Application Periods and Directions
School choice policies: JFBA Choice/Open Enrollment | GE Choice Enrollment of Children of District Employees
The application link is below the "School Choice Applications Directions" section on this page.
Reminders
- The second-round application period opened Jan. 24, 2024, and will close at noon on Tuesday, Aug. 13. More information is available in the School Choice Application Periods section below.
- Seat offers: Parents/legal guardians have five week days (M-F) to respond to a seat offer and may be notified by email, phone and/or text. The "five week days" include holidays and other school closure days Monday through Friday. Weekend days are not counted as week days.
- See comprehensive information in these documents: Seat Offer Process | Español Seat Offer process.
- Applications can't be renewed to keep current waitlist placement: Waitlists are purged annually. If your student was on a school's current waitlist and did not receive a seat offer, a new application must be submitted for the following application period.
About School Choice
Acceptance, Eligibility and Transportation
PSD’s K-12 school choice program allows families to select the school they feel best meets their child’s educational needs. Acceptance is subject to space availability and eligibility requirements. Submitting a school choice application does not guarantee enrollment at any school applied for.
- Centennial High School and Poudre Community Academy are alternative schools that use a separate application process; therefore, the school choice application process is not applicable for these schools. Contact those schools directly for more information.
- Charter Schools operate independently from PSD and have their own school choice process. Please contact the charter schools directly about school choice.
- Round-trip transportation is the responsibility of the parent/legal guardian for School Choice students. For more information: District Policy JFBA Choice/Open /Enrollment | PSD Transportation website.
Kindergarten and School Choice
Parents/legal guardians must register students entering kindergarten at their designated neighborhood school, even if an application is pending for choice/open enrollment. Please refer to District Policy JEB for age requirements for kindergarten in PSD.
- Registering at the designated neighborhood school does not impact a pending school choice application or potential seat offers from a choice school or program.
- Online registration for the 2024-25 school year is open for parents/legal guardians to register their incoming kindergartner.
- In-person registration is available anytime for families at neighborhood elementary schools. Contact your student’s neighborhood school for school hours.
- Online registration is available for families throughout the rest of the year.
- Parents/legal guardians of incoming kindergartners should complete online or in-person registration, to allow schools to determine their classroom sizes, staffing needs and the number of school choice seats they can offer.
Not sure you need to apply? Situations when applications are required and not required
When applications are not required:
- Students who wish to enroll at or return to their designated neighborhood school for the following school year do not need to submit an application. Contact the designated neighborhood school to enroll the student for the following school year.
- Students who intend to remain at their current school choice school for the following year do not need to reapply.
- District employees who wish to enroll their child in a district neighborhood school that is not their student's designated neighborhood school should reach out to the school's registrar.
When applications are required:
- A school choice application must be submitted to attend a school that is not a student’s designated neighborhood school or to attend a choice only school.
- A student who has moved out of a designated neighborhood attendance area and would like to continue at that school for the following school year, must submit a School Choice Application.
- Students changing levels (elementary to middle school or middle school to high school) and would like to attend the next level that is not their designated neighborhood school must submit a School Choice Application.
- District employees who wish to enroll their child in a district option school program that does not have a neighborhood attendance area, must submit a school choice application. Option program schools are Harris and Traut Elementary Schools; Kinard Middle School; Polaris Expeditionary Learning School and Poudre Global Academy (hybrid and virtual).
- Applications can no longer be renewed. If you are currently on a school’s waitlist and do not receive a seat offer, a new application must be submitted for the following application period.
School Choice Application Periods
First-Round Application Period is Closed - Details About First-Round Period
- Up to a maximum of five schools for the application year may be selected for each student and a separate application to each school must be submitted.
- First-round school choice applications are not considered on a first-come-first-serve basis; they are processed in a lottery to determine order within the application’s priority ranking.
- All first-round school choice applications are based on space availability and eligibility requirements.
- Applications cannot be renewed to keep current waitlist placement.
- Waitlists are purged annually.
- If your student was currently on a school's waitlist and did not receive a seat offer, a new application must be submitted for the following application period.
Second-Round Application Period is Open
The second-round application period for the 2024-25 school year opened Jan. 24, 2024, and will close at noon on Tuesday, Aug. 13.
The second-round application period begins about two weeks after the first-round lottery occurs and closes on or around the day prior to the first day of school in August. The second-round period is for families who missed applying during the first-round.
- Second-round applications are based on priority ranking and the date and time of when the application was submitted. They are placed on the waitlist after any first-round applicants within the applicable priority ranking.
- If the maximum number of five schools were selected for a student in the first-round application period, parents/legal guardians can't submit additional applications for the same student during the second-round application period.
- If the maximum number of five schools were not selected for a student in the first-round application period, parents/legal guardians may submit additional applications for the same student to meet the five maximum total and those applications will be considered as second-round.
School Choice Application Directions
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Apply for School Choice Here
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If you have an existing account, you do not need to create a new one. After logging in, you'll be prompted to update existing information.
If don't have an existing account, you'll need to create one.
You must complete the application in full, which takes about 15 minutes (per application). An incomplete, partially filled-out application can't be saved.
Application Steps:
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For new accounts only - begin by completing the guardian demographic questionnaire to create a Family Dashboard.
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For residents of PSD, please follow the directions regarding entering the parent/guardian address.
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- Once the Family Dashboard is created, student(s) may be added to the account.
- If you are submitting applications for multiple students or multiple birth siblings (twins, triplets, etc.), each student will need to be added to the Family Dashboard.
- If the student is currently enrolled in a K-12 PSD school, their PSD ID# will need to be entered to proceed in the application process. If you do not know your student’s PSD ID#, contact your student’s current K-12 PSD school or visit ParentVUE.
- Please note: Currently enrolled students DOES NOT include students enrolled at PSD charter schools.
- If you have a new student to PSD, you do not need a PSD ID # to proceed in the application process.
- Students can only be attached to one parent/legal guardian account. Duplicate accounts for the same student are not allowed.
- Periodically log into your account to check your Family Dashboard for updates.
- Once students are added to the Family Dashboard, school choice applications can be submitted when the application period is open.
- Up to a maximum of five (5) schools for the application year for each student may be selected and a separate application to each school must be submitted.
- Schools are not ranked or placed in order of preference.
- Duplicate applications for the same student are not allowed and could result in the denial of the applications.
- The school choice application process is intended for applying for the next grade level only, it is not to be used to retain a student for the same grade level for the following school year.
- Priority ranking is determined based on information provided on the application such as:
- Employee PSD ID # and work location of any parent/legal guardian that is employed by PSD and is applying to an option school or program (Harris and Traut Elementary Schools; Kinard Middle School; Polaris Expeditionary Learning School and Poudre Global Academy - hybrid and virtual).
- Sibling name(s) and current school(s):
- Siblings and multiple birth siblings (i.e., twins, triplets, etc.) must complete and submit a separate school choice application for each sibling applying for choice/open enrollment.
- Multiple birth siblings applying to the same school and grade level are considered together when determining availability of space and eligibility, will only be admitted together and only if space is available for all of them and each is eligible, and will be placed on the waitlist together if space is not available for all of them.
- Approval of choice/open enrollment in a particular school or program for one child in a family does not guarantee that choice/open enrollment to attend that same school or program of choice will be approved for any other children, except with respect to multiple birth siblings.
- After completing and submitting a school choice application, a confirmation email will be sent from scribonline@scribsoft.com (add this email to your list of safe senders since this is used for communication).
- The confirmation email is proof of submission.
- Once an application is submitted, parents/guardians can't review or make changes.
- You must contact the school to make changes to a submitted application.
- School selections cannot be changed once the lottery has been run.
Notifications, Transfers and Withdrawing
Notifications and Seat Offer Process
Comprehensive information about the seat offer process is available in these documents: Seat Offer Process | Español Seat Offer process.
- Seat offers are based on space availability and continue until all seats are filled. Parents/legal guardians should frequently check email and log into their account to view the family dashboard for updates, particularly during the notification period.
- Parents/legal guardians have five week days (M-F, including holidays and other school closure days) to accept or reject the seat offer. Day one begins on the week day that the notification is sent.
- Parents/legal guardians can respond to a seat offer online by accessing their Family Dashboard.
- If responding to a seat offer by cell phone, scroll to the side where the student application (s) are listed to see the "Accept" or "Reject" buttons.
- To confirm a response to a seat offer, access your Family Dashboard.
- If a seat is rejected or automatically declined due to no response, this cannot be reversed. Students are removed from the waitlist and will not be offered a seat again. It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to respond to seat offer notifications before the stated deadline. No exceptions are made.
- If a seat is currently not available, applicants are placed on a school’s waitlist. Students remain on waitlists until a seat is offered or until the waiting list is purged, which occurs annually.
- For information about the status of a school choice application or space availability at a school, please contact that school directly.
- When you apply for school choice, and a seat is offered and you accept the seat, you are declining your student's seat at their PSD neighborhood school for the following school year. The neighborhood school may then offer your student's seat to a school choice applicant.
Per district policy JFBA Choice /Open Enrollment: Students must commit and plan to remain in the school or program of choice for at least the remainder of the school year for which the student was admitted. Students who wish to return to their neighborhood school or attend a different school during the current school year may be permitted to return or enroll if space is available by following the school transfer process.
School Transfers for Current School Year
- Once a school year begins, open enrollment (school choice) for that school year is over.
- Students must remain in a school for the remainder of the current school year upon enrollment at a choice school or program, or upon enrollment through a transfer. Students who wish to return to their neighborhood school or attend a different school during the current school year may be permitted to return or enroll if space is available.
- To request to attend another school during the current school year, a School Transfer Request form must be completed, and instructions followed for a school transfer to be considered. Transfers are evaluated on a case-by case basis and must be approved by the assistant superintendent of elementary schools or assistant superintendent of secondary schools.
- Refer to District Policy JFBA Choice/Open Enrollment for more information.
Withdrawing From Choice Schools
Students must remain in their school for the remainder of the current school year upon enrollment at a choice school or program, or upon enrollment through a transfer.
- Students who wish to return to their designated neighborhood school or attend a different school during the current school year must follow the School Transfer Request process and may be permitted to return or enroll if space is available.
- Students who withdraw from a choice school or program must submit a new School Choice Application for the student to be considered to return to such choice school or program for the following school year.