Title 14, Education

§ 402A. Establishment of a uniform public school registration process. (a) The Department shall establish a uniform public school registration process to be used by a parent to register a child for school in the public school system for the first time. The process must meet the r…

§ 403. Pupil application; withdrawal [For application of this section, see 83 Del. Laws, c. 316, § 3]. (a) (1) Any parent of a school age child may apply to enroll that parent’s own child in a school or program in a reorganized school district, vocational-technical school distric…

§ 403A. Uniform public school registration process and information collection requirements. (a) The uniform public school registration process established under § 402A of this title must meet both of the following: (1) Be available through the Internet and in paper form. (2) Be a…

§ 404. Receiving district and local education agency procedures. (a) Within 10 working days after an application deadline, the receiving district shall transmit a notice to the district of residence that it has received the application. (b) The board of the receiving local educat…

§ 404A. Internet-based uniform public school registration process requirements. (a) The internet-based uniform public school registration process established under § 403A of this title must do all of the following: (1) Require a parent to do the following: a. Complete the online …

§ 405. Criteria for approval or disapproval [For application of this section, see 83 Del. Laws, c. 316, § 3]. (a) Each receiving local education agency shall adopt and make available a policy regarding the order in which applications for enrollment pursuant to this chapter shall …

§ 405A. Department duties. The Department shall: (1) Provide training on the uniform public school registration process established under this chapter to public school employees who are assigned to assist parents with the uniform public school registration process, including spec…

§ 406. Racial balance. (a) If approval of all of the applications for transfer into or out of a district would result in the district being out of compliance with any applicable court-ordered desegregation plan, the district shall establish the number of majority and minority gro…

§ 406A. Regulatory authority. The Secretary of the Department may promulgate regulations necessary to implement this chapter.83 Del. Laws, c. 252, § 1;

§ 407. Duration of enrollment in receiving district [For application of this section, see 83 Del. Laws, c. 316, § 3]. (a) (1) A pupil accepted for enrollment in a school or program pursuant to this chapter shall be entitled to remain enrolled therein until graduation from the sch…

§ 408. State and local education funding. (a) A pupil enrolled in a receiving district pursuant to this chapter shall be included in the unit count of the receiving district for all purposes relating to the allocation of all state and federal education funding and shall not be in…

§ 409. Transportation. (a) The parent of any child enrolled in a district other than the district of residence, or enrolled in a school within the district of residence other than the school in which the child would normally be enrolled based upon the residence of the child’s par…

§ 410. Interscholastic sports [Repealed].70 Del. Laws, c. 180, § 3; 81 Del. Laws, c. 72, § 2; repealed by 84 Del. Laws, c. 343, § 9, effective Aug. 2, 2024.;

§ 411. Pupils suspended, expelled, or truant in district of residence. If a child for whom an application has been submitted pursuant to this chapter has been suspended or expelled, or has been absent from school without a valid excuse for more than 15 school days during a school…

§ 412. Credits; graduation. A pupil who has been enrolled in a receiving district and who has met that district’s graduation requirements shall be granted a diploma by that district. That district shall accept credits toward graduation requirements that were awarded by another di…

§ 413. Discipline not affected. Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to affect or alter district policies with regard to disciplining students, including suspensions or expulsions.70 Del. Laws, c. 180, § 3;

§ 414. Intra-district choice. Where the district of residence includes more than one school or more than one program within any school providing instruction at a given grade level, a parent of a child entering such grade level may apply to enroll that parent’s own child in any pu…

§ 501. Legislative intent. The purpose of this chapter is to create an alternative to traditional public schools operated by school districts and improve public education overall by establishing a system of independent “charter” schools throughout the State. To that end, this cha…

§ 502. Potential charter organizers. This legislation is intended to encourage any person, university, college, or nonreligious, non-home-based, nonsectarian entity that can meet the requirements of this chapter to form a charter school. No private or religiously affiliated schoo…

§ 503. Legal status. A charter school is a public school including 2 or more of grade kindergarten through 12 managed by a board of directors, which operates independently of any school board, under a charter granted for an initial period of 4 school years of operation and renewa…

§ 504. Corporate status. (a) A charter school shall be organized and managed under the Delaware General Corporation Law. (b) The board of directors of a charter school shall be deemed public agents authorized by a public school district or the Department with the approval of the …

§ 504A. Powers. Consistent with its charter and the provisions of its certificate of incorporation, bylaws or membership agreements, the board of directors of a charter school or schools shall, as to each charter that the board holds, have the power to: (1) Manage the implementat…

§ 504B. Open meetings. (a) For purposes of this section: (1) “Agenda items” means major issues expected to be discussed at a public meeting, and excludes procedural items such as votes to approve minutes or enter into executive session. (2) “School board” means the board of direc…

§ 505. Exemptions; rules and regulations. (a) Except as otherwise specified in this chapter and title, a charter school is exempt from all provisions of this title except the provisions of Chapter 31 of this title, and all regulations of any board of education of a reorganized sc…

§ 506. Restrictions [For application of this section, see 83 Del. Laws, c. 316, § 3]. (a) A charter school may not do any of the following: (1) Charge tuition, except in accordance with Chapter 6 of this title, or collect fees not permitted to be assessed by other school district…

§ 507. Labor relations. (a) A public school may only be converted to a charter school by approval of the board of the school district in which it is located and that the charter application received the approval of over 50% of the teachers and over 50% of the parents residing in …

§ 508. Responsibility for student transportation. (a) (1) A charter school may do 1 of the following: a. Request to have the school district where the charter school is located transport students residing in that district, at fair cost, to and from the charter school on the same …

§ 509. School financing. (a) Charter schools shall be eligible for public funds under procedures established by this section. Notwithstanding that this Code may establish procedures for the funding of a public school choice program and that such program may include charter school…

§ 510. State assistance. (a) The Department of Education shall distribute information announcing the availability of the charter school program, explaining the powers and responsibilities of a charter school contained in this chapter, and describing the application process to eac…

§ 511. Approval procedure [For application of this section to the City of Wilmington, see 80 Del. Laws, c. 17, § 2]. (a) An approved charter school application, together with such conditions imposed pursuant to subsection (l) of this section, shall be the basis for a charter gran…

§ 512. Approval criteria. Subject to the process prescribed in § 511 of this title, charter school applications shall be in the form established by the approving authority and shall be approved if, after the exercise of due diligence and good faith, the approving authority finds …

§ 513. Reporting and oversight. (a) On or before January 15, each charter school shall produce an annual report for the school year ending the previous June, which shall include all of the following: (1) An explanation of the school’s progress in meeting overall student performan…

§ 514. State reports on the charter school program. Annually, the Department shall prepare a report for the Governor, the General Assembly, and the State Board of Education on the success or failure of charter schools and propose changes in state law necessary to improve or chang…

§ 514A. Renewals and nonrenewals. (a) Four years after a charter school has commenced its instructional program pursuant to this chapter and not later than every 5 years thereafter, the approving authority shall, upon notice to the charter school, review the performance of the ch…

§ 515. Oversight and revocation process. (a) The approving authority shall be responsible for oversight of the charter schools it approves. (b) In addition to the review required by § 514A(a) of this title, the approving authority may notify a charter school of potential violatio…

§ 516. Revocation criteria. Approved charters shall be subject to revocation or probation, after the exercise of due diligence and good faith, only for the following reasons: (1) The school, or its representatives, has committed a material fraud on the approving authority or misa…

§ 517. Charter transfer to different authorizer. Transfer of a charter, and of oversight of that public charter school, from 1 authorizer to another before the expiration of the charter term shall require a petition by the public charter school or its authorizer to the new author…

§ 518. Oversight and revocation for multiple charter holders. For purposes of §§ 515 and 516 of this title, each charter held by a common board of directors shall be treated separately and individually.78 Del. Laws, c. 187, § 11;

§ 519. Charter school board training. (a) (1) In order to best understand the educational and legal issues involved in special education due process hearings, each member of a charter school board of directors must complete training at the beginning of that member’s term on a cha…

§ 601. Definitions. For the purpose of this chapter the following terms shall have the following meanings: (1) “Receiving district” shall mean any reorganized school district which enrolls in its schools any pupil who is not a resident of such “receiving district.” (2) “Residence…

§ 602. Method of computation and payment of tuition charges for nonresident pupils. (a) Except in the cases provided for in § 603(c) of this title, no pupil shall be transferred from 1 school district to another school district without the written approval of the school board of …

§ 603. Exceptions and claims. (a) This chapter shall not apply when the payment or acceptance of such tuition charge is contrary to any educational program involving the use of federal matching funds which prohibits the payment or acceptance of such tuition. (b) Section 602(a) an…

§ 604. Special programs. (a) If any pupil is counted in the preschool, intensive or complex unit and attends school in a program operated by a district other than that in which the pupil resides, by an agency of the Department of Education or is in an approved private placement p…

§ 605. Inmates of children’s homes or institutions. (a) The school board of any reorganized school district in which there is located any orphans’ home, home for the friendless, children’s home, other institutions for the care of orphans or other children or any institution to wh…

§ 606. Out-of-state students. A child with a disability who is a resident of a state or country other than Delaware or the United States of America may be accepted, at the discretion of the receiving district, to attend a Delaware school under the following restrictions: (1) Chil…

§ 607. Children of district employees who reside out-of-state. (a) Out-of-State children whose parent or legal guardian is employed on a full-time basis by any reorganized school district may attend school in the district where the parent or guardian is employed during the period…