Open Enrollment
Open Enrollment is the school choice process that allows families to complete an application to attend a school other than their assigned neighborhood school. (Not sure which is your assigned school-of-residence? Use PUSD’s School Locator) Although many families choose to attend their neighborhood school, some families find another program, school culture, or school location is more in line with their family’s needs.
The Open Enrollment process is a random lottery where students are admitted to schools outside their neighborhood based on the available seats projected at any given school. A timeline with key dates for the 2024-25 Open Enrollment application process can be found on PUSD’s Open Enrollment page. View PEN’s virtual Navigating Open Enrollment program which was held on Tuesday, 12/5/23. View here in Spanish.
NOTE: To enter Kindergarten, a student must turn five years old by September 1. For the 2023-24 school year, students with Sept 2-April 2 birth dates may choose to enroll in a Transitional Kindergarten (TK) program. (For the 2024-25 school year, students turning 5 from Sept 2-June 2 will be eligible for TK.) TK programs will be located at all PUSD elementary campuses with the exception of San Rafael, and students are assigned according to residential address. Families may submit an Open Enrollment application to attend a TK program other than their assigned school or for the Spanish or Mandarin Dual Language Immersion TK programs. UPDATE: Due to high demand for TK spaces, if your student has not registered or been offered a placement in one of PUSD’s TK programs as of 3/25/24, you are advised to apply online via pusd.schoolmint.com and list ALL program sites, including your assigned school of residence, in order to be assured of a placement for Fall 2024. (If you already completed an open enrollment application for TK but have not yet received a placement, you can contact the Enrollment Office and ask to add more school sites to the list you submitted originally.)
Open Enrollment data indicates that changes made to the process have had a positive impact on the number of families who were matched with one of their top choices and registered. At kindergarten, with the exception of one school, all families who entered the 1st or 2nd lottery and stayed with the process were placed at their top choice. At middle school, only a few students who were very late to the process didn’t get into their first choice. All high school students who participated in the 1st or 2nd lottery and continued through the process were matched with their top choice school. Last year’s numbers are not predictive of the number of open seats or demand for those seats in future years.
View the 2023-2024 Open Enrollment first choice placement rates for elementary school.
October 24-Nov. 13, 2023 - Sibling & Priority Enrollment
Sibling & Priority Enrollment for sibling preference, dual language program 5th & 8th graders, and students in magnet or other signature programs who wish to continue those programs in middle or high school complete an online application.
Results are available online: December 4, 2023, by 11:59 PM; families have until December 20, 2023, 4 PM to confirm sibling placement offers.
Includes Altadena Arts to Eliot Arts and Eliot Arts to John Muir’s Arts, Entertainment, and Media Academy. STEM Magnet: Washington Elementary and Jackson Elementary to OEB Magnet Middle, and OEB Magnet Middle to John Muir’s Engineering and Environmental Science Academy. Willard IB to Blair IB. Spanish DLIP to Blair or Butler Magnet Middle to Blair for high school. Mandarin DLIP to Sierra Madre Middle to PHS. Webster Armenian program to Blair Armenian Academy. Middle School Math Academy to PHS High School Math Academy.
If you are eligible for sibling or priority preference and miss the sibling & priority enrollment time frame, you should contact PUSD’s enrollment at 626/396-3639 to confirm if space is still available.
December 5, 2023 - PEN’s Navigating Open Enrollment program - learn about the process and get your questions answered at this free online program. (RSVP for Zoom link.)
January 2024
PUSD website posts the projected range of seats that will be available to Open Enrollment students for each grade at each school.
January 9 - January 26, 2024: The Open Enrollment application submission period takes place from January 10 at 9 am - January 26 at 4 pm.
Parents can select as many schools as they prefer to their neighborhood school on their Open Enrollment application, ranked in order of preference.
Students with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or who have accommodations through Section 504 and attend a regular classroom may participate in Open Enrollment. If a student is in a special day class or has a specific school or classroom placement because of his or her disability, before participating in Open Enrollment, please check with your IEP Team to determine if your student requires special placement.
City of Pasadena and PUSD employees may submit applications.
February-March 2024
Random lottery takes place in February
February 16: Lottery results are posted online on February 16, 2024 by 11:59 pm. Please note that results will not be mailed to families, so check the pusd.schoolmint.com website for your results.
February 17 - March 1: Families accepted to one of their enrollment choices accept their placement and register online from February 17 - March 1 at 4 pm. If you are later accepted into a higher preference school, PUSD’s enrollment office will transfer your registration.
Families are notified as seats open up at their higher preference schools until a week before school starts.
March 4 - 8: Families who missed the first lottery may submit an online application beginning March 4 at 9 am and no later than March 8 at 4 pm.
March 19: 2nd Lottery results are posted online.
March 20 - March 22: Families accepted to one of their enrollment choices during the second lottery register online from March 20 - March 27 at 4 pm.
March 25: Families may begin submitting an application if they want a permit to exit PUSD.
March 25: Beginning March 25, families who live outside of the PUSD boundaries can submit an Inter-district transfer request to enter PUSD.
March 25 -August 2: Students who participated in the lotteries and have registered, but now wish to enroll in their school of residence may relinquish their permit between March 25 and August 2, 2024.
How does the Open Enrollment School Choice Process Work?
Complete an online application and list every school you prefer to your assigned school of residence. Families who wish to enter a school other than their assigned school of residence, a Dual Language Immersion Program, or Marshall Secondary School must participate in this process.
Students with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or who have accommodations through Section 504 and attend a regular classroom may participate in Open Enrollment. If a student is in a special day class or has a specific school or classroom placement because of his or her disability, please check with your IEP Team before participating in Open Enrollment to determine if your student requires special placement.
Random lottery system assigns each application a random number.
Families are notified on the Open Enrollment web page where they have been assigned from the first lottery.
Families have 2 options:
Accept their placement and register online to confirm your placement - if you are later accepted into a higher preference school, PUSD’s enrollment office will transfer your registration. OR
Leave the Open Enrollment process if you do nothing
Families who entered the second lottery are notified on the Open Enrollment web page of their placement
Register online for your assigned school AND
Be placed on wait list for every school you prefer above the assigned school
Through August 22, 2024, families on the wait lists are notified as spaces become available at a preferred school