School may give enrollment preferences and may limit enrollment to student populations, as allowed by Fla. Stat. § 1002.33 (10)(d) and (e) and stated within its Application (Appendix A). The School shall implement the enrollment policies and procedures and any lottery process, as described in Section 13c of the Application: Student Recruitment and Enrollment. The School will serve students residing within the Palm Beach County School District as well as students covered under an inter-district agreement. In addition, pursuant to Fla. Stat. § 1002.33(10)(a), any student shall be eligible for an inter-district transfer when based upon good cause; good cause includes, but shall not be limited to, geographic proximity to a charter school in a neighboring school district. Any student (School family) that submits a timely and complete application for enrollment in the grades as stated above will be eligible to enroll unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of the program, class, grade level, or building. The School will have an open admissions policy (first come, first served basis) and all applicants will have an equal chance of being admitted. The School shall strive to achieve a racial/ethnic balance reflective of the community it serves or within the racial/ethnic range of other traditional
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public schools in the School District that are in close proximity. Failure to comply with these provisions may constitute good cause to terminate this Contract.
1. Enrollment Procedures:
a. The School is subject to compliance with the entry, health examinations, and immunization of Fla. Stat. § 1003.22.
b. Students with disabilities who are enrolled in the School shall be provided programs that fully comply with all the requirements of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act, and any other applicable federal or state law. The School shall, at its own cost and expense and not that of the Sponsor, ensure that all due process requirements are complied with, shall ensure that there are legally compliant educational assessments of the needs of the students and shall remain liable for full and complete adherence to all such requirements. The School must fund all educational and related services provided to students pursuant to the IEP and will earn funding in accordance with Fla. Stat. § 1002.33 and/or other sources. Psychological and other appropriate re-evaluations are the responsibility of the School. The School will utilize all of the Sponsor’s forms and procedures related to pre-referral activities, referral, evaluation, and re-evaluation for ESE eligibility, IEP development, and placement. The parties in collaboration will schedule and conduct IEP meetings pursuant to 34 CFR §§ 300.340-300.350 for each eligible ESE student enrolled in the School. The School shall ensure that appropriate personnel are in attendance at IEP meetings.
c. The School shall provide ESE services as documented on the IEP. In the case of a parent choosing a charter school that cannot implement the student’s IEP as presented, an IEP meeting must be convened upon the ESE student being accepted in the School. The IEP Team must review/revise the IEP and determine the student’s educational needs. The IEP Team must clearly determine whether the student’s IEP can be implemented at the School. Under no circumstances may the School discriminate against a student based on disability.
d. Least Restrictive Environment: Students with disabilities will be educated in the least restrictive environment and will be segregated only if the nature and severity of the disability is such that the education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. As it is the School’s goal to place students in an environment where they can best flourish, those students with IEP’s whose needs cannot be adequately addressed at the School will be appropriately referred by the IEP committee with a Sponsor’s representative present. If a referral for a change of placement is considered, the School’s staff will work together with the Sponsor to ensure that the needs of these children are met. School staff, which must include a certified Exceptional Education teacher, will work closely and as early as possible in the planning/development stages with the Sponsor’s staff to discuss the needed services, including all related services and programs, of the student with disabilities at the School. Parents of students with disabilities will be afforded in their native language procedural safeguards, which include the areas of notice and consent, independent educational evaluations, confidentiality of student records, due process hearings and surrogate parents.
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e. Provision of School Information: The School shall provide all information about the School to parents/guardians in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. f. Enrollment Consent: To enroll a student, the School must obtain proof of consent from the student’s parent or guardian, or from the student if the student is eighteen (18) years of age or older.
g. Record of Application and Enrollment: The School must maintain a record of all the students who apply to the School, whether or not they are eventually enrolled, to the extent required by law. The information shall be made available to the Sponsor upon request.