Currently, charters have the option of giving enrollment preference to students who live “within a two-mile radius” of the school, if that student’s traditional neighborhood campus is at or over capacity.
Fawson said he sponsored HB245 at the request of the Utah Association of Public Charter Schools. The concern, he said, is that current law requires precisely a two-mile radius of enrollment preference, which in urban and densely-populated areas could result in large numbers of children— potentially exceeding a charter schools’ capacity— being bumped to the front of the line.
Royce Van Tassell, executive director of the Utah Association of Public Charter Schools, said the issue was raised by administrators at Canyon Rim Academy, who are considering less than a two-mile radius for preferential enrollment.