Lottery and Waitlist Procedures

Purpose: The purpose of this policy is to define the admissions process for Harrisburg Global
Academy in a clear, fair, and consistent manner that does not offer priority to any student except
for those specifically permitted under South Carolina law.

Harrisburg Global Academy is a nonprofit, tuition-free public charter school authorized by the
State of South Carolina. As a charter school, the school will be open to all students who would
otherwise qualify for enrollment in South Carolina Public Schools. HGA will not discriminate
against any student on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, or disability.
The School’s open enrollment period begins on November 15 and ends on January 31. The
lottery will be conducted on the first Monday of February. Applicants do not need to be present
in order to be selected. HGA will notify all parents who applied via SMS and Email within 48
hours of the lottery.

No criteria for admission will be used except the completed application. The application must be
completed online through PowerSchool via our website (or by paper request if needed). The
application will ask for the student’s full name, parent/guardian(s) full name(s), student’s current
address in South Carolina, parent/guardian’s phone number and email address, student’s county
of residence, student’s current grade level and their grade level for the coming school year,
student’s date of birth, the name(s) of any siblings currently enrolled at HGA, a declaration
confirming the student’s residence in the state of South Carolina, a confirmation of access to
email, and an indication as to how the family would like their children entered into the lottery.

Grade Level for the Lottery Application
Parents will be asked to confirm both their student’s current grade level and their grade for the
upcoming school year. Parents may not choose which grade they would like their child enrolled
in for the coming year. They must enter their student’s actual current grade and next year’s grade
as confirmation.

If a parent/guardian wishes for their student to be considered for retention, the parent/guardian
must apply the upcoming grade level as usual. If the student is admitted, the Principal will
evaluate the retention recommendation. Should the student’s prior school have documented a
recommendation for retention, and the student is admitted, HGA will place the student in the
appropriate grade level. If the student is on the wait-list when a retention decision is made, the
student will be transferred to the correct grade-level wait-list in the same position number as
originally drawn during the lottery.

Returning Students
Students currently enrolled at HGA are considered returning students and are not required to
reapply each year. However, they must complete the re-enrollment form via PowerSchool (or a
paper alternative if needed) by the deadline communicated by HGA in order to secure their place
for the coming school year.

Enrollment Priority
In accordance with South Carolina law (§ 59-40-50(B)(8)), HGA may provide enrollment
priority to the following groups, provided space is available in the relevant grade level:
• Students enrolled from the previous school year (returning students).
• Children of HGA employees or members of the charter school committee/board (may not
exceed 20% of the school’s total enrollment).
• Siblings of current HGA students, or of former HGA students who attended at least one
complete academic year within the last six years.

Bundled Policy for Siblings
All children in a family are “bundled” together under one unique lottery registration number but
will only be registered to run in the lottery under the name and grade of the oldest child
(“Primary Registrant”). If the “Primary Registrant” child is admitted, all siblings bundled on the
registration form will be eligible for placement in their respective grade levels immediately, as
long as there are seats available. If there are no openings, they will be placed on the preferred
waitlist for the respective grade level. If the “Primary Registrant” is placed on the waitlist, the
other siblings will also be placed on the waitlist for their respective grade levels. It is our intent
to provide Lottery Procedures that benefit families but are fair and consistent for all of our
applicants.

Multiple Birth Siblings
If multiple-birth siblings apply to the school, their shared surname will be entered into the lottery
once to represent all siblings. If their entry is selected in the lottery while there is at least one
available seat in their grade level, all multiple-birth siblings will be admitted. If their entry is
selected after all available seats have been filled, the siblings will be placed on the waitlist in the
order they are listed on their application.

Lottery Procedures
After the initial year, and before the general enrollment lottery, HGA will conduct a sibling
lottery if the number of sibling applicants for a given grade exceeds the number of available
seats. Sibling-applicants will be randomly drawn, and if admitted, they will be removed from the
general lottery pool for that grade. Any sibling applicants not admitted will be placed on that
grade’s wait-list in the order drawn. Once the sibling lottery has been completed (if necessary),
the general lottery will begin.

After the completion of any sibling lottery, HGA will conduct the general lottery for all
remaining applications submitted during the open enrollment period. The lottery will be grade-
level specific, filling the highest grade level first, moving downward through each grade, and ending
with kindergarten.

For each grade level, once all available seats are offered, remaining applicants will be placed on
that grade’s waitlist in the order they were drawn in the lottery. The waitlist will be used to fill
vacant positions as they become available, in the order of the list, if the school chooses to fill the
vacant position.

Lottery Results
If a student has been admitted to the school, HGA will notify the parent/guardian via email. If the
parent/guardian indicated on the application that they do not have access to email, HGA will mail
an acceptance letter to the child’s residence address.

Students Applying after the Open Enrollment Period
Any applicants who apply after the open enrollment period has closed will be admitted into their
respective grade level only if seats remain available after all lottery applicants and wait-listed
students have been placed. If no seats are available, the late applicant will be placed on the
grade-level waitlist following the current waitlist, in the order the late applications are received.

Enrollment
For students admitted on or before May 15, the parent/guardian must accept or decline the offer
within 10 calendar days of the offer notification and must submit required enrollment paperwork
within 30 calendar days of that notification.

For students admitted after May 15 but on or before July 15, the parent/guardian must accept or
decline the offer within 7 calendar days and submit required enrollment paperwork within 10
calendar days.

For students admitted after July 15, the parent/guardian must accept or decline the offer within
48 hours and submit required enrollment paperwork within 5 calendar days.
If the school does not receive enrollment confirmation and/or the required paperwork within the
specified time period, HGA reserves the right to withdraw the offer and offer the seat to the next
student on the wait-list. If a parent/guardian declines their enrollment offer and later decides to
enroll their student, the family must submit a new application and will be placed at the next
available spot on the wait-list.

As seats become available, HGA will contact the parent/guardian of the next student on the
waitlist via email. If the parent does not have access to email, as specified on their application,
the school will mail a letter of acceptance to the child’s residence. A phone call will also be made
to the parent notifying them of the student’s acceptance and applicable deadlines for returning
their enrollment paperwork. Every effort will be made to communicate promptly with all
accepted families.

School’s Right to Refuse Enrollment
If a charter school suspends or expels a student, other charter schools or the local school district
in which the charter school is located may refuse admission to the student (SC 59-40-50 C 2).
HGA reserves the right to decline enrollment to any applicant whose parent/guardian knowingly
and/or willfully provided false, misleading, or incomplete information on the enrollment
application.

If a student accepts enrollment at HGA, but does not attend school within the first 2 days of
HGA’s start date, HGA will make reasonable efforts to contact their parent/guardian. If there is
no response from the parent/guardian by the 3rd day of school, HGA reserves the right to
withdraw the student from their enrollment roster and offer the seat to the next student on the
wait list.

Enrollment Forms
Enrollment forms, which parents/guardians of admitted students must submit, will include, but
are not limited to, the following:

(1) Proof of Current South Carolina Residency
(2) Permission to request current school records
(3) Up-to-date Immunization Records
(4) Legal Birth Certificate

Handling of Errors

School Errors
If any mistake is made by the School in administering the lottery (or if any discrepancy occurs in
the lottery process as a result of the actions of the School), such mistake or discrepancy will not
invalidate the lottery, and the lottery results will stand with respect to all applicants who were
admitted at the appropriate grade level through the lottery. The mistake or discrepancy will be
corrected at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Directors (after recognition of
the mistake). If a mistake is made by an applicant resulting in the applicant not being placed at
the appropriate grade level in the lottery, the student will not be admitted via that lottery and
must submit a new, corrected application, which will be subject to the process followed for
students applying after the enrollment period.

If too many students were included in the lottery for a grade level or if a student name was
duplicated in the lottery at a grade level, HGA will remove the ineligible applicant(s) (or the
duplicate with the lower priority placement number, as applicable) and any applicants with
placement numbers behind the applicants who were removed will be advanced in order on the
list.

If an applicant is mistakenly left out of the lottery, HGA will determine the total number of
students who were included. Each applicant left out in error will then be assigned a random
lottery number from the full pool of applicants, and that number will determine their placement
as if they had been drawn at that point in the lottery. Any applicants on the waitlist who fall
behind the newly added applicants will be moved down accordingly. As noted above, the lottery
results will stand for all applicants who were properly admitted at their respective grade levels.

Parent Errors
• Duplicate Applications:
If a student’s name is duplicated in the lottery and school administration determines that
the student was intentionally registered multiple times, the student will be assigned the
lowest priority placement number received in the lottery.

• Incorrect Grade-Level Applications:
If an applicant is placed in the wrong grade level because a parent wishes to have their
student retained or inadvertently selected an incorrect grade during submission, the
application will not be eligible for admission. A corrected application may be submitted;
however, it will be processed according to the procedures for applications received after
the enrollment period.

Age Requirements
To attend kindergarten, students must be 5 on or before September 1 of the applicable school
year.