§18-5G-11. Public charter school students; enrollment and eligibility; enrollment preferences; random selection lottery; enrollment discrimination prohibited; credit transfers; participation in interscholastic sports.

(a) Public charter schools are open for enrollment to all students of appropriate grade level age and all students shall be enrolled in accordance with the following:

(1) A public charter school shall provide or publicize to parents and the general public information about the public charter school as an enrollment option for students and the process for application and enrollment, including dates and timelines. If the public charter school includes in its mission a specific focus on students with special needs, including, but not limited to, at-risk students, English language learners, students with severe disciplinary problems at a noncharter public school or students involved with the juvenile justice system, it shall include the information in such publication. A public charter school’s recruitment effort shall include all segments of the student populations served by noncharter public schools of comparable grade levels;

(2) A county board shall provide or publicize to parents and the general public information about public charter schools within the county as an enrollment option to the same extent and through the same means that the county provides and publicizes information about noncharter public schools in the county;

(3) A county board may not require any student residing in the county to enroll in a public charter school, nor may it prohibit any public charter school student from returning to a noncharter public school;

(4) A public charter school shall designate its primary recruitment area in its charter application and charter contract. The establishment of a primary recruitment area by a public charter school does not negate any overlapping attendance area or areas established by a county board or boards for noncharter public schools. A primary recruitment area may include territory in more than one county;

(5) The primary recruitment area shall be based on the public charter school’s estimated facility and program capacity. The capacity of the public charter school shall be determined annually by the governing board of the public charter school in conjunction with its authorizer and in consideration of the public charter school’s ability to facilitate the academic success of its students, to achieve the other objectives specified in the charter contract, and to ensure that the student enrollment does not exceed the capacity of its facility, site and programs. An authorizer may not restrict the number of students a public charter school may enroll;

(6) Public charter schools may not discriminate against any person on any basis which would be unlawful for noncharter public schools in the school district. A public charter school may not establish admission policies or limit student admissions in any manner in which a public school is not permitted to establish admission policies or limit student admissions: Provided, That this subdivision may not be construed to limit the formation of a public charter school that is dedicated to focusing its education program and services on students with special needs, including, but not limited to, at-risk students, English language learners, students with severe disciplinary problems at a noncharter public school, or students involved with the juvenile justice system;

(7) A public charter school may establish any one or more of the following enrollment preferences for:

(A) Children who reside within the school’s primary recruitment area;

(B) Students enrolled in the public charter school the previous school year and siblings of students already enrolled in the public charter school;

(C) Children with special needs, including, but not limited to, at-risk students, English language learners, students with severe disciplinary problems at a noncharter public school, or students involved with the juvenile justice system; and

(D) Children of governing board members and full-time employees of the school as long as the number of students enrolled under this preference constitute no more than five percent of the school’s total student enrollment;

(8) A start-up public charter school shall enroll all students who apply and to whom an enrollment preference has been established. If the school has excess capacity after enrolling these students, the school shall enroll all other students who apply: Provided, That if the remaining applicants exceed the enrollment capacity of the program, class, grade level or building of the public charter school, the public charter school shall select students for enrollment from among all remaining applicants by a random selection lottery. The school’s lottery procedures and timelines support equal and open access for all students and take place in an open meeting;

(9) A conversion public charter school shall guarantee enrollment to all students who were previously enrolled in the noncharter public school and shall adopt and maintain a policy that gives enrollment preference to students who reside within the attendance area as established prior to the conversion of the school. If the school has excess capacity after enrolling these students and all others to whom an enrollment preference has been given, the school shall enroll all other students who apply: Provided, That if the remaining applicants exceed the enrollment capacity of the program, class, grade level or building of a public charter school, the public charter school shall select students for enrollment from among all remaining applicants by a random selection lottery. The school’s lottery procedures and timelines support equal and open access for all students and take place in an open meeting; and

(10) A program conversion public charter school shall enroll all students who apply for enrollment in the program who, at the time of authorization, are enrolled in the noncharter public school at which the program is operated. A program conversion public charter school shall adopt and maintain a policy that gives enrollment preference to students who are enrolled in the noncharter public school at which the program is operated. If the school has excess capacity after enrolling these students, the school shall enroll all other students who apply: Provided, That if the remaining applicants exceed the enrollment capacity of the program, class, grade level or building of a public charter school, the public charter school shall select students for enrollment from among all remaining applicants by a random selection lottery. The school’s lottery procedures and timelines support equal and open access for all students and take place in an open meeting.

(b) If a student who was previously enrolled in a public charter school transfers enrollment to a noncharter public school in this state, the school to which the student transfers shall accept credits earned by the student in courses or instructional programs at the public charter school in a uniform and consistent manner and according to the same criteria that are used to accept academic credits from other noncharter public schools or that consider content competency when appropriate due to differences in curriculum delivery, instructional methods and strategies, or course designations and sequence.

(c) Each public charter school shall be given access to and shall utilize the electronic education information system established by the West Virginia Department of Education, is subject to the Student Data Accessibility, Transparency and Accountability Act pursuant to section §18-2-5h of this code, and shall report information on student and school performance to parents, policy-makers and the general public in the same manner as noncharter public schools utilizing the electronic format established by the West Virginia Department of Education.

(d) Each public charter school shall certify annually to the State Department of Education and to the county board of the school district in which the public charter school is located its student enrollment, average daily attendance and student participation in the national school lunch program, special education, vocational education, gifted education, advanced placement and dual credit courses, and federal programs in the same manner as school districts.