If you have any questions or concerns as you develop, review, or revise your Admissions and Enrollment Policy, please contact the Legal and Policy Department and we will be happy to support you.
Grounded in the conviction that every child should have access to high-performing school choices, CSI is committed to ensuring all schools in the CSI portfolio conduct student admissions and enrollment practices in an equitable manner and further consider opportunities for improving student diversity.
Equitable Enrollment
State law prohibits schools from establishing “undue barriers” during either admissions or enrollment that have the effect of excluding students based on socioeconomic, family, or language background, prior academic performance, special education status, or parental involvement. To ensure prospective students do not face any of these discriminatory barriers, CSI schools must conduct a two-stage admissions and enrollment process, collecting only the most basic information about an applicant prior to offering the student a seat. In most cases, information about race, ethnicity, English Learner status, country or origin, disability status, or free and reduced lunch eligibility should not be collected until a student is offered a seat and the enrollment process begins. Application forms should be available online and in-person and be easy for families to complete and submit. For additional resources and information about equitable enrollment, including a sample enrollment policy, see below.
Encouraging Diversity
To further ensure a diversity of student backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, CSI schools can consider weighted lotteries, by which an additional weight (e.g., two or more chances to be selected for a seat via the lottery) is given to students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, students with disabilities, migrant students, English Learners, neglected or delinquent students, and/or homeless students. Schools may collect information related to these statuses during the application stage only when it correlates directly with a lottery weight. Schools may also consider other approaches to encouraging diversity, such as engaging local community organizations and conducting ongoing and targeted outreach. For additional resources and information, including an equity-focused enrollment audit tool, see below.