School Choice and Open Enrollment
School Choice for 2023-24
School Choice for 2023-24 is now closed. The School Choice process for 2024-25 will open on February 1, 2024.
Every Seattle Public Schools student is assigned to their attendance area school based on where they live. Families can also apply to request that their student attend a different school through the Open Enrollment for School Choice Process.
School Choice Process
If you are interested in having your student attend a school that is not their assigned school next year, please submit a School Choice form. Forms must be submitted via email or mailed to the John Stanford Center.
Applications received by February 28 will receive priority. SPS will continue to accept School Choice forms until May 31. These applications are prioritized based on the date the application is received.
If there are more applications than seats available for a particular school and grade, then certain tiebreakers are used to determine assignment and waitlist status.
School Choice Open Enrollment Video
Video Translations
- Amharic: School Choice
- Chinese: School Choice
- Oromo: School Choice
- Somali: School Choice
- Spanish: School Choice
- Vietnamese: School Choice
Enrollment Key Dates
January 2 New registrations for 2024-25 school year begins.
February 1 – February 29 Open Enrollment School Choice priority applications will be accepted (tiebreakers apply).
March 1 – May 31 School Choice late applications will be accepted (NOT eligible for tiebreakers).
April 16 Open Enrollment results will be available online.
June 3 – August 31 Non-resident applications will be accepted.
August 31 Waitlists for the 2024-25 school year will dissolve.
Most students are assigned to their neighborhood school. For some required services, a student may be assigned to another school.
Need more information on which school your student will attend next year?
You can review school assignments in the SPS Assignment Lookup Tool. All you need is your student’s date of birth and student ID number. If you are unsure of their student ID, contact SPS Admissions at 206-252-0760 or log into your account on The Source.
Students currently attending an option school or a school that is not their attendance area school: These students can stay at their school until the highest grade offered without having to apply during Open Enrollment.
Unsure which program to apply for?
If your student is not receiving special education services, then you should apply for General Education. The following programs are for students who are receiving special education services:
- Extended Resource
- Focus
- Distinct
- Deaf/Hard of Hearing
If your student’s service model for special education is SM1, you should apply as General Education. Dual Language Immersion students should also apply as General Education. If you are seeking the HCC program for your student, select HCC. If you are applying for K-12 Virtual Option at Cascade, select Cascade Parent Partnership – Virtual.
Please review below Linked School Charts for programs and service availabilities.
Option Schools with Continuous Enrollment
- Cascade Parent Partnership Program – General Education
- Interagency Programs
- Middle College High School
- Nova High School
- Seattle World School
- Skills Center
- Alan T. Sugiyama High School
All option schools with continuous enrollment are considered upon request. Please contact us online if you are interested in attending any one of our option schools with continuous enrollment. Some schools require capacity reviews or additional enrollment procedures. Read more about schools with continuous enrollment.
Note: Seats for the K-12 Virtual Option at Cascade are subject to availability.
Historical Choice Data
Would you like to know how many students applied for school choice in recent years? Or the number of students who were waitlisted?
Section 2 of the Annual Enrollment Report, produced by Enrollment Planning, also contains detailed historical choice data for each school.
Contact us
Contact the Admissions team.