ACA II Application

Assurances

The Charter School will be nonsectarian in its programs, admission policies, and all other operations, and will not charge tuition nor discriminate against any student based upon any of the characteristics listed in Education Code Section 220. Admission will not be based on the place of residence of the pupil or his/her parent or guardian. The Charter School shall admit all pupils who wish to attend the Charter School. No test or assessment shall be administered to students prior to acceptance and enrollment into the Charter School. The Charter School will comply with all laws establishing minimum and maximum age for public school attendance in charter schools. Admission, except in the case of a public random drawing, shall not be determined by the place of residence of the pupil or his or her parent or legal guardian within the state, unless required by Education Code Section 51747.3. Admission preferences shall not require mandatory parental volunteer hours as a criterion for admission or continued enrollment.

Admission Requirements

The Charter School shall require students who wish to attend the Charter School to complete an application form. After admission, students will be required to submit an enrollment packet, which shall include the following:

1. Student enrollment form
2. Proof of Immunization
3. Home Language Survey
4. Completion of Emergency Medical Information Form
5. Proof of minimum age requirements
6. Release of records

As part of the admissions process, parents and students will be encouraged to tour the school and participate in an orientation program that details the purpose, goals, and objectives of the school. The orientation program will include an explanation of team-teaching, multi-age grouping, multiple intelligences, brain-compatible learning, integrated thematic instruction, Montessori, Positive Discipline and cooperative learning. Applicants must be committed to take responsibility for developing all intelligences to the best of their ability. Parents must agree to take an active role in the support of their child’s education. Teachers are responsible for providing learning experiences that will give students the opportunities to develop all their intelligences to the best of their ability.

Prior to admission, an educational contract (‘Student-Parent(s)-School Agreement’ in the Family

Handbook) will be signed by teachers, parents, and students confirming the commitment of all to work as a team to enhance the development of the total child.

The foundations of ACA are dependent on parental involvement, which shall be encouraged inthe form of classroom assistance in the educational process, participation in the governancestructure, fundraising, or clerical assistance for school-related work. Parents / guardians will benotified in the Family Handbook, which shall be annually updated and distributed by the Charter School to all parents of its students or any other person making a request for a copy.

The Learning Styles Assessment, the Multiple Intelligences Inventory, and the Structure of Intellect Test may be used as assessment tools in determining placement, but not as an admission requirement.

Public Random Lottery

Applications will be accepted during a publicly advertised open enrollment period each year for enrollment in the following school year. Open enrollment will start on or before January 31st and continue through the date of the admissions lottery.

 Following the open enrollment period each year, applications shall be counted to determine whether any grade level has received more applications than availability. If there are more applicants than total spaces available, a public random lottery will be held to determine admission in the following school year, with the exception of existing students, who are guaranteed admission in the following school year.

Public Random Lottery for ACA will be March 7, 2023

Public Random Lottery for ACAII will be March 6, 2023

Admission preferences in the case of a lottery shall be given to students in the following preference categories in the following order of priority. For instance, available spaces will first be filled from the student applicants in category #1 based on the order of their lottery number. If space is still available after implementing the first level of priority admission preference, then ACA will apply the second level of preference, and third level, etc., until all spaces are filled.

1. Children of faculty and staff
2. Siblings of students admitted to or attending ACA
3. Students who are currently enrolled in or reside in the elementary school attendance area of the local public elementary school in which the Charter School is located (for purposes of the SB 740 Charter School Facility Grant Program)
4. Residents of the District

The Charter School and the District agree to adhere to the requirements related to admission preferences as set forth in Education Code Section 47605(d)(2)(B)(i)-(iv).

The Charter School will conduct the annual lottery in a session open to the public, and a computer program will generate random numbers for each applicant. Parents/Guardians of applicants will be contacted by classroom teachers by phone or email in order of their lottery number to fill openings for each classroom for the upcoming school year, and must respond by phone, email or in person within two weeks in order to secure admission.

After all openings have been filled, the remaining applicants will be placed on the current waiting list based on the lottery number assigned, and are admitted if spaces open during the school year. If no openings occur, applicants will remain on the current waiting list until the end of the school year, at which point the waiting list generated by the next lottery drawing will take effect. Applicants must contact the school each year prior to the end of the enrollment period in order to be included in the next lottery. In no circumstance shall a waiting list carry over to the following year.

The Charter School will keep current press releases, application records, the lottery results and the current waiting list on file in the Charter School office. ACA’s enrollment guidelines shall be stated in its Family Handbook, which shall be annually updated and distributed by the Charter School to all parents of its students or any other person making a request for a copy.

Complaint Notice

California Education Code (EC) Section 47605(d)(4) states the following:
■ A charter school shall not discourage a pupil from enrolling or seeking to enroll in a charter school for any reason, including, but not limited to, academic performance of the pupil or because the pupil exhibits any of the following characteristics:
              ■ Academically low-achieving
              ■ Economically disadvantaged (determined by eligibility for any free or reduced price meal program)
              ■ English learner
              ■ Ethnicity
              ■ Foster youth
              ■ Homeless
              ■ Nationality
              ■ Neglected or delinquent
              ■ Race
              ■ Sexual orientation
              ■ Pupils with disabilities

■ A charter school shall not request a pupil’s records or require the parent, guardian, or pupil to submit the pupil’s records to the charter school before enrollment.
■ A charter school shall not encourage a pupil currently attending the charter school to disenroll from the charter school or transfer to another school for any reason (except for suspension or expulsion).
■ This notice shall be posted on a charter school’s Internet website and a charter school will provide copies of this notice (1) when a parent, guardian, or pupil inquires about enrollment; (2) before conducting an enrollment lottery, and (3) before disenrollment of a pupil.