There are no new seats for Open Enrollment for the 2023-2024 school year.
Siblings receive preference on the waiting list. The school board has the option to open up Open Enrollment seats at a later date, and the waiting list would be used to fill those seats.
Application period for the 2023-2024 school year will be February 6- April 28, 2023, at 4 p.m. You must re-apply every year if you are not currently attending the Open Enrollment program; the waiting lists do not carry forward.
Open Enrollment Brochure - Spanish & Hmong
What is Open Enrollment?
Open Enrollment is a State of Wisconsin program that allows parents to apply for their children to attend school districts other than the one in which they live.
Who may participate?
Wisconsin residents in grades 4K to 12 may apply to participate in open enrollment. Students in pre-kindergarten may participate only in limited circumstances; parents should call their resident school district administrator to find out if their preschool-aged children qualify.
How and when may parents apply?The application period for the 2023-2024 school year will be
February 6 - April 28, 2023 at 4 p.m.
During this timeframe, you may apply online at (
http://dpi.wi.gov/open-enrollment).
Parents must submit application to the Department of Public Instruction website (
http://dpi.wi.gov/open-enrollment). You may apply to three different non-resident school districts during the application period. Generally, this begins the first Monday of February and continues through the end of April. Parents must complete an application for each child. Late or early applications will not be accepted for any reason. The application period is for seats available for the next school year.
Can an application be rejected?Under certain circumstances nonresident school districts may deny an application.
- Space is not available for the student in the nonresident school district
- If the student has been expelled during the current school year or during the two preceding school years for certain violent conduct.
- If the special education program that the student needs is not available in the school district; if there is no space in the special education program; or if the student has been referred for an evaluation but has not yet been evaluated
What if more students apply to attend than there are spaces?
If more students apply to attend the nonresident school district than there are spaces, the nonresident school district must give preference to students who are already attending that district and have moved to another district, and to siblings of students who are already attending that district. After granting these preferences, students assigned to any remaining spaces must be selected randomly. Students who are not selected will be placed on a wait list in order of their name being drawn.
Other helpful information:
- Both the resident district and the nonresident district must approve the application.
- Parents whose children's applications were denied may appeal to the DPI within 30 days after receiving notice of denial.
- Students who are accepted into a nonresident school district may continue to attend without reapplication with two exceptions:
- The nonresident district may require each student to re-apply one time and one time only - at the beginning of middle school, junior high school, or high school.
- Under certain circumstances, a student who needs special education may be required to return to the student's resident district.
- Students may return to their resident district at any time. However, once a student leaves a nonresident district, they must reapply during the open enrollment application period and be approved in the process in order to attend that nonresident district again.
- There is no tuition cost to parents for their children's participation in open enrollment. Open enrollment students will be charged the same fees as resident students for books, etc.
- Parents are responsible for transporting their children to and from school, except if the student receives special education and the student's IEP requires transportation; the nonresident school district must provide the transportation. Low-income parents (parents of children who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches under the federal school lunch program) may apply to the Department of Public Instruction for reimbursement of transportation costs. Parents should apply for this reimbursement at the same time that they apply for open enrollment.
- In the past, Johnson Bus has offered to pay customers to ride on the Chapter 220 buses that went into Milwaukee. However, there are no longer elementary or middle school Chapter 220 students participating in the program. Hence, there are no longer Chapter 220 buses available for elementary students.
- Parents may request a particular school within a district, but it is up to the school board to assign students to schools depending on where the seats are available.
- Transportation and Transportation Reimbursement click on more information.
