Enrollment Process Simplification

The SFUSD Enrollment Process is Becoming Simpler for Families! Link to this section

The Enrollment Center is excited to announce some changes to next year’s Enrollment Cycle (starting in October 2024, for students enrolling in the 2025-26 school year), aimed at making the process simpler, more transparent and more equitable. There are two key changes: 

  • Applicants only need to apply ONCE, by January 31, 2025, listing their preferred schools in order. (We used to have a series of applications and deadlines called "Rounds," which we will not have anymore.) Assignments will be announced in March 2025, and applicants who did not receive their top choice school will be automatically placed onto the waitlists for their top-choice schools, up to 5 schools, without having to re-apply. 
  • Applicants will be able to wait on several schools’ waitlists (rather than having to pick just one waitlist choice like they did in the past).

Late applicants who do not apply by January 31 will be allowed to join the end of waitlists. We will collect those applications starting February 1. While late applicants are behind on-time applicants on Wait Lists, they will be placed into a school with open space starting in April 2025.

Why are we making these changes? Link to this section

Under the previous assignment process in use until 24-25, families who were not satisfied with their Main Round assignment in March needed to apply again, for Round 2, and then again for the Wait Pool if they were still seeking a placement that they preferred. We heard from families that this process was too complicated, specifically regarding:

  • PredictabilityThe approximately 40% of families who did not get their most preferred school in the Main Round often waitied until August - even after school started - to learn about their final assignment.
  • Equity. Participation in the enrollment process beyond the Main Round was much lower among focal families, particularly African American and Latinx families. In focus groups, families share that the multiple deadlines were confusing.
  • Re-work. We ask families to re-submit their same choices several times - doing the same work over.

The enrollment process change described above will positively impact everyone who applies by the deadline, by giving them faster resolution, a more predictable process, and better assignment outcomes. 

  • Faster resolution for families: In this new process, hundreds of families will start receiving waitlist offers in early April. More families will receive offers as soon as spaces are available, rather than waiting months for subsequent application deadlines.
  • Improved predictability: Families will automatically be on waiting lists for their top-choice schools, and they will know their place in line. This creates a clear and automated path for families to get into their desired schools, instead of the uncertainty associated with assignment "rounds."  
  • More preferred assignments for on-time applicants: All applicants will be on a path to getting into their top-choice schools, without having to re-apply or compete with late applicants for seats that open up

The new process will also make the enrollment process more equitable in key ways:

  • All families — including focal families — stay eligible to receive their top-choice schools. Of the 1,750 Latinx, African American, Native American and Pacific Islander students who applied on time and were not assigned to their top-choice school last year, only 400 of them re-applied to secure their more-preferred SFUSD school through a second application round. 
  • It would create more opportunities for students with IEPs to get their final school assignments in time to have essential transition meetingsbecause a faster resolution process will give more families their final assignments before summer, allowing more time to coordinate special education services. 

Frequently Asked Questions
Link to this section

This FAQ provides answers to key questions about the new enrollment process aimed at simplifying, increasing transparency, and enhancing the equity of SFUSD enrollment.

What is the change to the Enrollment Process for the 2025-26 School Year?

  • SFUSD is moving to one application deadline, followed by running waitlists. The process will be ongoing rather than staged into "rounds."
  • Applicants only need to apply once, by January 31, 2025. Once assignments for on-time applicants are announced in March 2025, applicants who did not receive their top choice school will get automatically placed onto waitlists for their top choice schools, up to 5 schools, without having to re-apply. 
  • Late applicants, who missed the deadline, can submit waitlist applications to join the same process. While they are waiting, they will be assigned to a school that has space and will learn about that assignment in April.
  • Rolling waitlist notifications will begin in April, so that applicants can enroll as soon as seats become available.

How will this change increase the transparency of the enrollment process?

When families are added to a school’s waitlist, they will be able to know their waitlist position number, beginning in March when assignment letters are sent. As students are enrolled off the waitlist on a rolling basis between April and August, they will be able to see their waitlist number gradually decreasing as they get closer to the top of the waitlist.

How will the District notify and educate families about this new enrollment process?

The Enrollment Center will be providing training  for family-facing staff at school sites during the Fall of 2024, and will include information about the new process in family enrollment workshops in October and November. The annual Enrollment Guide will reflect this change, and district webpages including sfusd.edu/apply will contain additional details, dates, and resources.

See more information about the new Waitlist experience for families.

Waitlists for School Enrollment: information for applicants about how to join waitlists, how waitlists are ordered, and how students will be notified when they get in off the waitlist. 

Who was consulted in the development of this change?

In late 2023, staff sought family and school feedback on these changes. We conducted 15 different community feedback sessions in English, Spanish, and Cantonese, in which over 200 people participated, and surveyed a total of 882 families and other stakeholders. Engagement included 25 different Site Leaders who we engaged asynchronously and through a virtual meeting. Responses were largely in favor of the proposals:

  • The proposed changes have a great deal of support across the board: 74% of respondents supported the proposal to eliminate Round 2 and 79% supported allowing multiple wait lists, with only 10% and 9%, respectively, opposing these proposals.
  • We looked across race, income, and zip code, and for every demographic at least 60% of respondents supported both proposals. (To see family responses disaggregated by race/ethnicity and income, and school responses please review our data slides.)
  • School Principals are also very supportive of the proposed changes: 80% and 76% supported each of the 2 proposed changes.

Who can I reach out to with questions? Link to this section

Please reach out to the Enrollment Center with any questions that you may have! 

This page was last updated on January 27, 2025