Enrollment Policy

Texas Preparatory School operates open-enrollment public charter schools that do not charge tuition and do
not administer entrance examinations. Admission and enrollment of students shall be open to any person
who resides within the geographic boundaries stated in the charter and who is eligible for admission based
on lawful criteria identified in the charter. Total enrollment shall not exceed 635 students. The charter
school’s admission policy shall prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, national origin, ethnicity, religion,
disability, academic or athletic ability, or the district the student would otherwise attend. Students who reside
outside the geographic boundaries stated in the charter shall not be admitted to the charter school until all
eligible applicants who reside within the boundaries have been enrolled.

Any student who resides within the geographic boundaries set by Texas Preparatory Schools, can attend, if there is space available. Enrollment is based on a fair and equitable system that provides for: (1) an Open Enrollment period, (2) a lottery, if necessary; and (3) a waitlist. As required by Texas Education Code §12.111(a)(5), Texas Preparatory School do not discriminate in admissions, based on sex/gender, national origin, ethnicity, religion, disability, academic ability, athletic ability, artistic ability, or the district the child would otherwise attend. Per Texas Charter schools’ disposition we are only permitted to enroll students who reside within the geographic boundaries of the following independent school districts (ISD) and consolidated independent school districts (CISD):

Austin ISD
Dripping Springs IDS
Hays CISD
Luling ISD
Pflugerville ISD
San Marcos CISD
Wimberly ISD

Chapters 12 and 25 of the Texas Education Code outline various situations in which students who do not reside within the approved boundaries may attend Texas Preparatory School. Please feel free to contact the office for more details.

Exclusion of Students with Documented Discipline Histories Subject to and in accordance with Texas law and Texas Preparatory School, may exclude from admission students with a documented history of a criminal offense, a juvenile court adjudication, or other discipline problem under Subchapter A, Chapter 37, of the Texas Education Code. A parent may appeal this determination to the Board of Trustees if there are extenuating circumstances concerning an applicant’s prior criminal or disciplinary history in accordance with the grievance policy adopted by the Board of Trustees. A student who has been expelled from another school district or charter school will not be eligible for admission.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

1. Who Should Apply
a. Students seeking to enroll in Texas Preparatory School for the first time.
b. Waitlisted Texas Preparatory School applicants who were not admitted during the initial
application. Waitlisted applications do not roll over to next year.
c. Current Texas Preparatory School students.
Please note: Re-registration occurs at Texas Preparatory School campus during the spring for all currently enrolled students. When you start registration online a Texas Preparatory School, this information will ensure we can provide all the necessary services your child will need throughout the school year, including food services, health services, special education, transportation, and extracurricular activities.

2. When to Apply
The Open Enrollment period is the period prior to the start of each school year, when a parent/guardian can complete an application for each child to Texas Preparatory School . Open Enrollment dates for the upcoming school year will be posted on the enrollment page of the school website. Applications received after the Open Enrollment period had ended will not be eligible for inclusion in the Open Enrollment lottery. Instead, these applications will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis, behind applications received during the Open Enrollment period that have been placed on a waitlist.

3. How to Apply
During the Open Enrollment period, a parent/guardian completes an application for each student to Texas Preparatory School. Parent/Guardian(s) are encouraged to submit the applications through the online application portal. However, paper copies of the application will be made available upon parent request. Applications submitted through the online application portal need not be signed to be entered in the lottery or considered for an offer of enrollment.

Required Documents for Registration
Child’s Birth Certificate
Child’s Social Security Card (if applicable)
Child’s Current Immunization Record
Court Order or Custody Documents (if applicable)
Most Recent Report Card (if applicable)
Proof of Residency
Guardian ID

504 Plans and/or Individual Education Plan Documents (if applicable)
Applicants who receive an offer of enrollment will be given instructions on how to accept the offered
seat, and how to print and sign the post-registration packet.

4. Grade Level Enrollment
Once Texas Preparatory Schools has accepted a student, the school will enroll him/her in the grade level appropriate for his/her level of preparation and content knowledge; therefore, in some cases, students may be enrolled in a lower grade than they applied for or their age would predict. Ultimately, we make every effort to set our students up for success, which includes reserving the right to place a student in a lower grade if we determine it is in the best interest of the student. As public charter schools, Texas Preparatory Schools enroll students in accordance with state and federal law; we do not restrict admission on the basis of academic achievement or any protected class.

Kindergarten Age Requirements
According to Texas Education Code, TEC §25.001, a child must be at least five years of age on or before September 1 of the school year where enrollment is sought in order to be offered admission.

First Grade Age Requirements
A child must be at least six years of age on or before September 1 of the school year where enrollment is sought. A child who turns six after September 1, but on or before September 30, of the school year where enrollment is sought may be considered for early admission to first grade. Consideration will be granted if the child has completed at least one year ofb kindergarten in an accredited kindergarten program and after completion of an individual assessment.

ENROLLMENT AND LOTTERY PROCEDURES

1. Procedures When Applications Do Not Exceed Capacity
At the close of the Open Enrollment period, the total number of students with completed applications is determined for each grade at each school. If the total number of applicants is less than or equal to the total capacity designated for a particular grade level at a particular school, all applicants for that grade level at that school will be offered enrollment on a first-come, first-served basis.

2. Procedures When Applications Exceed Capacity
If, for any grade level, the number of applicants exceeds the number of openings, there will be a lottery to determine enrollment and waitlist numbers.

3. Open Enrollment Lottery
If an Open Enrollment lottery is required, only the applications submitted during the Open Enrollment period will be included in the lottery. Any application received after the Open Enrollment period has ended will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis, behind any students placed on the waitlist. The lottery is an electronic system that randomly identifies students for enrollment. All applicants who are not exempt from the lottery process, as discussed below, will participate in the lottery.

4. Lottery Exemptions
In accordance with federal guidance on the Charter Schools Program, Texas Preparatory School will
exempt the following applicants from the lottery process if a class or grade is oversubscribed:

a. Children of the school’s founders, so long as the total number of students allowed under this exemption constitute only a small percentage of the school’s total enrollment.
b. Children of the school’s teachers and staff, so long as the total number of students allowed under this exemption constitute only a small percentage of the school’s total enrollment. TEC § 12.117(d) allows enrollment of a child of an employee regardless of whether the child resides in the geographic area served
by the school.
c. Siblings of students already enrolled at a Texas Preparatory School. A sibling is defined as an individual having one or both parents in common or a stepsister or stepbrother that resides under the same roof as the applicant, a legally adopted brother or sister residing in the same household as the applicant, or a child residing in the same household through foster placement or legal guardianship. Cousins, nieces, nephews, and unrelated children sharing an address with the applicant are not considered siblings.
Documentation may be requested to confirm sibling status. To be exempt from the lottery process, siblings of currently enrolled students must submit a completed application before the closing of the Open Enrollment period.
d. Students who have been deemed as in attendance at Texas Preparatory School and who have submitted
a Transfer Request form to change enrollment to another Texas Preparatory School campus. (See below
for the definition of a transfer student.)

Sibling Exemption Guidelines
All current students who timely elect to re-enroll at the same school campus for the subsequent school year are deemed as “enrolled” for purposes of the lottery process. If a student who enrolled withdraws from the school before a sibling of the student is offered enrollment, the sibling will not be eligible for an exemption from the lottery. If one sibling of a student in attendance is randomly selected by lottery for enrollment, any other siblings of the enrolled student will be exempt from the lottery process. Sibling enrollment is not guaranteed, however, and is dependent on the available space in the requested grade or class. If there is no available slot, a sibling will be placed at the top of the waiting list of the requested
grade or class.

Enrollment Procedure

1. All applicants, including interesting siblings, MUST apply online at:

Austin K-6 App (Link will open in separate tab)
Austin K-6 Enrollment Forms (Link will open in separate tab)

2. Upload all requested documents and submit them.
3. Only one application per student is allowed.
4. Submit your completed enrollment and application form.
5. The school registrar will contact the parents after receiving the application.
6. The school registrar will contact the parents to schedule a meeting and a campus tour.
6. If accepted, the Campus Director will notify the parents via email.
7. Parents must respond to the acceptance offer within the specified timeframe to secure your
spot. Failure to respond by the deadline will void your acceptance.

ACCEPTING/DECLINING OFFERED ENROLLMENT

1. How to Accept an Offer of Enrollment
When an applicant is offered enrollment, the parent/guardian will receive instructions on how to accept
the enrollment offer and complete the student’s files.

a. Accept/Decline the offer of enrollment.
b. Once an applicant has accepted an offer of enrollment, they will be asked to submit the completed documentation to finalize the student’s enrollment file. The school will provide specific drop-off dates and times for submitting these documents and completing the registration process

Parental Rights and Educational Decision-Making
Texas Preparatory School complies with all applicable court orders. If a court order grants sole educational decision-making authority to one parent, that parent’s decisions will be followed. For parents who share educational decision-making authority, the school may rely on and act upon the decision of either parent. However, if parents with joint educational decision-making authority disagree about an educational decision, including enrollment, the school will maintain the current status quo until the parents reach a mutual agreement or a new court order is provided by the family court system.

2. First day Attendance
Students are expected to attend school on the first day. Failure to do so without proper notification, and in accordance with the school’s applicable attendance policies and procedures, may result in disenrollment.

WAITLIST PROCEDURES

Applicants who are not randomly selected for enrollment in the lottery process will be placed on a grade-specific waitlist, based on lottery results. Students who submit completed applications after the Open Enrollment period has ended will be offered enrollment if there is space available in the grade level of interest. If space is not available, the student will be placed on the waitlist, behind those students added to the waitlist through the lottery process, based on the date the application is submitted.

Each time an opening becomes available in a particular grade, the school will contact the parent of the next student on the waitlist for that grade and offer the open spot for that child. If the parent declines the spot, it will then be offered to the next student in line on the waitlist for that grade, and so on. Parents with children on the waitlist are encouraged to advise the school of any change in their contact information, so that they may be reached if an opening develops for which their child is eligible.

Parents are also asked to notify the school if they no longer wish to have their child included on the waitlist, so
that the waitlist can be updated accordingly. Our waitlists do not roll over from year to year; parents with students on a waitlist for the current school year must complete the registration process for the next school year, in order to be eligible for enrollment
for that school year.

It is not possible for a school to determine an applicant’s chances of being offered a spot if they are on a waitlist. Once classes are full, any spots that open up are the result of student withdrawals. Although we do typically see a number of spots open up before the start of school, we have no way of knowing in which grades spots will open up or how many spots will become available.

Need Help?
Contact the school registrar at registrar@texasprep.us with any questions during the process.