2006-2007 School Year Lottery Process

The Arkansas Virtual School (ARVS) is a pilot program of the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), run in conjunction with K12 Inc. and funded through the U.S. Department of Education's Voluntary Public School Choice grant. The Department of Education's grant program is designed to give students, particularly those from schools identified by the state as "low-performing", the opportunity to move to higher performing schools.

The lottery for 2006-2007 school year enrollment, if necessary, will be held on or before May 3, 2006.

These lottery rules have been developed pursuant to the requirement in the approved grant application. Students must be selected by lottery if the number of applicants exceeds the total number of seats (as defined below).

Lottery Definitions

Applicant - An eligible student seeking enrollment in ARVS.

Application - One-page form per student that indicates an interest in enrolling a student in ARVS and which, if submitted by the deadline, entitles the applicant to participate in the lottery, if necessary.

Application Deadline - The date by which all applications must be received. The application deadline for the 2006-2007 school year is close of business (4:30 p.m. CST) on April 26, 2006

Available Seats - The number of available seats is figured by determining the number of total seats for a given school year on the basis of available funding and then subtracting the number on the exempt list.

Enrolled Student - An applicant who has submitted a timely application, has been offered an available seat, and has accepted enrollment in ARVS by submitting a timely and complete enrollment packet.

Enrollment Deadline - The date by which all enrollment packets must be received. The enrollment deadline for applicants responding to an offer of enrollment immediately after the lottery for the 2006-2007 school year is April 26, 2005. After the initial enrollment deadline, applicants on the waiting list will be offered enrollment on a rolling basis according to the order of the waiting list, if seats are available (e.g., in the case of a withdrawal).

Enrollment Packet - The collection of forms designed to gather information required by the Arkansas Department of Education for reporting purposes and by ARVS for proper enrollment in ARVS. A completed enrollment packet must be received with all the required documentation before the student is considered enrolled.

Exempt List - The list of applicants not subject to the lottery and automatically enrolled, if there are seats. The following categories of applicants are not subject to the lottery according to the following hierarchy:

1. ARVS students returning from the previous school year
2. Eligible siblings of ARVS students who are enrolled at the end of the 2005-2006 school year
3. Applicants from schools identified by the State of Arkansas as "low-performing"

All eligible persons on the exempt list will be offered seats, if available, and must affirmatively respond to an offer for acceptance on or before the application deadline by accepting enrollment and by submitting a complete enrollment packet.

If there are more students on the exempt list than there are seats, a special lottery will be held by grade to determine who will be offered a seat.

Lottery - Applicants are selected by a random method, such as the blind drawing of individual or sibling groups from a container in sequence until all applicants in the container have been drawn. Only applicants submitting timely applications will be included in the lottery (on or before April 26, 2006 by 4:30 p.m. CST)

Seat - The number of students who can enroll in ARVS for a given school year, as determined jointly by K12 and the Arkansas Department of Education on the basis of available revenue.

Sibling - An applicant of school age who is a brother or sister of a current ARVS student or selected applicant. A sibling is defined as one who has at least one parent in common with the student or applicant or who is a legal adoptee of at least one of the eligible applicant's parents as of the date of the lottery.

Waiting List - An ordered list of applicants drawn randomly from a pool of applicants after the total number of seats has been filled for a grade. There will be one waiting list for all students. The waiting list will be ordered according to sibling preference, e.g., an applicant is drawn and his/her sibling(s) are listed after him/her in order with the next succeeding numbers. Waiting list does not roll over from year to year. Applicants not successful in the lottery must reapply each year.

Lottery Rules

1. If the number of applicants is less than the number of seats, no lottery shall be conducted. The lottery will be held only if the number of applicants exceeds the number of seats on the date of the application deadline.
2. Only applications received at the location designated on the application form and by the application deadline will be eligible to participate in the lottery.
3. Any applications received after the application deadline, including applications for siblings, will be added to the end of the waiting list after the lottery in the order they were received.
4. All applicants who are not on the exempt list must participate in the lottery.
5. All references to dates are defined to mean the close of business (4:30 p.m. Central Time) on the date indicated.
6. All applicants (not including those on the exempt list) offered a seat shall be required to affirmatively respond to an offer of enrollment on or before the enrollment deadline by submitting a complete enrollment packet. Those not responding by the enrollment deadline will be required to resubmit an application, which will be subject to Rule 3 above. Completed enrollment packets for applicants selected in the lottery must be received no later than the enrollment deadline if the applicants are to become enrolled students.
7. The lottery will be held once per year.
8. Siblings and the Lottery:
   1. If an applicant is on the exempt list, his/her applicant siblings will be added to the exempt list before the lottery is conducted.
   2. Siblings of applicants who are offered enrollment will also be offered enrollment, provided that the sibling is an applicant himself.
   3. Any sibling may withdraw at any time without affecting the status of other enrolled siblings.
   4. Any sibling who withdraws may reapply the next school year and be offered enrollment under the sibling rules.
   5. Any student who withdraws and wishes to return to ARVS in the same school year must reapply and will be added to the end of the waiting list.
9. ALL offers of enrollment shall be made in the order of the lottery results and established waiting list.

• ARVS administration personnel to draw the numbers
• A sufficient number of "lots" bearing an individual number for each family
• A list of applicants or families, each assigned a number (Master Spreadsheet)
• A list of applicants on the exempt list
• A computer on which to record names as drawn for each grade

Lottery Process

1. The lottery rules will be made available to attendees.
2. Available Seats Established: The number of students on the exempt list will be deducted from the total number of seats to determine how many available seats are in the lottery.
3. Any applicants who qualify for the exempt list will be added to the beginning of the enrollment list.
4. The Lottery Drawing:
   1. The total number of eligible applicants will be recorded.
   2. The assigned numbers will be entered into a computerized randomizer program that will sort the numbers and establish an ordered list.
   3. The ordered list will be corresponded with the applicant list.
   4. A list of selected applicants for the available seats will be created.
   5. There will be one waiting list that is not grade-specific.
5. Enrollment opportunities for slots that may come open will be offered to the next person on the waiting list, regardless of the grade level of the person creating a new available seat (e.g., if the opening was in grade 3 but the next person on the waiting list is in grade 2, that person will be enrolled in grade 2). The waiting list is good only for the current school year, after which applicants must reapply.
6. ARVS administration personnel will verify the drawing by checking the enrollment list with the backup list.