Open Enrollment (K-8)

Open Enrollment for Grades K-8

Overview

Thank you for your interest in Sacramento City Unified School District’s Open Enrollment (OE) Application for Grades K-8. 

The Open Enrollment application window for the 2025-2026 school year is now closed. The application was available February 3, 2025 at 8:00am through February 21, 2025 at 5:00 pm.

Step 1: Learn About the Programs

  • In-District Students: If you live within the district, you can apply for an open enrollment program from February 3, 2025 at 8:00 am through February 21, 2025 at 5:00 pm. Learn how to apply.
  • Out-of-District Students: If you live outside SCUSD, you can apply through the inter-district permit transfer process from April 7, 2025 at 8:00 am to April 25, 2025 at 5:00 pm.

In-district students do not need to submit an Infinite Campus Annual Update form for lottery eligibility this year.

Out-of-district applicants who meet the program requirements will be accepted or go on the waiting list after qualified in-district applicants per California Education Code.

Lottery Results: Families will be notified of the lottery results on March 10, 2025. Notifications will be sent via the method(s) you selected during registration (email, text, or both). You can also log into your SchoolMint account anytime to check the status of your application.

New Students to the District – Acceptance Requirements

  • If your student is offered a spot in an Open Enrollment program, you must 1) accept the offer on SchoolMint and 2) submit a complete registration form using the link provided in the offer notification. Families will need to provide photo identification, address verification, proof of birth documentation, and immunization records with the registration form.
  • Important: If the registration form is not submitted by the deadline, your student will be removed from the Open Enrollment offer list.

Only the following programs have extra requirements:

Camellia Basic and Phoebe Hearst Elementary Schools:

  • These schools focus on strong academic skills and good study habits. Incoming first graders at Camellia Basic and kindergarteners at Phoebe Hearst must complete a screening process to qualify for the lottery.
  • Screening will take place at the district office from February 18 to February 22, 2025. Applicants must sign up for a session as part of the Open Enrollment application. A reservation is required to participate. 
  • Once the OE application is submitted, a separate confirmation for the screening will be sent. Guardians can log in to SchoolMint to view or modify their screening reservation. Additionally, a reminder email for the screening reservation will be sent one day before the event.

As part of a recent agreement between SCTA and SCUSD to reduce class sizes at the secondary level, middle school classes will be capped at 32 students, down from 35, beginning in the fall of 2025. As a result, Open Enrollment programs for 7th and 8th graders will accept students in accordance with the new class size ratio.

Additionally, many secondary sites are impacted by physical space limitations, and adjustments have been made to address these constraints.

If you have questions about the Open Enrollment process, please contact Becky Petrie at becky-petrie@scusd.edu.

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Open Enrollment Frequently Asked Questions
2025-2026

Open Enrollment provides an opportunity for students who reside permanently within the boundaries of the Sacramento City Unified School District to apply for enrollment in schools or programs (Grades K-8) within the district, when space is available.

Only students who live within the SCUSD attendance area are eligible to participate in the Open Enrollment process.

No, not all district schools participate in Open Enrollment. Some programs reach their grade level enrollment capacity before the Open Enrollment period begins.

Applicants must:

  • Live within the district boundaries
  • Complete school-specific screenings, if required

Students may apply to up to two open enrollment programs. 

Yes, the SchoolMint application uses Google Translate, which can translate text into over 100 languages. Guardians can select their preferred language from the menu at the top of the page to view translated information.

The district’s Matriculation & Orientation Center (MOC) can also provide interpretation services to assist families with the application process. MOC staff are available to assist at the Enrollment Center. 

Yes, the Enrollment Center has Chromebooks available for families to use in filling out the online application.

  • Camellia Basic Elementary School (for incoming first graders)
  • Phoebe Hearst Elementary School (for incoming kindergarten students)

No. 

  • A.M. Winn Public Waldorf TK-8 School
  • Alice Birney Public Waldorf TK-8 School
  • Bowling Green Charter Chacon Language & Science Academy
  • Bowling Green Charter McCoy Academy
  • Camellia Basic Elementary (Grades 1-6)
  • Leonardo da Vinci TK-8 School
  • New Joseph Bonnheim Elementary
  • Phoebe Hearst Elementary
  • School of Engineering and Sciences

After submitting an application, parents/guardians will see a confirmation screen and receive a message in their SchoolMint Message Center. They will also receive a confirmation via email or text, depending on their SchoolMint preferences.

Parents/guardians can log into their SchoolMint account anytime to view messages in the Message Center.

No, transportation is not provided for Open Enrollment students. Parents/guardians are responsible for transporting their students.

Yes, it is recommended that parents/guardians register their incoming kindergarteners at their neighborhood school (school of residence) before applying for Open Enrollment. This ensures a spot in case the applicant is not selected through the lottery. Learn how to register for Kindergarten.

No.

The Sacramento City Unified School District interprets the Allen Bill in the following ways:

  • A parent/guardian who resides outside the SCUSD boundaries, is required to provide on letterhead a statement from the employer verifying employment and the work address within the SCUSD boundaries.
  • Since our district utilizes addresses for school placement, in order to establish residency the student must enroll and attend the neighborhood school associated with the work address for a full academic year. So for example if the work address is associated with California Middle School the student must apply and be approved via Inter-district permit and attend California Middle School.
  • Once this is complete and the student is attending for a full academic year, the student can then apply for any programs through the High School Specialty Program (HSSP) or Open Enrollment (OE).
  • Families cannot use their work address to apply for the HSSP or OE if they are not attending our school(s) through the Allen Bill currently.
  • Residency is established by attending a full academic year.
  • Students who live outside the district boundaries may apply from April 7, 2025 at 8:00am, through April 25, 2025 at 5:00pm, via an inter-district transfer permit, to any school or program that still has openings.

All applications must be turned in by 5:00 pm on Friday, February 21, 2025. No late applications will be accepted.

Notifications will be sent to families via SchoolMint on March 10, 2025, based on the communication preferences selected during registration (email, text message, or both).

Applicants must accept the offer through SchoolMint by the deadline specified in their offer notification.

Additional Requirements for Acceptance for New Students to the District

New students to the district must also complete a full registration form. A link to this form will be included in the notifications sent to families. Additionally, the following documents will need to be provided: photo identification, address verification, proof of birth, and immunization records. Applicants will be automatically removed from the open enrollment program acceptance list if they do not complete registration by the offer deadline.

Log onto your SchoolMint Parent/Guardian account and click the Messages button in the top green navigation bar. The Message Center has all messages sent to you from the platform organized by date. If you only receive text message notifications, you can log into SchoolMint and read full messages in the Message Center.

Once you accept a placement, the Open Enrollment school becomes your student’s neighborhood school for grades K-12. When your student moves to the next school level (e.g., elementary to middle school or middle school to high school), they will be enrolled at their neighborhood school based on your residence.

If you want to return to your original neighborhood school, you must apply for an intra-district permit through the Enrollment Center between April 7, 2025 - April 25, 2025. Please note that intra-district permits are requests, not guaranteed placements.

If you move outside the SCUSD boundaries, your Open Enrollment placement will be voided. You will need to register your student with the new school district.

Yes. 

If my student is attending a SCUSD School on an inter-district permit (i.e., you live outside the district boundaries) can I apply through Open Enrollment?

No. Students who live outside the district boundaries are not eligible. Students who live outside our district boundaries can apply for a permit April 7, 2025 - April 25, 2025. 

No. Students who live outside the district boundaries are not eligible. Students who live outside our district boundaries can apply for a permit April 7, 2025 - April 25, 2025. 

No.

No. However, students who live within our district boundaries whose parent/guardian’s primary place of employment is at the selected school are given lottery priority. 

Open Enrollment is not a first-come, first-serve basis. You may apply anytime during the application window to be considered.

SCUSD uses a computerized, third-party lottery system to place students at their specialty program of choice. A lottery must be implemented if applications exceed the grade capacity at the requested program.

One of the following lottery scenarios will occur:

  • Your student is selected for their first school of choice and receives a notification communication to register. 
  • If your student applied to only one school of choice and was not selected, they will be placed on a waiting list.
  • If your student applied for two schools of choice and was not selected for their first choice, the computer will look for their second choice. Note: Second choice selections are placed behind all first choice selections.
    • Your student is selected for their second school of choice and receives a notification communication to register.
    • Your student is not selected for their first or second specialty program choice. They will be placed on a waiting list for their first choice only.

Your student will only be placed on the waiting list for their first choice. Placement from the waiting list occurs only if space becomes available.

SchoolMint will send out an automatic notification if space becomes available.

Students who apply to a school and have not met the admissions requirements will not be included in the lottery. If the student hasn’t applied to another school of choice, the student must attend their neighborhood or current school.

No. 

Lottery Selection Priorities

  • First priority
    • Siblings of students already in attendance at the selected school and will continue to be enrolled in the upcoming school year.
  • Second priority
    • Students whose parent/guardian’s primary place of employment is the selected school.
  • Third Priority – Current SCUSD TK Students Only
    • Students who apply for kindergarten at the school they attended for TK will receive priority. 

Schools without Attendance Boundaries

  • First priority
    • Siblings of students already in attendance at the school and will continue to be enrolled in the upcoming school year.
  • Second priority
    • Students whose parent/guardian’s primary place of employment is the selected school.