Charter School Enrollment Practices
Audit of charter school enrollment practices across Illinois.
August 18, 2015 — Equip for Equality released a white paper on charter school enrollment practices, based on an audit of the practices and forms of every charter school in Illinois. This review uncovered that some schools ask for inappropriate and sometimes illegal information, such as disability status, social security number, and criminal history. Most enrollment forms lack clear non-discrimination statements and a clear process that ensures charter schools welcome all students.
Based on this audit, EFE makes recommendations to ensure that each school’s process complies with the law and enacts enrollment best practices.
- Enrollment materials must include a non-discrimination statement.
- Schools should establish clear enrollment processes that distinguish the lottery from registration.
- Charter schools need to remove inappropriate or illegal questions from application forms.
- Enrollment procedures should maximize parent access and minimize paperwork burdens.
- Transfer applications must follow the rules for initial applications.
- Charter authorizers should review application procedures annually.
- The Illinois State Board of Education should issue clear guidance about charter school enrollment rules.
EFE’s full analysis is available here:
- Charter School Enrollment Across Illinois (August 2015)
EFE calls on charter schools to review their own practices with this one-page checklist.
- Enrollment Practices Checklist (August 2015)
Original Enrollment Forms and Equip for Equality Summaries
In each section, the Appendix is a table that summarizes key features of each application. Below each summary table, the link for each school will open the original application and instructions from the school’s website as a .pdf document.
Non-Chicago Charter Schools
- Appendix Non-Chicago Charter Schools
- 8 Points
- Beardstown Charter School
- Cambridge Lakes
- CICS-Rockford Patriots/Jackson
- Galapagos Rockford
- LEARN North Chicago
- LEARN Waukegan
- Legacy-Rockford
- Peoria Quest
- Prairie Crossing Charter School
- Robertson Charter School
- SIUE-East St. Louis Charter High School
- Southland College Prep.
- Springfield Ball Charter
- YouthBuild McLean County
Chicago Charter Schools
- Appendix Chicago Charter Schools
- Academy for Global Citizenship
- ACE Technical Charter School
- Alain Locke Charter School
- Amandla Charter School
- ASPIRA
- Betty Shabazz International Charter Schools
- Bronzeville Lighthouse Charter School
- Catalyst Schools
- Chicago Collegiate Charter School
- Chicago International Charter School
- Chicago Math and Science Academy
- Chicago Virtual Charter School
- Christopher House Charter School
- EPIC Academy
- Erie Elementary Charter School
- Foundations College Prep
- Galapagos Charter School
- Great Lakes Academy
- Horizon Science Academy
- Instituto Health Sciences Career Academy
- Instituto Justice Leadership Academy
- Intrinsic Schools
- KIPP: Chicago
- Kwame Nkrumah Academy
- LEARN Charter School Network
- Legacy Charter School
- Legal Prep Charter Academy
- Montessori School of Englewood
- Namaste Charter School
- Noble Street College Prep
- North Lawndale College Prep
- Passages Charter School
- Perspectives Charter Schools
- Polaris Charter Academy
- Providence Englewood Charter School
- Rowe Elementary School
- University of Chicago Charter School
- UNO Charter School
- Urban Prep Academies
- Young Women’s Leadership Charter School of Chicago
Options Schools
- Appendix Options Schools
- Prologue Schools
- YCCS – General
- YCCS – Academy of Scholastic Achievement
- YCCS – Ada McKinley Lakeside Academy
- YCCS – Aspira – Pantoja Alternative
- YCCS – Austin Career Education Center
- YCCS – CCA Academy
- YCCS – Chatham Academy
- YCCS – Charles Hamilton Houston Alternative
- YCCS – Community Youth Development Institute
- YCCS – Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School
- YCCS – El Cuarto Año Association House
- YCCS – Innovations High School
- YCCS – Jane Addams High School
- YCCS – Olive Harvey
- YCCS – Latino Youth Alternative
- YCCS – Sullivan House High School
- YCCS – Truman Middle College
- YCCS – Virtual High School
- YCCS – West Town Academy
- YCCS – Westside Holistic Leadership Academy
- YCCS – Youth Connection Leadership Academy
Equip for Equality Charter School Project
For more information about Equip for Equality’s Charter School work, click here.
For more information, contact:
Rachel Shapiro
(312) 895-7308
Rachel@equipforequality.org
Last updated: August 03, 2018