South Carolina Enrollment
Lottery Policy & Enrollment
Colearn Academy South Carolina (Colearn) is a virtual public charter school located in South Carolina. Colearn is sponsored by the Limestone Charter Association and is open to all students eligible and qualified to attend public school in the state of South Carolina. Students will be admitted to Colearn without regard to race, sex, religion, gender, creed, national origin, disability, ancestry, need for special education services, or socioeconomic condition. Students currently enrolled at Colearn are automatically enrolled at Colearn for the next school year.
Enrollment and Lottery Policies and Procedures
In accordance with Section 59-40-50 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, Colearn Academy South Carolina will admit all students residing in South Carolina eligible and qualified to attend Kindergarten through Tenth Grade for 25-26 school year (up to 11th grade for 26-27 school year and 12th grade in 27-28 school year), subject to space limitations. If the number of applicants exceeds the capacity of the program or grade level, the students will be accepted by lot, as specified in the federal and state guidelines.
Step 1: Application
A completed application must be submitted via online at www.colearn-academy.com. No fee is required to apply. The application requires only contact information for student and parent or guardian, sending school, birthdate, and current grade. Once an application is submitted, the registrar records the application submission date, and the parent or guardian is notified via email that the application is accepted.
Pre-Lottery Notification
Lottery date, time, and location are announced on the website and the school Facebook page at least 21 days prior to the lottery date. At the same time all Applicants are notified via email about the lottery date, time, and location/mode. The lottery is a public meeting.
The Colearn lottery will only be used if the number of applicants exceeds the capacity of the school or grade level on the date and time of the designated deadline for submission for entry into the lottery. If at the time of the deadline, no lottery is necessary for a specific grade, then Applicants will be accepted in the order the application was received until all seats are filled. Once the seats are filled, Applicants will be placed on the waitlist in either the order applications are received or according to any applicable priority.
Pursuant to SC Charter School law, Colearn will give priority enrollment status to: children of charter school employees and founding charter school committee members but not to exceed 20% of enrollment, siblings of a student currently enrolled and attending or who were enrolled in Colearn in the past six years for at least one year (not applicable for 2025-2026). For the initial year, siblings of students who are given a seat through the current lottery will be given priority enrollment on condition that the qualifying sibling successfully complete enrollment and attend; however, once all seats in a class have been drawn, then if a sibling is pulled in a later class the sibling in the class where all seats are drawn can only be moved to the top of the waiting list. Priority enrollment status does not guarantee any student admission to Colearn, as acceptance remains conditioned on space availability in each applicable grade and completion of all processes necessary for enrollment.
In the event that a lottery is required due to reached capacity, a lottery will be held in accordance with the Colearn’s internal procedures.
Post-Lottery Notification
All applicants will be notified via email within three days whether they have the opportunity to continue with enrollment at Colearn or have been placed on a waiting list.
Step 2: Enrollment
Applicants who were offered a seat at Colearn, will have two weeks to either accept or deny proceeding with enrollment. If the school does not receive acceptance within two weeks, the offer will be retracted, and the student is moved to the bottom of the waiting list. Enrollment in the seat will then be offered to the first student on the waiting list. Upon a student informing the school of the intent to continue with enrollment, an enrollment packet is provided to the parent or guardian who has 30 days to submit the completed enrollment packet to the school with accompanying documentation (birth certificate, immunization records, parent/guardian's photo ID, and proof of SC residency) via email to hello@colearn.com. If the packet is not returned within the 30 days and no reasonable extension has been requested and granted, the seat is retracted and the student will be moved to the bottom of the waiting list. The opportunity to proceed with enrollment in the seat will be given to the first student on the waiting list.
Enrollment Packets
Once the school receives the completed enrollment packet with required documents, the school will contact the transferring school to get preliminary (unofficial) records. Colearn has authority to not admit a student who is ineligible to attend public school in South Carolina or due to expulsion.
Under no circumstances will students who are suspected of or experiencing homelessness be delayed enrollment or withdrawn due to lack of appropriate enrollment documentation, including proof of address.
Post-Lottery Applications
Colearn will continue to accept applications continuously during the year. If the application is received after the lottery submission deadline, the school will confirm the grade level. If no waiting list exists, the parent or guardian will be directed to proceed with completing the enrollment packet online. The parent or guardian will have 30 days to submit the completed enrollment packet to the school with accompanying documentation.
Appeals
There will be no appeal for not being selected by lottery process. Should Colearn deny admission for a reason other than the results of a lottery, an appeal to the Colearn Board may be made within 5 business days. The appeal must be made in writing and must state the grounds on which the appeal is based. If the parent is not satisfied with the decision of the Colearn Board, the parent has 5 days from notification of the decision to appeal to the Limestone Charter Association.
Enrollment Process
The enrollment process, including a lottery system, is as follows:
Students who are currently enrolled (and their siblings) whose enrollment packets are received by the re-enrollment deadline are guaranteed enrollment, with the understanding that if the student’s next grade level is capped at a lower number of students than their current grade level there may be a lottery to determine enrollment and waiting list order.
All new students may enroll under open enrollment for the remaining openings with the understanding that if, for any grade level, the number of applications exceeds the number of openings, there will be a lottery to determine enrollment and waiting list order. At the time of the lottery, students must have complete enrollment applications on file including all required documents.
Applications received after open enrollment will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis for classes with remaining openings.
Enrollment Lottery Guidelines
For each grade where the number of verified Re-Enrollments plus the number of completed New Enrollments is less than or equal to the available seats, all students are available for acceptance.
For each grade where the number of Re-Enrollments plus New Enrollments exceeds the number of seats, the open seats remaining after Re-Enrolled students (including siblings) are placed will be available to New Enrollments by a lottery. The remaining New Enrollments will then be placed on a Waiting List, in order determined by lottery.
New Enrollments (and unconfirmed Re-enrollments as applicable) received after the open enrollment period ends will be available for placement on a first come first served basis
If a lottery is not needed at the end of the open enrollment period, Colearn Academy will continue to enroll students on a first come, first served basis until all grade levels are full. In compliance with ARS 15-184, Colearn Academy shall not limit admission based on ethnicity, national origin, gender, income level, disabling condition, proficiency in the English language or athletic ability.