New Student Enrollment and Open Enrollment Timeline
Summary : To better serve our students and educators in preparing for a new school year, open enrollment for school choice dates have been updated for 2026-27.
Enroll at Decatur
To better serve our students and educators in preparing for a new school year, open enrollment for school choice dates have been updated for 2026-27.
Jan. 5-31, 2026: School Choice Application Window
- The School Choice application form will be available through the Source. Learn more about Open Enrollment for School Choice.
- Families of current SPS students can access the form starting Monday, Jan.5.
- Newly enrolled SPS students interested in a choice school can request to attend a school that is not their attendance area school through the online enrollment application. These opt-in choices will be processed manually once the enrollment process is complete. (All enrolled students receive an automatic assignment to their attendance area school or linked attendance area school).
- Current students with HCC status need to request Decatur on the School Choice form.
- No late school choice applications will be accepted after Jan. 31, 2026.
- Students who are not in the Decatur Region with HCC status will be placed on the waitlist. All waitlists will be active through May 31, 2026, then dissolved.
February 7 -23, 2026: Newly identified HCC students
- Newly identified HCC students in the Decatur region need to request if they want to transfer to Decatur.
- When new HC decisions are released on February 7, families will have the opportunity to request their service delivery model and/or pathway school. This process is communicated via the HC Eligibility Letter.
Feb 24-March 31, 2026: Late applications to Decatur
- Applications for students in the Decatur Region can still request transfer to Decatur, however, placement will be based on space.
- Please note: this application window is shorter than previous years.
Week of March 2, 2026: Assignment Notifications
Assignment letters will be mailed and emailed to families who received a new school assignment through the lottery process.
May 31, 2026: Waitlist Closure
- All waitlists will dissolve at the end of May. No further movement will occur after this date.
- Families wanting to dispute their next school year assignment can file an online Transfer Appeal Request form starting Monday, June 1 on the Enrollment webpage.
Private School & Homeschool Students
Families interested in having their Private School or Homeschool students assessed for SPS Highly Capable Services before transferring into the district can now apply through our new multi-step process.
Have Questions? We can help!
Contact Enrollment or visit us at the John Stanford Center, 2445 3rd Ave S, Seattle, 98134. Language assistance in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Amharic, Oromo, and Somali is available.
Attendance Area Maps
Seattle Public Schools assigns students based on the address where their primary residence is located. Use the Address Lookup tool to see which school your student would be assigned to according to your address.
Visit the Enrollment Planning webpage for Attendance Area Maps.