Admission and enrollment of students shall be open to any person who is eligible for admission based on lawful criteria identified in the school’s charter, e.g., qualifying residency and disciplinary history. The total number of students enrolled in the school shall not exceed the number of students approved in the school’s charter or subsequent amendments. Applications for admission shall be due by a reasonable deadline to be set each year by the school—i.e., the close of the “open-enrollment period.”
Lottery
If the number of eligible applicants does not exceed the number of vacancies, then all eligible applicants who have applied during the designated open-enrollment period will be offered admission. If there are more eligible applicants than available spaces in a class/ grade/school, then a lottery will be conducted at a time set by the school each year. A name (or number assigned to a name) will be drawn for each vacancy that exists, and each applicant whose name (or number) is drawn will be offered admission. The remaining names will then be drawn and placed on a waiting list in the order in which they were drawn.
Notification of admission will be made by telephone, e-mail, or U.S. Postal Service. Failure of a parent to respond within 48 hours of the date of the telephone call or e-mail, or within three business days of a postmarked letter, will forfeit the student's position in the lottery. Parents should call or e-mail the school immediately upon receipt of the notice to preserve their student’s position in the lottery.
If a vacancy arises before the commencement of the school year, the individual on the waiting list for the current year with the lowest number assignment will be offered admission and then removed from the waiting list. If an application is received after the open-enrollment period has passed, the applicant’s name will be added to the waiting list behind the names of the eligible applicants who timely applied.
Exceptions
Federal guidelines permit the school to exempt from the lottery process students who are already admitted under the charter, siblings of students already admitted under the charter, and children of the charter’s founders, teachers, and staff, regardless of whether the children of the charter’s founders, teachers, or staff reside in the geographic area served by the school.
Residency Information
To be eligible for continued enrollment in the school, the parent must show proof of residency at the time of enrollment. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in the immediate initiation of procedures to exclude students from enrollment.
Residency may be verified through observation, documentation, and other means, including, but not limited to:
- a recently paid rent receipt,
- a current lease agreement,
- the most recent tax receipt indicating home ownership,
- a current utility bill indicating the address and name of the residence occupiers,
- mailing addresses of the residence occupiers,
- visual inspection of the residence,
- interviews with persons with relevant information, or
- building permits issued to a parent on or before September 1 of the school year in which admission is sought (permits will serve as evidence of residency for the school year in which admission is sought only).
Falsification of residence on an enrollment form is a criminal offense.
Disciplinary History
As provided in the school’s charter, the school may exclude a student from admission who has a documented history of a criminal offense, juvenile court adjudication, or discipline problems under Subchapter A, Chapter 37, of the TEC. The school shall exclude a student from admission who has a documented history of an offense listed in Section 37.007(a) and (d) of the TEC. As such, if it is later discovered that the student failed to disclose a documented history of a criminal offense, juvenile court adjudication, or disqualifying discipline problems, the school will immediately initiate procedures to exclude the student from admission.
Student Information
Any student admitted to the school must have records such as a report card and/or transcript from the previous school attended to verify the student's academic standing. Verification of residency and current immunization records are also required. Every student enrolling in the school for the first time must present documentation of immunizations as required by the Texas Department of State Health Services.
No later than 30 days after enrolling in the school, the parent and school district in which the student was previously enrolled shall furnish records that verify the identity of the student. These records may include the student’s birth certificate or a copy of the student’s school records from the most recently attended school.
The school forwards a student’s records on request to a school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll without the necessity of the parent’s consent.
Providing False Information
A person who knowingly falsifies information on a form required for enrollment of a student in the school may be guilty of an offense under Section 37.10 of the Texas Penal Code.
Nondiscrimination
It is the policy of the school to prohibit discrimination in student admission on the basis of sex, national origin, ethnicity, religion, disability, academic, artistic, or athletic ability, or the district the student would otherwise attend in accordance with the TEC.
Admission of Military Dependents
Special power of attorney, relative to the guardianship of a child of a military family and executed under applicable law, shall be sufficient for the purposes of enrollment and all other actions requiring parental participation and consent.
A transitioning military child, placed in the care of a non-custodial parent or other person standing in loco parentis who lives in a jurisdiction other than that of the custodial parent, may continue to attend the school in which the child was enrolled while residing with the custodial parent.
Homeless Students
Quest Collegiate Academy shall immediately enroll a homeless child, depending on available seats, even if the child:
1. Is unable to produce records normally required for enrollment, such as previous academic record, records of immunization and other required health records, proof of residency, or other document; or
2. Has missed application or enrollment deadlines during any period of homelessness.
Discrepancies in Student Name
The Superintendent or designee shall notify the Missing Children and Missing Persons Information Clearinghouse if a child is enrolled under a name other than the name that appears on the identifying documents. If a student’s records have not been received within 30 days of a request, the Superintendent or designee shall notify local law enforcement for a determination of whether the child has been reported as missing.
Food Allergy Information
The parent of each student enrolled with Quest Collegiate Academy must complete a form provided by Quest Collegiate Academy that discloses (1) whether the child has a food allergy or a severe food allergy that should be disclosed to Quest Collegiate Academy to enable Quest Collegiate Academy to take any necessary precautions regarding the child’s safety and (2) specifies the food(s) to which the child is allergic and the nature of the allergic reaction.
For purposes of this requirement, the term “severe food allergy” means a dangerous or life-threatening reaction of the human body to a food-borne allergen introduced by inhalation, ingestion, or skin contact that requires immediate medical attention.
Quest Collegiate Academy may also require information from a child’s physician if the child has food allergies.
Food allergy information forms will be maintained in the child’s student records, and shall remain confidential. Information provided on food allergy information forms may be disclosed to teachers, school counselors, school nurses, and other appropriate school personnel only to the extent consistent with Board policy and as permissible under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (“FERPA”).