SFUSD Sends School Assignments to Thousands of Students for 2025-26 School Year

San Francisco (March 17, 2025) - The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) is preparing to enroll students for next school year. The Enrollment Center, which oversees student assignments for the district, mailed assignment letters to more than 15,400 students for the 25-26 school year - primarily incoming Transitional Kindergarten (TK), Kindergarten, 6th grade and 9th grade students - a 10% increase from the 24-25 school year. Letters will reach homes this week and are available in ParentVue as of Monday, March 17.

This year, 61% of students who applied for TK, Kindergarten, 6th grade, or 9th grade will be assigned to their first choice school, and 90% will receive one of their choices, meaning that almost 1,000 more students will be assigned to one of their choices, compared with last year. In kindergarten, 6th, and 9th grades, 93% of students will receive one of their choices.

Families have until March 27, 2025 to accept or decline the assignment. Families can accept or decline online or by contacting the Enrollment Center, and can find instructions at sfusd.edu/mainround. The Enrollment Center is offering virtual workshops on March 19 and March 22, where families can learn more about how to accept or decline their assignments and about how the new waitlist process will work — more information is available at sfusd.edu/workshops. Many schools are having parent meetings or are offering tours for families to learn more about the assigned school; families can sign up for tours at sfusd.edu/tours. 

SFUSD received more applications this year compared to last year. The district received 15,472 applications for the 2025-26 school year, compared to 14,133 for the 2024-25 school year. More highlights are available at sfusd.edu/highlights.

One key increase was in transitional kindergarten (TK) applications -- an additional 673 compared to last year -- due both to more 4-year-olds becoming eligible for TK under California’s new Universal TK program, and to increased interest in SFUSD TK programs. For the first time this year, TK students who enrolled in 2024-25 at a TK-5 or TK-8 school are able to remain automatically enrolled at their same school and pathway for Kindergarten without having to re-apply. This policy change has also led to greater interest in Kindergarten for 2025-26, with 3,980 students assigned for 2025-26, compared to 3,835 students last year.

“We are thrilled to see increased interest in SFUSD, and we are excited to welcome families to the 2025-26 school year, whether they are changing schools or enrolling in our district for the first time,” SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Maria Su said. “I want to thank our Enrollment Center team who have been working tirelessly to support thousands of families in finding a great school for their child.”

This year is also the first year that SFUSD is implementing its simplified new waitlist process, rather than asking families to apply multiple times for the same schools. As part of this new process:

• Families only need to apply to school ONE time, listing their preferred schools in order. When families receive their assignments in March 2025, they can also see on ParentVue where their student is on the waitlist for any schools that they preferred more than the school to which they were assigned. This is a simpler process that offers families much more transparency and requires less effort than the previous process. 
• Families can wait on several schools’ waitlists, rather than being on the waitpool for just one school, as was the case in the past. This will increase the likelihood that families are assigned to a school that they prefer in a timely manner.
• SFUSD will start making waitlist assignments weekly on April 21, 2025, about a month earlier than the previous Round 2 assignments, and will continue making assignments through August 29, 2025. This earlier timeline should help families receive their final  school assignment much earlier than in previous years.

The Main Round period for submitting applications ended on January 31, 2025. Families who have not yet submitted an application for next year can apply any time by going online to sfusd.edu/apply or by contacting the Enrollment Center (EC). The EC can be reached at enrollinschool@sfusd.edu, 415-241-6085, or in-person at 555 Franklin Street or 1520 Oakdale Avenue (Oakdale is open Tuesday and Thursday). Enrollment Center staff members are ready to help families find a school that meets their needs. They speak English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, and Samoan. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.

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