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<br />'A~~- <br />L>ep-art'ment <br />f'Educatien <br /> <br />.~. <br />( <br /> <br />6><._ <br /> <br />2J~- <br /> <br />January 25,2008 <br /> <br />VV\ F ACSTh1ILE A...1-,m U.S. MAIL <br /> <br />Senator Michael Jungbauer <br />State Office Building, Room 121 <br />100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. <br />St. Paul, lv1N 55155-1206 <br /> <br />Dear Senator Jungbauer, <br /> <br />Thank you for contacting the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) with your question <br />regarding charter school law and the admissions requirements outlined in Minn. Stat. S 124D.lO, <br />Subdivision 9. <br /> <br />As you know, Minn. Stat. S 124D.IO, Subd. 9(3) states: <br /> <br />[a] charter school shallenroll an eligible pupil who submits a timely application, unless <br />the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or <br />building. In this case, pupils must be accepted by lot. If a charter school is the only <br />school located in a town serving pupils within a particular grade level, then pupils that <br />are residents of the town 171.ust be given preference for enrollment before accepting pupils <br />by lot. If a pupil lives within two miles of a charter school and the next closest public <br />school is more than five miles away, the charter school must give those pupils preference <br />for enrollment before accepting other pupils by lot. <br /> <br />A. charter school shall give preference for enrollment to a sibling of an enrolled pupil and <br />to afoster child of that pupil's parents before accepting other pupils by lot. <br /> <br />Although there has been some question over whether the statute makes a distinction between a <br />"city" and a "town" for purposes of applying the statutory admission preference, MDE does not <br />believe that the legislature intended to make any such distinction. Rather, MDE interprets the <br />statute to use the terms "citY' and "town" interchangeably for purposes of fairly appl-ying this <br />statute and honoring its intent to. provide fair and practicable choices for students with a <br />geographic or family need to attend a particular charter school. <br /> <br />With regard to your constituent's situation, MDE lacks the necessary facts specific to his case <br />(e.g. his proximity to the school, his intended grade level, or his sibling status) that would enable <br />us to make a judgment about whether this specific student is, indeed, eligible for preference in <br />admissions. . If you or your constituent would like' to provide further information, we can <br />certainly apply the statute to his indi~idual circumstances to determine whether he would qualify <br /> <br />1500 Highway 36 West, Roseville, MN 55113-4266 651-582-8200 TTY: 651-582-8201 -33- <br />