Remember back in the day when school districts were this very firm line drawn by addresses (even within a neighborhood subdivision) that dictated what three schools a student would attend for 13 years?
Florida State Statute 1002.31 changed the game by creating the open enrollment process for public school districts.
As per the statute, “controlled open enrollment means a public education delivery system that allows school districts to make student school assignments using parents’ indicated preferential educational choice as a significant factor.”
In other words, a parent may request a school outside the residential school district or even the county, and that request could be granted by that school board.
But how does this work? How do parents navigate the timelines, applications, over-capacity charts, etc?
Here is your one-stop shop for some frequently asked questions.
Escambia County Public Schools
Timeline:
The Open Enrollment Application will open for Middle and High School requests beginning October 30 and will end December 8, 2023.
Elementary School applications will open on January 29, 2024, and close on March 8, 2024.
High School acceptance letters will be EMAILED on February 9, 2024. Middle School acceptance letters will be EMAILED out on February 16. Followed by elementary letters being EMAILED on March 29, 2024.
General Minimum Requirements:
Elementary School:
- The elementary school applicant must be entering Kindergarten through 5th for the 2024-2025 school year.
- The applicant must currently be a Florida resident.
- Students entering Kindergarten during the 2024-2025 school year must be five by September 1, 2024.
- Students entering 1st grade during the 2024-2025 school year must be six by September 1, 2024.
- The Office of Enrollment Services cannot consider placement for out-of-county applicants into an overcapacity or lottery-based school until the pool of eligible in-county applicants has been exhausted.
- Per the Federal Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, exceptions are granted to allow qualified military families to apply during the Online Open Enrollment Window.
Middle and High Schools:
- The high school student applicant must be entering 9th or 10th grades for the 2024-2025 school year. The middle school student applicant must be entering 6th, 7th, or 8th grades for the 2024-2025 school year.
- The applicant must currently be a Florida resident.
- The student applicant must maintain a satisfactory attendance record of no more than five unexcused absences for the first quarter of this current school year.
- The student applicant’s disciplinary record must reflect no more than a minimal number of minor infractions, if any at all.
- Student applicants must have earned at least a C in each core academic class and be seeking either a standard, merit, or scholar high school diploma.
Magnet or Application-Based Programs:
Escambia County is the proud home to three magnet schools: NB Cook Elementary School of the Arts, Brown Barge Middle School, and West Florida High School of Advanced Technology.
Additionally, Pensacola High School houses the esteemed International Baccalaureate Program unique to our tri-county area.
Requirements and consideration for these schools and programs vary slightly. If you are interested in any of these programs, you can find the requirements and qualifications for each by contacting the respective schools.
Santa Rosa County Public Schools
Timeline:
Although the timetable for the 2024-2025 school year has not yet been published by the time of print, last year, they had the open enrollment period for this current school year from mid-April to May 30, 2023.
Decisions for Open Enrollment were made after the June school board meeting, which approved each application based on specifications and qualifications, including capacity.
General Minimum Requirements:
All in-county, court-ordered, and military preferences will be considered first for the Controlled Open Enrollment process in Santa Rosa County.
All other decisions will be based on the over-capacity chart and school board approval.
No request for transfer will be considered if disciplinary action is pending for the student.
Information for this resource article was taken from the Escambia County Public Schools and Santa Rosa County Schools web pages.
For any specific questions, we encourage you to reach out to each school district’s respective enrollment services department.
