Lottery Frequently Asked Questions

No. Submitting an application does not guarantee enrollment.
An application allows your child to be considered for admission according to available seats, applicable enrollment preferences, and RMCS's established lottery procedures.
When the number of timely applications exceeds the number of available seats, the school conducts an annual lottery to determine enrollment offers and waiting-list placement.

No. Submitting an application earlier during the designated application window does not provide additional lottery priority.
Applications received by the established deadline are considered through the same annual selection process, subject to applicable enrollment preferences.
Applications received after the deadline are handled separately according to the school's late-application procedures.

Yes. A separate enrollment application must be submitted for every child seeking admission to RMCS.
This includes siblings applying for different grade levels. Submitting an application for one child does not automatically create an application for their siblings.

Yes. RMCS may continue accepting applications after the annual lottery deadline.
However, applications received after the deadline are not included in the initial lottery. They are added directly to the applicable waiting list according to the school's late-application procedures. Late applications are placed at the bottom of the applicable waiting-list category in the order they are received.

Applications received after the published deadline are considered late.
For the 2027–2028 school year, the deadline is Friday, February 26, 2027, at 1:00 PM.
Late applications are not included in the initial lottery. They are added to the bottom of the applicable waiting list in the order received, subject to applicable enrollment preferences.
If your application involves siblings, the school's sibling-preference procedures also apply.

Idaho law allows public charter schools to establish certain enrollment priorities when the number of applicants exceeds available seats.
These priorities determine the order in which applicants are considered for admission.
RMCS follows Idaho Code § 33-5206 and its approved admissions procedures when applying enrollment priorities.
Priorities are not guarantees of admission. Available seats and applicable priority categories determine which applicants receive offers.

RMCS applies the enrollment preferences authorized by Idaho law and established in the school's approved admissions procedures. These include applicable preferences for:

• Currently enrolled returning students.
  
• Qualifying children of charter school founders and full-time employees, subject to statutory limitations.
  
• Siblings of returning students or students selected for admission.
  
• Other qualifying applicants identified in the school's approved admissions procedures, including applicable charter school transfer and primary attendance area preferences.
• Certain qualifying former students and military-connected applicants may also be eligible for additional statutory preferences or lottery weighting.

For a more detailed explanation, please refer to the Enrollment & Lottery Information page.

We understand how frustrating it can be to apply year after year without receiving an enrollment offer.
However, each school year is a completely new enrollment process.
Previous applications, years spent on a waiting list, and prior lottery results do not provide additional priority in future school years.

Selection depends on several factors:

• The number of available seats in the requested grade level.
  
• The number of applicants for that grade.
  
• Returning students who retain their enrollment.
• Applicable enrollment priorities established by Idaho law and RMCS procedures.

RMCS has an established enrollment limit of 24 students per grade level. After currently enrolled students are accounted for, some grades have very few available seats, and others may have no openings.

Applicants in applicable higher-priority categories are considered before applicants in lower-priority categories, regardless of how many previous years a family has applied.

We encourage families to submit a new application each year they wish to be considered for enrollment.

No. Sibling preference provides an applicant with consideration within an applicable higher-priority category, but it does not guarantee admission. Available seats must exist in the requested grade level, and other applicants may qualify for the same or a higher priority category.

RMCS must follow Idaho law and its approved admissions procedures. The school cannot arbitrarily change, disregard, or apply enrollment preferences inconsistently. Any changes to adopted admissions procedures must follow applicable legal and approval requirements.

Sibling preference allows qualifying siblings of currently enrolled students or students selected through the lottery to receive a higher enrollment priority.
Each child must have an individual application.
When one student is selected for admission, their eligible siblings may immediately qualify for sibling priority in their respective grade levels. This can affect the order of the waiting lists in multiple grades.

A student's waitlist position may change when another applicant becomes eligible for a higher-priority enrollment preference. One common example involves sibling priority.
For example:

• Student A is on the waiting list for one grade level.
  
• Student B, who is Student A's sibling, is selected for admission in another grade.
  
• Student A may now qualify for sibling preference.
  
• Student A is placed at the bottom of the applicable sibling-preference section of the waiting list.
  
• Other applicants in lower-priority categories may move down the list.

This change is a result of applying enrollment preferences as eligibility changes. It does not mean that the school arbitrarily changed the original lottery results or removed an applicant.

An eligible sibling may qualify when their sibling is selected for admission during the lottery or is already enrolled as a returning student. The sibling must have a separate application on file.
Newly eligible siblings are placed according to the school's established sibling-preference procedures.

Late applications are not included in the initial annual lottery. When a late application involves siblings, eligible siblings are placed at the bottom of the applicable sibling-preference section of the waitlist, according to the school's late-application procedures.

No. Waitlists do not carry over from one school year to the next. A new enrollment selection process is conducted each school year. Previous waiting-list positions and lottery results do not provide priority in the following year's enrollment process.

Families must submit a new application during the next application window if they want their child considered for the upcoming school year.

The waitlist applies to the school year for which the application was submitted.
For example, the 2027–2028 waiting list applies to the 2027–2028 school year.
If an enrollment opening becomes available during that school year, RMCS contacts eligible applicants according to the applicable waiting-list order and enrollment priorities.

Yes. A student's position may change when another applicant becomes eligible for an applicable higher-priority preference, such as sibling priority. The school applies its established enrollment priorities as eligibility changes.

No. Waitlist placement does not guarantee admission. Enrollment depends on whether a seat becomes available in the requested grade level and the applicant's position under the applicable enrollment priorities.
Some grades may have openings during the school year, while others may remain full.

Families should retain their original enrollment and waiting-list notification emails and monitor their email accounts for communications from RMCS. Contact the school office if you have questions about your child's current enrollment status or waiting-list placement.

Families receive an official email notification regarding their child's enrollment status.
Following the annual lottery, RMCS sends formal enrollment offers or waiting-list notifications within seven calendar days of the selection process.
Please make sure the email address provided on your application is accurate and regularly monitored.

The enrollment offer email will include a specific acceptance deadline and instructions. A parent or legal guardian must electronically accept the offer by the deadline provided.

If an offer is declined or the family does not respond by the stated deadline, the available seat may be offered to the next eligible applicant.

If a family declines an enrollment offer, the available seat may be offered to the next eligible applicant according to the applicable waitlist procedures.
Families should contact the school office if they have questions before declining an offer.

If an enrolled student withdraws and an opening becomes available, RMCS contacts the next eligible applicant on the applicable waiting list. Families will receive an email with information about the available seat and the deadline for accepting the offer.

If the offer is not accepted by the designated deadline, the school may extend the offer to the next eligible applicant.

No. Currently enrolled students do not need to participate in the annual lottery to retain their seats.

However, families must complete the required Intent to Return before the school's established deadline to confirm their student's enrollment for the following school year.

Families must complete the Intent to Return process by the established deadline. If you have questions about your child's returning-student status or missed the Intent to Return deadline, please contact the school office as soon as possible.

No. Richard McKenna Charter Schools is a tuition-free public charter school.

RMCS has an established on-site enrollment limit of 24 students per grade level from kindergarten through grade 12.

The school's total authorized enrollment capacity is 312 students.
Available seats vary by grade level depending on returning enrollment and the number of students already enrolled.

Our Enrollment & Lottery Information page provides the complete explanation of the RMCS application process, enrollment preferences, annual lottery, waiting-list procedures, and enrollment requirements.
Idaho's charter school admissions requirements can also be found in Idaho Code § 33-5206.