Choice Enrollment

Looking Beyond Your Neighborhood School?

San Diego Unified's School Choice program opens doors to schools and programs outside your neighborhood boundary. Explore your options, learn about the programs available to your family, and apply during the Choice Window for priority consideration.

Discover San Diego Schools:

2026 - 2027 CHOICE Applications - Now Accepting Late Applications

Applications received after November 15, 2025 will not be included in the January lottery. Late applications are processed in the order they're received.

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Before You Apply — A Few Things to Know:

  • Only one application per student is permitted.
  • Twins and multiples should be listed on the same application.
  • This is not a first-come, first-served process. All applications received during the priority window are entered into the January lottery together.
  • We encourage families to tour schools before applying.
  • Selecting more than one school does not affect your first-choice priority.
  • The order of your selections matters, list schools in order of preference, with your top choice first.

For more details, including information about special education, students new to the district, recent moves, and more please review the Choice Enrollment Policies section.

ESN Locations

For a list of schools that currently provide Special Education – Extended Service Needs (ESN) services by area, see the ESN Sites list.

Transportation

Transportation is limited across all programs. When transportation is provided as a related service through a student's IEP, it is offered only to the student's school of residence or school of assignment by the Special Education department — not to a school of Choice. Families who apply to a school other than the resident or assigned school waive the right to transportation as a related service.

Learn more about transportation.

Charter Schools

Charter schools operate independently of San Diego Unified, and each school sets its own enrollment and admissions procedures. To enroll your child in a charter school, please contact the charter school directly.

Transitional Kindergarten (TK)

Beginning in the 2025–26 school year, all resident children turning 4 by September 1 are eligible for enrollment in Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK).

Families are welcome to apply for Choice to TK, but seats are expected to be limited. For the best chance at enrollment in a preferred school, we strongly encourage families to pre-enroll at their school of residence in addition to submitting a Choice application.

Magnet-only TK enrollment for 2025–26:

The following dedicated Magnet schools enroll TK students exclusively through Choice, as they do not have traditional attendance boundaries:

  • Barnard TK-5
  • Language Academy TK-8
  • Longfellow TK-8
  • Mountain View TK-8
  • Muir Language Academy TK-8

To learn more, visit the TK webpage or view the list of school sites currently offering TK.

School Site Enrollment Contacts

If you've received an offer of Choice enrollment — or want to follow up on an offer you haven't yet responded to — please contact your school's site enrollment staff by email to confirm enrollment. View the list of enrollment staff names and email addresses by school site.