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 Cascadia
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 Open Enrollment for School Choice application form will be available for current SPS students through the Source, starting Jan. 5, 2026. Learn more about Open Enrollment for School Choice.
- 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 Highly Capable Cohort (HCC) status need to request Cascadia on the School Choice form.
- Late applications will be accepted Feb. 1-March 31, 2026, but are not eligible for tiebreakers.
- Students who are not in the Cascadia Region with HCC status will be placed on the waitlist. All waitlists will be active through May 31, 2026, then dissolved.
Feb. 7-23, 2026: Newly identified Highly Capable Cohort (HCC) students
- Newly identified HCC students in the Cascadia region need to request if they want to transfer to Cascadia.
- When new Highly Capable (HC) decisions are released on Feb. 7, 2026, 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 Cascadia
- Applications for students in the Cascadia Region can still request transfer to Cascadia, 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, 2026.
Enroll at Seattle Public Schools for 2026-27
Registration for New Students
If your child is 5 by Aug. 31, you can enroll them in kindergarten! Parents and guardians can enroll their students online.
- አማርኛ (Amharic) New Student Enrollment video
- 中文 (中国) (Chinese) New Student Enrollment video
- Af-Soomaali (Somali) New Student Enrollment video
- Español (Spanish) New Student Enrollment video
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese) New Student Enrollment video
Every Seattle Public Schools (SPS) student is assigned to their attendance area school based on where they live. Students may apply to attend a different school through the Open Enrollment for School Choice process.
Open Enrollment for School Choice submissions by Jan. 31 are on-time and considered for tiebreakers. Late applications will be accepted until March 31. All late applications are subject to availability and are not eligible for tiebreakers.
Check out preschool options in Seattle for 3- and 4-year-old children.
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.