the charter school's application and as approved by the charter school's authorizer;

(5) May give an enrollment preference to students enrolled in the charter school during the previous school year and to siblings of students already enrolled at the charter school; and

(6) May give any other enrollment preference permitted by the charter school's authorizer, on an individual charter school basis, if consistent with law;

provided that nothing in this subsection shall preclude the formation of a start-up charter school whose mission is focused on serving students with disabilities, who are of the same gender, who pose such severe disciplinary problems that they warrant a specific educational program, or who are at a risk of academic failure.

(1) Enroll any student who resides within the school's former geographic service area pursuant to section 302A-1143, for the grades that were in place when the public school converted to a charter school; provided that the department may consult with a conversion charter school every three years to determine whether realignment of the charter school's service area is appropriate given population shifts and the department's overall service area reviews;

(2) Follow the department's procedures regarding enrollment, including but not limited to geographic exceptions and enrollment preferences; and

(3) Be subject to subsection (b) for grades that were not in place when the school converted to a public charter school. [L 2013, c 159, pt of §1]