Open Enrollment

Open Enrollment gives families the opportunity to send their child to any Oregon public district or public charter school that has available space, regardless of where the families live or how much money the family has.

Open Enrollment gives parents the constitutionally protected right to choose the public school, including charter school, that their child attends, as provided below.

• As a method of voluntary school choice, the parent whose child is not subject to expulsion or suspension, has the right throughout each school year to choose any public school within the state for the parent’s child to attend, for the appropriate grade level.

• The child shall be admitted for enrollment if there is classroom or program space in the chosen school. Priority shall be given first to students within the attendance zone and then within the school district.

• If there are more applicants for the chosen school than there are remaining spaces available, the chosen school district shall select a child to attend the chosen school by an equitable lottery process.

• In selecting a child to attend the chosen school, the chosen school district may not deny consent nor give priority based on race, religion, creed, sex, gender, ethnicity, political belief, national origin, disability, terms of an individualized education program, income level, proficiency in the English language or athletic ability.

• The chosen school district shall accept all credits toward graduation earned by the child in any previous school district, private school, or homeschool.

• Once enrolled in a school within the chosen school district, and unless expelled, the chosen school district shall provide the open enrollment student with free and appropriate public education, and the open enrollment student shall not need to reapply in subsequent years for enrollment in the chosen school district.

• Except as required by federal law, the chosen school district shall not be required to provide transportation outside the attendance zone of the chosen school district to an open enrollment student.

• The resident school district shall provide the chosen school district with a complete copy of the open enrollment student’s school records.

• Each school district shall make readily and easily available to the parents of the school district detailed information about the statewide, year-round open enrollment application process, including a simple statewide application form, how and where to submit the application form, whom to contact with questions about open enrollment, and when and how notification of acceptance or denial will be provided to parents.