H.B. 36 Enrolled

1

CHARTER SCHOOL ENROLLMENT AMENDMENTS
2 2014 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Chief Sponsor: David E. Lifferth
5 Senate Sponsor: Deidre M. Henderson
6
7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill modifies provisions regarding the enrollment of students in charter schools.
10 Highlighted Provisions:
11 This bill:
12 . allows a charter school to give an enrollment preference to:
13 . a child or grandchild of an individual who actively participated in the
14 development of the charter school; or
15 . a child or grandchild of a member of the charter school governing board; and
16 . allows a charter school to weight its lottery to give a slightly better chance of
17 admission to educationally disadvantaged students.
18 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
19 None
20 Other Special Clauses:
21 None
22 Utah Code Sections Affected:
23 AMENDS:
24 53A-1a-506 , as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 278
25
26 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
27 Section 1. Section 53A-1a-506 is amended to read:
28 53A-1a-506. Eligible students.
29 (1) As used in this section:

30 (a) "District school" means a public school under the control of a local school board
31 elected pursuant to Title 20A, Chapter 14, Nomination and Election of State and Local School
32 Boards.
33 (b) "Refugee" means a person who is eligible to receive benefits and services from the
34 federal Office of Refugee Resettlement.
35 (2) All resident students of the state qualify for admission to a charter school, subject
36 to the limitations set forth in this section and Section 53A-1a-506.5 .
37 (3) (a) A charter school shall enroll an eligible student who submits a timely
38 application, unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade
39 level, or the charter school.
40 (b) If the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level,
41 or the charter school, students shall be selected on a random basis, except as provided in
42 Subsections (4) through [(6)] (7).
43 (4) A charter school may give an enrollment preference to:
44 (a) a [student of a parent] child or grandchild of an individual who has actively
45 participated in the development of the charter school;
46 (b) a child or grandchild of a member of the charter school governing board;
47 [(b) siblings of students]
48 (c) a sibling of a student presently enrolled in the charter school;
49 [(c) a student of a parent who is employed by the charter school;]
50 (d) a child of an employee of the charter school;
51 [(d)] (e) students articulating between charter schools offering similar programs that
52 are governed by the same governing body;
53 [(e)] (f) students articulating from one charter school to another pursuant to an
54 articulation agreement between the charter schools that is approved by the State Charter School
55 Board; or
56 [(f)] (g) students who reside within:
57 (i) the school district in which the charter school is located;

58 (ii) the municipality in which the charter school is located; or
59 (iii) a two-mile radius from the charter school.
60 (5) If a district school converts to charter status, the charter school shall give an
61 enrollment preference to students who would have otherwise attended it as a district school.
62 (6) (a) A charter school whose mission is to enhance learning opportunities for
63 refugees or children of refugee families may give an enrollment preference to refugees or
64 children of refugee families.
65 (b) A charter school whose mission is to enhance learning opportunities for English
66 language learners may give an enrollment preference to English language learners.
67 (7) A charter school may weight its lottery to give a slightly better chance of admission
68 to educationally disadvantaged students, including:
69 (a) low-income students;
70 (b) students with disabilities;
71 (c) English language learners;
72 (d) migrant students;
73 (e) neglected or delinquent students; and
74 (f) homeless students.
75 [(7)] (8) A charter school may not discriminate in its admission policies or practices on
76 the same basis as other public schools may not discriminate in their admission policies and
77 practices.