Lake Washington School District will hold an open enrollment period beginning Feb. 3 for parents who want their children to attend a school other than their neighborhood school. To take advantage of open enrollment for students in grades one through 12, parents may apply for a change to that school assignment, also known as an in-district transfer or variance, through Feb. 28.

For kindergarten students, parents must request the variance at the time of registration. Kindergarten registration begins Thursday, Feb. 6, from 1-7 p.m. at the schools.

This open enrollment option only applies to those schools that have space available. The list of schools that are closed to students outside their neighborhood will be available on the district website prior to open enrollment at: http://www.lwsd.org/Parents/Student-Registration/Pages/In-District-Transfer-Options.aspx. Schools are closed if current and projected enrollment indicates that school capacity will be reached with those students who live within their boundary areas.

In-district transfer forms can be picked up at any school during the open enrollment period. The completed request must be submitted to the student’s home school. Acceptance is based on space available in a school, grade or program. In the event that there are more requests than can be accommodated, date of request will determine admission.

Students from outside the district who wish to attend Lake Washington’s schools can apply for enrollment at any time by initiating a request with their home school district. The district’s website lists schools that are unavailable for Inter-District Transfer requests. However, students within the district have priority for available spaces. Students from outside the district will be placed after the in-district students are accommodated if space is available.

Parents who live in the district will be notified of the result of their in-district transfer request as soon as possible. Kindergarten and Inter-District Transfer requests may not be notified until later this summer.

The Student Placement Office, at 425-936-1283, can answer any questions on this process.