Sierra Expeditionary Learning School desires that its student population be reflective of the entire Tahoe/ Truckee community.
To that end, SELS actively outreaches to recruit a student population from the entire area served by TTUSD, and attempts to
strike a socioeconomic balance among the student population consistent with the overall population of students in the district, as
reflected in the yearly California Basic Educational Data System (“CBEDS”) report for TTUSD. Each year, a specified
percentage (determined by the prior year’s CBEDS data) of all available spaces in each grade level will be designated for
economically disadvantaged students (as defined by those students’ demonstrated qualification for the Free and
Reduced Price Meal program).*

Currently enrolled students who have indicated their intent to re-enroll shall automatically be reserved a space for the
following year. Applicants who are children of eligible staff or siblings of currently enrolled students who previously applied
for enrollment and remain on the waitlist shall be offered admission in the order of the then-existing waitlist. Admission for
any remaining available spaces shall be offered by the following Preference Levels:

Preference Level A - Children of eligible** SELS staff (subject to a “small percentage” limitation that the total number of students allowed under the exemption does not exceed 10 percent of total enrollment).

Preference Level B - Siblings of existing SELS students

Preference Level C - Students residing within the territorial jurisdiction of TTUSD (as set forth in Education Code section 47605(d)(2)(B)).

Preference Level D - Students residing outside of the territorial jurisdiction of TTUSD.

Within each Preference Level, applicants will be placed in one of the following two Categories:
Category 1 - Economically Disadvantaged: Pool of applicants limited to economically disadvantaged students, defined as students demonstrating their eligibility for the Free-Reduced Price Meal program. Students admitted through Category 1 must provide proof of F-R Meal Program eligibility when requested. Failure to demonstrate eligibility shall result in forfeiture of offered admission and/or removal from the Category 1 waitlist. SELS reserves the right to audit eligibility, using the income eligibility guidelines established by the USDA.

Category 2 - General: all other applicants.
Suppose the number of applications for admission exceeds the number of remaining available spaces in a particular grade level. In that case, such spaces will be filled by public random lotteries, organized by Preference Level. Within each Preference Level, applicants shall be organized by Category. If there are insufficient applicants in the applicable Preference Level and Category, the next applicant within the applicable Preference Level for the alternate Category will be offered admission after the Public Lottery. However, suppose there are insufficient applicants in Preference Level C in either Category 1 or in Category 2. In that case, the next applicant for the alternate Category shall not immediately be offered admission after the Public Lottery. Rather, SELS shall continue its outreach efforts focused on the undersubscribed Category, and a second Public Lottery shall be conducted for the applicable grade level and Category. After the Second Public Lottery, if a grade level and Category with a vacancy remains undersubscribed, the next applicant within Preference Level C for the alternate Category shall be offered admission. Those not chosen for admission will be placed on a ranked waitlist for their Preference Level and Category based upon the order in which they were drawn.

The lotteries will be held in a public setting. In order to protect all applicants' anonymity and in an effort to keep families together, applicants will be assigned a Family Number on their applications, which will be used in the lottery to represent all students in such applicant’s nuclear family for which an enrollment application has been received.

After the lottery, SELS will post the results by Family Number at sels.ttusd.org. SELS Admin will notify families via email who are offered admission and provide them with official enrollment forms and instructions. It is the applicants’ responsibility to ensure that SELS has current contact information at all times. Successful applicants who fail to respond by the applicable deadline or decline an offer of admission shall be removed from the waitlist, and the next student will be notified.

Throughout the school year, if an opening becomes available, the next student on the waitlist for the appropriate Preference
Level and Category will be notified of his or her status and given a strict deadline to respond and accept or decline the spot. An applicant
who fails to accept admission within such period shall be removed from the waitlist, and the next applicant will be notified.
If there are no applicants on the waitlist for a Preference Level and Category with a vacancy, the next applicant within the Preference Level for the alternate Category will be offered admission. If there are no applicants on the waitlist for a Preference Level in either Category, the next applicant in the following Preference Level for the appropriate Category will be offered admission, and so on.
In order to avoid unnecessary academic disruption, following the Second Principal Apportionment reporting deadline (“P-2,” generally mid/late March), SELS will not fill any vacancies that become available for the remainder of the academic year.
A new lottery will be conducted each year. The waitlist for Preference Levels C and D will expire upon the P-2 deadline during each academic year. Applicants in Preference Levels A and B will maintain their waitlist position until they are offered admission.***

Students are eligible for Kindergarten if they are age 5 on or before Sept 1 (EC Section 48000[a]). Prior to applying to SELS, attendance by at least one parent at a Family Information event is required.

The following steps must be completed for the application to be deemed complete:
• Applicants must attend and sign in at a Family Information event during which the academic program, SELS philosophy, mission and lottery procedures will be explained in further detail. Verification of attendance at a prior year’s event may satisfy this requirement.
• Applicants must submit a completed application, which must be received by SELS on or before 12:00pm (noon) on the application deadline. It shall be the applicant’s responsibility to ensure the application form is fully and properly completed and received by SELS prior to the deadline. Applicants are encouraged to verify receipt of their applications by checking their email to confirm their Family Number prior to the application deadline. Applicants without access to a computer may call the SELS office at (530) 582-3701.
• If applicable, a properly completed application for Free and Reduced Lunch, signed under penalty of perjury, must be submitted with the enrollment application to qualify for the Category 1 lottery.
• Applicants must apply for admission at the student’s appropriate grade level. SELS will verify grade level recommendations from the student’s previous school prior to enrollment. Students will be deemed ineligible for enrollment unless they have applied for admission in the appropriate grade level per educational standards.
• Before matriculation, parents and students must sign a form indicating that they have read and understand the philosophy, mission, handbooks, and policies of Sierra Expeditionary Learning School and that they accept the responsibility for the proper maintenance of school equipment and materials.

(Exact Dates will be established annually in February)

Intent to Enroll Deadline (early March) –

Intent to Enroll forms for existing students and enrollment applications for Preference Levels A and B (children of staff and siblings of existing students) must be received by the SELS office by the deadline. Preference Level A and B enrollment applications that are received after this deadline may be submitted to the Preference Level C lottery.
• Application Deadline (approximately one week before the Public Lottery) – Application Deadline for Preference Levels C and D. Properly completed enrollment applications (and Free and Reduced Lunch applications, if applicable) must be received by the SELS office by 12:00 pm for entry in the public random lottery. Applications that are received or completed after this deadline will be added to the bottom of the waitlist in the order received/completed, or entered in the Second Public Lottery, if any, as set forth below.
• Public Lottery (April) – Lottery will take place at Sierra Expeditionary Learning School, or such other location designated by the SELS Board. Results will be posted on the website: sels.ttusd.org
• Contingent: Second Lottery Application Deadline and Lottery (early May) –A Second Public Lottery will only be conducted in the event any grade level and Category within Preference Level C is undersubscribed after the initial Public Lottery, and shall be limited to such grade level(s), Preference Level, and Category.

At the discretion of the Director, exceptional circumstances may be submitted to the Board