Admission Requirements and Rights

The requirements for admission to Value Schools are as follows:

1. The student must be a resident of the state of California.
2. The student must be eligible to enter the ninth grade.

The student must not have completed the twelfth grade.

Value Schools primarily recruits students from the neighborhood in which each campus is located. As is true for surrounding schools, the student population is largely socioeconomically disadvantaged (as defined by eligibility for free or reduced-price meals). The traditional public schools in the surrounding area have low achievement profiles. Value Schools reaches out to students from these schools to inform them of their educational choices. Recruiting, advertising, and outreach materials make it clear that Value Schools welcomes all students, including those with disabilities.

If there are more students seeking enrollment in Value Schools than there is space available, students will be admitted according to the following priorities:

Lottery Preferences 

1. Students living within LAUSD boundaries are given first preference in the lottery as required by Ed. Code §47605(d)(2)(B).
2. Second preference is given to siblings of children currently enrolled in Value Schools, to promote educational continuity and family unity and convenience.
3. Third preference will be given to siblings of children currently enrolled in another school in the Value Schools network, to the extent permitted by law, to promote educational continuity and family unity and convenience.
4. Fourth preference, up to 10% of enrollment, is given to children of Value Schools’ staff or of members of the Value Schools Board of Directors to promote board involvement, regular school attendance and staff retention.

1. Parents seeking to enroll a new student submits a lottery application. Lottery applications for the upcoming year are available throughout the year at each school and on the school’s website. These applications list the date, time and place of the lottery. Enrollment is open all year except from the close of business on the Monday before the lottery draw to the morning following the draw.
2. The lottery application asks for the student’s name, parent contact information, the grade level for which admission is sought, the birth date of the student and information that would indicate whether the student is eligible for a lottery preference.
3. At least fifteen days before the lottery draw, parents of students who are currently enrolled are asked if they plan to have their children return in the following year. If they say “yes,” or fail to return the Intent to Re-enroll Form, those students are counted as returning for purposes of calculating the number of available seats in each grade.
4. Each Value School holds their lottery in a public space on campus. Attendance at the lottery is not required for admission to the school.
5. The lottery draw is conducted by the school administration. One staff member chosen by the faculty and one parent representative chosen at a parent meeting oversee the lottery process and verify that it was fairly executed according to these procedures. District representatives are welcome to attend the lottery drawing.
6. If the number of applicants at any grade level does not cause the enrollment of that grade level to reach its capacity, all the applicants are accepted.
7. If the number of applicants with lottery preferences exceeds the available seats on the lottery date, a lottery is conducted by the principal or principal’s designee by randomly drawing names of only the applicants on the list of applicants with preferences, in the order of priority listed above. The names drawn first are accepted for admission until all seats are filled, with any remaining names placed on a waiting list in the order their names are drawn.
8. Once the waiting list of students with lottery preferences is established, the principal or principal’s designee randomly draws names from the remaining applicant pool and places them on the waiting list in the order the names are drawn.
9. Once all seats are filled and a waiting list established, applications are still accepted, and assigned a waiting list number in the order in which they are received.

1. All applicants to Value Schools are given a written description of the rules governing the admission process when they submit a lottery application.
2. In addition to being included on the lottery application, notice of the date, time and place of the lottery is posted in a prominent place near the entrance to the school most used by the public and on the Value Schools website.
3. Within twenty-four hours after the lottery, names of those selected by lottery are posted in a publicly accessible section of each of our school buildings.
4. As noted in “Admission Process” above, attendance at the lottery is not required for admission to our schools. Parents may contact the main office of the school to which they applied to learn the outcome of lottery applications (i.e., admission or place on a waiting list).

1. Before a student attends Value Schools for the first time, but only after the student has been admitted, the family is asked to complete an enrollment form by which the school obtains additional information about the student and family.
2. A member of the school’s clerical staff notifies those selected for admission, in the order of their lottery draw, to notify them of admission and begin the enrollment process. If the staff member is unable to reach a parent directly, he or she will leave a message asking the parent to call for an appointment. If, after two business days, the parent fails to indicate an intent to enroll, that student’s name is moved to the end of the waiting list.
3. At the time of contact with a parent, an appointment is scheduled for the parent to complete the enrollment form, either in a group meeting or individually. Appropriate accommodations are made for parents/guardians who cannot attend an appointment during regular office hours, including extended office hours and the opportunity to submit the enrollment form by alternative means including mail or email. Staff members aid parents, in person or on the telephone, who need help filling out the form.
4. If the parent fails to keep the scheduled enrollment appointment and does not appear for a rescheduled appointment date or fails to submit the enrollment form within five business days, that student’s name is moved to the end of the waiting list.

1. The waiting list governs the order in which openings are filled.
2. If a parent applies after the lottery and all seats have been filled, the parent is orally notified at the time of application of the position that the student will be assigned on the waiting list.
3. If a seat becomes available later due to the departure of an enrolled student, a member of Value Schools calls parents in the order of placement on the list. Parents are given email and telephone contact information and directed to contact the school within three calendar days by one of those methods, or in person, to indicate interest in the position.

Value Schools maintains in the cumulative files of admitted students a record of how they were selected for admission (e.g., a sibling of a current student or lottery) for as long as the student is enrolled at the school. If the student leaves the school before graduating, the record of how the student was selected is removed from the student’s file and filed with the records of those students not selected in the year the student was admitted.

Value Schools maintains for three years a file with the lottery applications for those students not selected for admission. Filed lottery applications indicate the date the application was received, the lottery date and the waiting list number if one was assigned. A copy of any admission-related correspondence between a family and the school is appended to the filed application.

Value Schools shall adhere to the provisions of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and ensure that each child of a homeless individual and each homeless youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education as provided to other children and youths. Value Schools shall provide specific information, in its outreach materials, websites, at community meetings, open forums, and regional center meetings, that notifies parents that Value Schools is open to enroll and provide services for all students and provides a standard District contact number for access to additional information regarding enrollment. Value Schools shall comply with all applicable state law regarding homeless and foster youth, including but not limited to the provisions of AB 379 (2015) and Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 48850) of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, as amended from time to time. Value Schools shall extend its uniform complaint procedure to complaints filed pursuant to the applicable provisions of AB 379.

Value Schools shall maintain complete and accurate records of its annual admissions and enrollment processes, including but not limited to documentation of implementation of lottery and waitlist criteria and procedures in accordance with the terms of the Charter. These records shall be made available to the District upon request.