Applying and Registration
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      1. The Seed: CSUSA Help Center
      2. Applying and Registration

      How Do I Register For School?

      Understanding CSUSA Registration, Lotteries, and Waitlists

      Charter schools are in high demand and because limited seats are available, often there are more students who want seats than there are seats available. If that happens at any grade level, a lottery must be held to determine who will be offered the available seats. Once a seat is offered, parents have a certain amount of time to accept the offer and upload all registration documents.  If they do not accept the offer or complete the registration paperwork within the allotted time, the seat is then offered to the first person on the waiting list and the process begins again. If the first person on the waiting list declines or does not accept or turn in their registration in time, the next person on the waiting list is offered the seat, and so on.

       
      How are available seats determined? 
      In kindergarten, the number of seats available depends on how many students are permitted by the school’s charter. If kindergarten is slated to accept 60 students, all 60 seats are equally available to all students who apply during open enrollment unless there are allowable preferences to claim a set.  In every grade after kindergarten, every enrolled student is given an opportunity to recommit to their seat the following year. If they recommit, they are guaranteed a seat and do not have to re-register or complete paperwork again. 


      What are allowable preferences? 
      Preferences may be given for applicants with siblings who already attend the school, children of active military parents, governing board members, and teachers. Sometimes charters will be written that require preferences for low-income students or those who are considered high risk. Once all those factors are considered, the number of seats available is determined per grade level.  
      What Is open enrollment? 
      Open enrollment is a time (insert dates if possible) for applicants to have an equal opportunity at an available seat. Everyone who applies during the open enrollment period will either be offered an available seat or, if there are not enough seats, they will all be entered into the random lottery.  Students can apply and register to become a student at any time during the school year but will only be accepted if seats are available.  If someone applies outside of the open enrollment period and a lottery was held and the waiting list was established, anyone applying outside of the open enrollment period will go to the end of the waitlist.


      How is the order of the waitlist determined? 
      When a random lottery is held, all students who applied during the open enrollment period will have an equal opportunity to have their name drawn and a seat offered. If all seats are offered in the order in which the names are drawn, the next name drawn will be the first one on the waitlist, the next name will be second, and so on until all names of every student who applied during open enrollment have been drawn.  Anyone who applies outside of open enrollment will be added to the end of the waiting list in the order in which they apply.

      Enrolling with Online Registration
      Congratulations! If your student has been offered a seat, you can rest assured that you have chosen the best school for his or her needs. Once offered a seat, parents log into the SchoolMint Dashboard to complete the three-step registration process.

      1. Accept the offer with seven calendar days. 
      2. Complete the registration online via the SchoolMint Dashboard within 14 calendar days of accepting the offer. 
      3. Upload the required documents within 14 business days of accepting the offer. If you are unable to upload the documents, please call the enrollment department at the school for a time to bring them in. 

      Required documents to finalize enrollment:
      • Birth certificate
      • Parent/Guardian driver’s license
      • Proof of residence
      • Immunization
      • Physical (list form and specifics)
      • Special Education documents (EP, IEP, 504, ESOL), if applicable
      • Custody court documents, if applicable
      • Additional documents may be required depending on your school or state. 
      If an applicant cannot upload the required documents, they can contact the School Enrollment Administrator to set up an appointment time to submit forms. 

      To apply go to your school's website and click the 'Apply' button.