Subject: Admissions and Continuance Policy

Effective Date: June 06, 2008	Approved By: Board of Directors

Policy:

The Governing Board believes that all children should have the opportunity to receive educational services.

The Executive Director or designee shall maintain procedures which provide for the verification of all entrance and placement requirements specified in law and in Board policies and regulations.

Procedure:

Age of Admission

Proof of age shall be required of all enrolling students. (EC section 48002) The legal evidences of age, in order of desirability, are a birth certificate, baptismal certificate, passport, immigration certificate, Bible record, or affidavit from the parent/guardian.

Early Start Kindergarten

Students, who will have their fifth birthday after December 2, but prior to May 2, may enroll on or after the fifth birthday (Early Start Kindergarten) or until the enrollment cut-off date for that school year (whichever is earlier). Students with birth dates that fall between May 3 and the last day of the school year cannot enroll as a kindergarten student until the following fall semester. Students who enroll in kindergarten after the first semester must enroll as a kindergartener in the subsequent fall term in order to complete the requirements for a complete kindergarten academic year. The student will then be promoted to the first grade unless a continuance agreement is completed at that anniversary date.

The Kindergarten Continuance Form is used to document the understanding between the parent/guardian and the School regarding having a kindergarten student remain in kindergarten past the one year anniversary date. The date listed on the Kindergarten Continuance Form should be no longer than one year past the anniversary date of kindergarten.

Example: John Student entered into Early Start Kindergarten upon his fifth birthday (February 5, 2006). John Student will continue in kindergarten until February 5, 2007. John will be promoted by the teacher to first grade on that date unless there is a formal agreement to have him continue in kindergarten for a longer period of time (up to one additional year). A continuance agreement may be filled out so that John Student will continue in kindergarten until the end of that school year.

Regular Start Kindergarten

The office staff will verify the birth date of enrolling kindergarteners. Regular Start Kindergarten enrollment requires that the child’s fifth birthday occurs on or before December 2 of the school year. (EC section 48000(a) These students may enroll at any point in the year when enrollment is open. Students entering after the completion of the first semester will be required to complete the kindergarten program in the subsequent fall term.

Requesting Retention of a Regular Start Kindergartener

A continuance agreement is required to be signed and dated by the parent/guardian upon a decision to retain a student in kindergarten. The date the parent/guardian consented to the continuance must be listed on the form. The law requires that both the School and the student’s parent/guardian must be in agreement that it is beneficial for the student to continue in kindergarten for not more than one additional year. The Kindergarten Continuance Agreement Form shall be submitted to the JCS main office and should be filled out upon the kindergarten anniversary date when the retention is requested. After the completion of the Kindergarten Continuance Form, a student cannot continue in kindergarten any longer than one year past the first anniversary date (two full years of kindergarten).

First Grade

A child who will have reached the age of six years on or before December 2 of the current school year shall be eligible for enrollment in the first grade.

High School Level

The maximum age for enrollment into the JCS program is 17 (up to his/her 18th birthday) for students who have not been continuously enrolled in a school prior to their enrollment with JCS.

If the student has been continuously enrolled in another school program prior to requesting enrollment with JCS, he/she may enroll in JCS up to their 19th birthday (18 years old).

As long as the student has enrolled with Julian Charter School prior to the age of 19, they may stay in the program until age 22. The condition for this option is that they must remain continuously enrolled from the ages of 18 through 22.

A student must be enrolled for one full semester in order to be eligible for graduation from Julian Charter School.

Placement in High School

Students in grades 9-12 will be assessed for placement into their grade level according to the number of credits completed upon entry into our program. The High School Registrar will complete this evaluation using the following guidelines:

Grade 9:	Under 55 credits

Grade 10:	55 to 109 credits with completion of a 9th grade course requirements

Grade 11:	110 to 159 credits with completion of 10th grade course requirements

Grade 12:	160 + credits with completion of 11th grade course requirements

Students will automatically be placed in 9th grade if they do not have proof of an official transcript or an approved petition for credit.

Original Policy 12/17/04

Revised Policy 06/08/07

Revised Policy 06/06/08

PROMOTION/ACCELERATION/RETENTION

The law requires that both the School and the student’s parent/guardian must be in agreement that it is beneficial for the student to continue in kindergarten for not more than one additional year. A continuance agreement is required to be signed and dated by the parent near the admission anniversary date AND cannot exceed one year beyond the anniversary date.

Agreement to Continue Pupil in Kindergarten

Reflects amendments to Education Code sections 46300 and 48011, effective January 1, 1992.
Name of pupil:
Kindergarten attendance enrollment date:
Kindergarten attendance anniversary date (one year later than kindergarten attendance enrollment date):
Name of school official approving for district: Signature of Educational Facilitator: _________________________________ Date: _____________
Information for Parent or Guardian: California law provides that after a child has been lawfully admitted to a kindergarten and has attended for a year, the child shall be promoted to the first grade unless the school and the child’s parent/guardian agree to having the child continue to attend kindergarten for not longer than one additional year. This rule applies whether a child begins kindergarten at the beginning of a school year or at some later date, so that a child who begins kindergarten in January, for example, shall be promoted the following January unless there is a formal agreement to having him or her continue.
I agree to having my child (named above) continue in kindergarten until ___________ (date) (may not be more than one year beyond anniversary).
Signature of Parent/Guardian:	Date:
Printed/typed name of Parent/Guardian:
Address:
Telephone number: