May 1, 2009
Background
Families who want to enroll their children in virtual public charter schools in Wisconsin for the 2009-10 school year submitted their open enrollment applications to virtual schools in February and are wondering where things stand at this point. This information sheet will provide a status update about the virtual school open enrollment process.
As people know, in early April the virtual schools to which students had applied sent out conditional approval letters saying that enrollment applications had been conditionally approved, as directed by the Department of Public Instruction. DPI is now processing the applications to determine which ones will receive firm approvals. DPI sent a letter to virtual schools on April 29 describing the process that will take place over the course of the next several weeks.
Returning students and siblings
Returning students and siblings of current students have priority under the statewide virtual school enrollment cap of 5,250 students. Next week DPI will notify schools of the names of students who are currently attending virtual schools under the open enrollment program who are expected to continue to attend a virtual school and their siblings. Our understanding is that these returning students will have firm approval to enroll next year, either at their current school or at another virtual school to which they’ve applied, and that their siblings will also have firm approval to enroll next year at a virtual school to which they’ve applied.
DPI has reported that there are 2,314 returning students and siblings who have said they intend to attend virtual schools next year.
New applicants
After returning students and their siblings take their spaces, new applicants will be admitted to the extent that space is available under the enrollment cap. DPI is supposed to determine if the number of new applicants to virtual schools would cause the number of students enrolled to exceed the 5,250 cap. If the number of new applicants would cause the enrollment cap to be exceeded, the new applicants who will be allowed to enroll have to be selected at random.
DPI has reported that there are 4,340 new applicants for the 2009-10 school year, so at this point there are more new applicants than there are spaces available for new applicants under the enrollment cap. (This is based on counting each new applicant once, even if they filed two or three applications.)
Therefore, DPI will allow 2,936 new applicants to receive firm approval to enroll at this point and will tell the schools which specific new applicants should receive firm approval letters. The 1,404 new applicants whose applications are not approved at this point will be placed on a waiting list.
It is not clear when the schools will be told by DPI to notify new applicants that their conditional approvals have become firm approvals, but hopefully this will happen within the next several weeks. Students who get firm approval letters will get them from all the schools to which they applied, and will then choose which school they want to enroll in.
It should be kept in mind that all of this does not mean that the enrollment cap will ultimately be exceeded for 2009-10, since not all of the new applicants who are approved will decide to enroll in virtual schools. Based on past experience, students who are initially placed on the waiting list have a fairly good chance of ultimately being able to enroll in a virtual school. However, there is a possibility that some new applicants will not be able to enroll because of the enrollment cap.
Any denials of applications for reasons other than lack of available slots under the enrollment cap should have been sent by April 10. Appeals of any of those denials need to be sent to DPI by May 11.
Next steps
The next important firm dates in the process are:
• May 15 – Virtual schools must notify accepted applicants of the specific school or program to which the applicant is assigned.
• June 5 – Parents whose applications were approved must notify virtual school districts whether the student will attend in the following school year.
After June 5, if slots are still open under the enrollment cap because students whose applications have received firm approvals have decided not to enroll, additional students on the waiting list will be given firm approval to enroll.
What does all this mean for my family?
• If your child is currently enrolled in a virtual public charter school or is a sibling of a current student, we believe that they are guaranteed a slot for next year, either at their current school or at another virtual school to which they’ve applied.
• If your child is a new applicant to a virtual school who has received a letter saying they have conditional approval to enroll next year, you will receive a letter from the school(s) to which your child applied sometime in the next several weeks saying one of two things:
o Your child now has firm approval to enroll next year. In this case, you must notify the school you choose by June 5 that your child intends to enroll in order to have a guaranteed slot.
o Your child does not have firm approval to enroll next year at this point. In this case, your child will be placed on a waiting list and you will be told sometime after June 5 whether any slots are open for students on the waiting list.
• About two-thirds of new applicants will receive firm approvals to enroll prior to June 5. It is likely that many other new applicants will ultimately be able to enroll in a virtual school. However, there is a possibility that some new applicants will not be able to enroll because of the enrollment cap. There is also a possibility that some new applicants who are ultimately accepted may not get firm approvals until later in the summer months, shortly before the school year begins.
Additional information
Please keep in mind that if your child is currently enrolled in a virtual school but does not enroll next year (2009-10), they lose their preferred returning student status and no longer will have a guaranteed slot for the following year (2010-11). If they wanted to attend a virtual school the following year, they would have to apply again and go through the same process as any other new applicant.
For families with several children who are new applicants this year, we believe each sibling will be treated independently in the admission process. If one sibling gets selected for a slot and receives a firm approval letter, it does not necessarily mean that the other siblings will have slots.
The information in this information sheet is as current and accurate as possible at the time of writing based on our current understanding of the open enrollment provisions. We will provide further updates as we get additional information.
If you have questions, you can contact:
• Mary Jo Cleaver at DPI at (608) 267-9101 or (888) 245-2732.
• The virtual school to which your child has applied.
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