Admissions Information

Our admissions requirements and enrollment policies are defined in our Charter (and also described below) which was approved by the Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Directors on 1/22/2001. This is a required element of any charter per Charter Law, section 47605. (2)(A) of the California Education Code.

For your reference, we have listed the section of the California Law (from the Charter Schools Act) below which pertains to Student Enrollment and Admissions:

Section 47605. (2)(A) A charter school shall admit all pupils who wish to attend the school.
(B) However, if the number of pupils who wish to attend the charter school exceeds the school’s capacity, attendance, except for existing pupils of the charter school, shall be determined by a public random drawing. Preference shall be extended to pupils currently attending the charter school and pupils who reside in the district. Other preferences may be permitted by the chartering authority on an individual school basis and only if consistent with the law.
(C) In the event of a drawing, the chartering authority shall make reasonable efforts to accommodate the growth of the charter school and, in no event, shall take any action to impede the charter school from expanding enrollment to meet pupil demand.

After considering the above law, we developed the following Charter School of Morgan Hill Admission Requirements (as stated in our Charter):

The Charter School of Morgan Hill will actively recruit a diverse student population from the District and surrounding areas. Admission to the School shall be open to any resident of the State of California. Prospective students and their parents or guardians will be briefed regarding the School’s instructional and operational philosophy. It is the School’s hope that enrolling students and their families will understand and value the School’s mission and be committed to the School’s instructional and operational philosophy.

The School’s annual open enrollment period will be held every spring for the upcoming school year. The enrollment period will be widely and thoroughly publicized before and during this time. In the event that there are more applicants than spaces available per grade level, a public random drawing for enrollment, except for returning students to the School, will be conducted in stages as follows:

1. Children of Launch Team members* and staff working 50% or more
   residing in the District
2. Siblings of existing School students
3. Children who are actively maintining a position on our waiting list.
   To learn more, click here.
4. Children of staff working 50% or less residing in the District
5. Children of all other District residents
6. Children of Launch Team members* and staff working 50% or more
   residing outside the District
7. Children of staff working less than 50% residing outside the District
8. Children residing outside the District

*Definition of "launch team member", from our bylaws Section 7.3.6:

Launch Team Member by virtue of having served on the Launch Team, defined as a person having logged a minimum of one hundred and fifty (150) hours of service directly and productively in support of (i) the creation of this corporation prior to the first enrollment period for the first charter school sponsored by this corporation and/or (ii) its associated school(s) prior to the first enrollment period for the charter school so supported by the prospective Member. An individual having provided the required service must choose to accept or decline Launch Team membership no later than the end of the first enrollment period.

Please note that there have been many people working on the charter school project. Of these, fewer than 20 people qualified for the title of "launch team members" as defined in the bylaws above. Most people on the launch team did not complete 150 hours of work before the 1st enrollment period yet were involved simply because they wanted to contribute to making this project happen for their children and their community. Being involved was one of the best ways to keep up with the status of the project and influence the development of the school. If you have questions about the admissions information, please e-mail us at principal@csmh.org.