What is the Transitional Kindergarten Lottery?
The Transitional Kindergarten Lottery is an opportunity for
students who turn four years old by September 1, 2025 and resides
permanently within the boundaries of Sacramento City Unified
School District to apply for enrollment at a school with a
Transitional Kindergarten class.
Who is eligible to apply?
Students residing within the Sacramento City Unified School
District boundaries who are qualified to enter Transitional
Kindergarten are eligible to apply.
Students living outside the district boundaries who are qualified
to enter Transitional Kindergarten may apply for Transitional
Kindergarten through an inter-district
permit transfer available from April 7, 2025 at 8:00am,
through April 25, 2025 at 5:00pm. Out-of-district applicants who
meet the program requirements will be offered placement after
qualified in-district applicants per California Education Code.
How do I find our neighborhood schools and/or if our residence is
in the Sacramento City Unified School District?
Visit SCUSD’s School
Finder, to find the closest TK site to your student’s
primary address.
How many schools can my student apply to?
Students may apply to up to two Transitional Kindergarten Lottery
schools.
What schools do not have an attendance area boundary assignment?
- A.M. Winn Public Waldorf TK-8
- Alice Birney Public Waldorf TK-8
- Leonardo da Vinci TK-8
- New Joseph Bonnheim Community Charter School
How will we know you received my student’s application?
Once an application is successfully submitted, you will see a
confirmation screen and receive a message in your SchoolMint
Message Center confirming the submission. Parents/guardians will
also receive a confirmation via email or text message, depending
on their selected SchoolMint preferences.
Families can log into their SchoolMint
account at any time to check the status of their
application(s) or view messages in the Message Center.
Is transportation provided by the school district to the school
my student is accepted to?
No, transportation is not provided for students accepted
into a Transitional Kindergarten Lottery school. Parents
are responsible for transporting their students.
Can I use my work address for my student to apply to a
Transitional Kindergarten Lottery school?
No.
Can I turn in a late application?
All applications must be submitted by 5:00pm on Friday, February
21, 2025. No late applications will be accepted.
I want my student to be enrolled into transitional kindergarten
(TK) even though they would qualify for kindergarten. Can I still
apply for TK?
If your student’s date of birth falls before 9/2/2020, you must
complete the following additional step to be admitted into the
Transitional Kindergarten Lottery.
- Parent/ Guardians must request a meeting with the requested
school(s) principal to discuss the reasons for your request by
Friday, March 1, 2025.
- The principal must then email their Instructional Assistant
Superintendent and the Enrollment Center Director with the
approval/denial status of the request.
- Once approved, your student will be allowed into the
Transitional Kindergarten lottery.
If my TK student is registered for their Transitional
Kindergarten Lottery school, will my student continue at the same
school for kindergarten?
Students will be automatically enrolled in kindergarten for the
2026-2027 School Year at their neighborhood
school.
Transitional Kindergarten (TK) is only available at 45 of
Sacramento City Unified School District schools, so all TK
students* living within district boundaries are transitioned back
to their neighborhood school for traditional kindergarten
enrollment. Each neighborhood school has a defined geographic
boundary and is intended to serve the students who live within
that geographic boundary.
Students that apply for enrollment at the school they attended
for transitional kindergarten will be given priority in the Open
Enrollment lottery for kindergarten.
* TK students currently enrolled at one of our schools without a
geographic attendance boundary (A.M. Winn, Alice Birney, Leonardo
da Vinci, and New Joseph Bonnheim) will continue at the same
school for kindergarten.
When do I find out if my student is accepted?
Notifications will be sent to families through SchoolMint on
March 10, 2025, based on their selected
preferences (email, text message, or both) during registration.
If accepted into a TK Lottery School, all students must complete
a full registration form. A link to this form will be included in
the notifications sent to families. They will also need to
provide photo identification, address verification, proof of
birth documentation, and immunization records. Applicants
will be automatically removed from the TK Lottery school
acceptance list if they do not accept on SchoolMint or register
by the offer deadline.
Are translation services available during the application
process?
Families who need translation assistance while completing the
application can access support in multiple ways:
- Application in Multiple Languages: The application uses
Google Translate and can be translated into over 100 languages..
- Language Support at Enrollment Events: If you need in-person
assistance, many of our Regional Enrollment Events (to be
announced in January 2025) will have staff available to help
with translations.
- Enrollment Center Assistance: Families can also contact the
Enrollment Center directly for translation help. Staff are
available to assist with completing the application in your
preferred language.
If you need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach
out to the Enrollment Center for more information on language
support services.
My family is moving outside of the SCUSD boundary. What will
happen to my student’s acceptance?
If you move outside of the SCUSD boundary, it voids all
Transitional Kindergarten Lottery enrollment and you must
register your student with the new school district.
I live outside of the SCUSD boundary. Can my student apply for TK
through the Transitional Kindergarten Lottery?
No, students who live outside the district boundaries are not
eligible. Students who live outside our district boundaries can
apply to a school with transitional kindergarten with space
available through an inter-district
permit transfer from April 7, 2025 at 8:00am, through April
25, 2025 at 5:00pm.
I live outside of the SCUSD boundary and one of my students
already attends a school with transitional kindergarten. Does my
incoming TK student(s) have sibling preference?
No.
I am an SCUSD employee and live outside of the SCUSD boundary.
Does my student have priority to apply for TK through the
Transitional Kindergarten Lottery for my school?
No. However, students who live within our district boundaries
whose parent/guardian’s primary place of employment is at the
selected school are given a lottery priority.
How does the lottery work?
The Transitional Kindergarten Lottery 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 choice and receives
a notification of a placement offer.
- If your student applied to only one school and was not
selected, they will be placed on a waiting list.
- If your student applied for two schools 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 specialty
program choice and receives a notification of a placement
offer.
- 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.
What happens if my student doesn’t get accepted to the first or
second school of choice?
Your student will only be placed on the waiting list for their
first choice. A notification from SchoolMint will be sent on
March 10, 2025 notifying parent/guardians regarding placement on
the waiting list.
When space becomes available, a notification will be sent through
SchoolMint notifying the parent/guardian of the offer. Families
can withdraw their application from a waiting list at any time
through SchoolMint. All TK Lottery waitlists will close on July
31, 2025. After this date, any remaining waitlist positions will
no longer be valid.
Families will receive the notification based on what preferences
(email, text message or both) were selected when registering.
If my student is accepted to their 2nd choice, will they be put
on the 1st choice waiting list?
No.
Who has priority in the lottery selection process?
Lottery Selection Priorities
First priority
- Students who live within the geographical boundary of the
selected school, or it is the closest school to their primary
address
Second priority
- Siblings of students already in attendance at the selected
school and will continue to be enrolled in the upcoming school
year.
Third priority
- Students whose parent/guardian’s primary place of employment
is the selected school.
Fourth priority (administrative priority)
- When unique circumstances occur at a school, such as a school
closure, program changes, and/or over-crowding occurs; district
administrators may institute a specific priority to meet staffing
and housing needs.
Fifth priority
- Applicants that are a multiple will be given priority to keep
siblings together.
Schools without Attendance Boundaries
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 (administrative priority)
- When unique circumstances occur at a school, such as a school
closure, program changes, and/or over-crowding occurs; district
administrators may institute a specific priority to meet staffing
and housing needs.
Fourth priority
- Applicants that are a multiple will be given priority to keep
siblings together.
