Mayor of Boston Marty Walsh will unveil a plan tomorrow that would allow for students to apply simultaneously to district schools and charter schools. Under this new plan, rather than enter two distinct lotteries, students would all enter into one home based Boston Public Schools Lottery. 

“[The plan would] provide one application, one portal and one deadline for parents who want to make choices and who need to make choices about schools,” Rahn Dorsey, chief of education for the City of Boston, told WBUR.    

Boston is no stranger to the inevitable concerns about segregated schools that come with any home based plan. Under this plan, charter choice, like district choice, would be based on where a student lives, essentially turning charter schools into neighborhood schools. 

“We’re not suggesting anything new; we’re just saying, ‘Let’s bring the charters into the home-based assignment,’ and I know that resurfaces the question, ‘Are we re-segregating?’” said Weinstein. “I think we need to take a really careful look at that and see how the implementation is going and see what, if any, adjustments are needed.”

This plan can’t move forward without approval by the Boston School Committee and the state legislature. There are plans for the city to hold six meetings, beginning Oct. 8, for public comment.