For general information, please visit the School Choice website at www.ChooseHISD.org, call the Office of School Choice at (713) 556-6734, or email schoolchoice@houstonisd.org.

To learn more about HISD Vanguard (G/T) programs please visit the Gifted and Talented website at www.houstonisd.org/GT, call the Advanced Academics Department at (713) 556-6954 or email GiftedandTalented@houstonisd.org.

You may apply to a maximum of 10 programs or campuses and will not have a limit of magnet programs as in past application years.

Letters stating the status of your student’s application will be mailed on notification day if you submitted a paper application. If you apply online, you will receive an email notification. Parents can view the status of the application on the parent dashboard at any time.

You should accept or decline the offered seat by logging into the School Choice application parent portal at: _________________ where you submitted the application.

• Any seat offered on April 5, you will have 2 weeks to accept an offered seat.
• Any seat offered after April 5, you will have 5 days to accept the offer.

Once you accept the seat, you can contact the campus to complete the campus enrollment process, bring the required documents for enrollment, and sign the thematic entrance agreement (if applicable). If you do not accept or decline the offered seat within the timeframe above, the system will automatically decline the seat on your behalf.

If your student is currently enrolled in an HISD school, and you accept an offered seat, your child's current school will be notified, and your child will be dropped from their future roster.

For information about the HISD enrollment process, please contact Student Enrollment at 713-556-4826 or email enroll@houstonisd.org.

Yes. If you were on a waitlist for a higher-ranked school, you will be able to accept the new offer to that school or program within 5 days. You will have 5 days from the date that the seat was offered to accept the offer, submit the required documents to the school and sign the thematic entrance agreement (if applicable).  Your offered seat will no longer be available for you to accept after the 5 day window and will be offered to the next student on the lottery list.

You may consider applying to schools with space available during Phase 2. You may also enroll your child in their zone school.

In order to be considered for the lower-ranked school, you would need to re-apply to the school during Phase 2. If offered a seat during Phase 2, you will have 5 days from the date of the offer to respond and deliver any required documentation to the lower-ranked school.

Application Status:

Submitted, In Progress – the application has been submitted and is being processed

Directed to Enroll – you have selected the child will attend their zoned campus, please contact the campus

Cancelled – the parent has withdrawn the application

Eligibility Status:

Processing – the application is being processed for eligibility

Eligible – your child’s application is eligible for the selected program and will be included in the lottery

Ineligible – your child’s application is not eligible for the selected program and will not be included in the lottery.

If you see a “next steps” button in your child’s card, click to see what steps must be taken to be included in the lottery. Note: if you have “next steps” you will receive an email within 72 hours of submitting your child’s application indicating you have items to complete.

Use the “Forgot your password?” feature on the parent login website. When clicked it triggers the reset password email.  You will need to access the email account that you used to create your account.  Select the link in the email to reset your password.  Passwords will be required to be 8 characters in length, with one number and one letter.  No old password will be allowed. 

Information about different programs can be found on the School Choice website at ChooseHISD.org. The School Choice application will list all programs to which your child can apply. For more information about a specific program contact the school directly. 

The zoned school, in conjunction with the area school office, would be able to inform you if the school no longer has space and direct you to the identified campus.

Visit Find a School and enter your address. The Find a School tool at https://schoolfinder.houstonisd.org will provide a list of your zoned elementary, middle, and high schools.

This is a campus-based decision. Please contact the school for these dates.

Upon entering a School Choice program, a transfer is approved for enrollment. In the case of magnet programs, a thematic Entrance Agreement is signed by parent/guardian and student. If a student is having difficulties in either the magnet or program choice, the student transfer may be in jeopardy of non-renewal.  By policy students are only allowed one transfer per year.

Send an email to schoolchoice@houstonisd.org or call the Office of School Choice (713) 556-6734, explaining in detail the issues you are having.  Please provide the student name and birthdate and student ID, if known. 

Yes. You do not have to attend a school for which you have been offered a seat. However, if your student attends the school of choice and leaves the program voluntarily before the end of the school year, he or she may only return to his or her zoned campus.

To secure a seat in that specific program, yes.  Please contact the schools for more information.

If there is an extenuating circumstance that prevents the student from attending the first day of school, please contact the school immediately. When they arrive to enroll, if space is still available, their transfer will be accepted with approval from the Office of School Choice. If space is no longer available, they will lose their seat and must enroll at their zoned school.

To be considered in the lottery, applications must be submitted during Phase 1 (December 14, 2022 - February 2, 2023).

Students who apply during the Phase 1 application window will receive equal opportunity. Applications submitted during Phase 2 are considered on a space available, first come first served basis. There are no additional lotteries.

Online. Your application is instantly processed and you will receive an email receipt of your application for your records. Applying online will also give you access to the parent portal where notifications will be posted.

Go to the parent login at www.ChooseHISD.org. A paper application is not required if you use the online option. For the 2023-2024 application year, all parents will be required to create an account. Please only submit one application, either online or paper.

Students currently enrolled in HISD and who attended an HISD school last year are not required to submit any documents to apply to most programs. The Application Matrix and Overall Core average will be automatically calculated and be viewable on the application portal for students who apply online with their HISD ID#. 

There are several options to submit documents for students who were not in HISD last year or for those who are missing documents.

1. Upload directly online, or hand deliver to all the campuses you have applied for. 
2. Send by U.S. mail to the Office of School Choice - Send copies of the documents to
   
   Office of School Choice
   Houston Independent School District
   4400 West 18th Street
   Houston, TX 77092
   
   The copies will be kept for our records. In the online application system, you will see a confirmation once the documents have been uploaded.
   
   
3. Drop off at the Office of School Choice - You can leave copies of the required forms at our offices. Once you arrive at the address listed above, please check in at the reception desk by the main entrance to the building.
4. Email required documents to the Office of School Choice: Schoolchoice@houstonisd.org

We strongly encourage parents to apply online. If you choose to submit the paper application, only fill out one application. Mail or hand-deliver the application to the address below, along with all required documentation for the schools you are applying to. Please only submit one form of application, online or paper. 

Office of School Choice
Houston Independent School District
4400 West 18th Street
Houston, TX 77092

The Student ID# is found on your student’s report card, progress report, test reports, and other communications from your student’s school. You can also find it online at HISD Parent Student Connect. If you are unable to find it, please contact your student’s current school.

No, entrance requirements may vary by program. Please see this resource for a comprehensive listing of program entrance requirements.

Yes. Prior to applying to schools’ programs, you may contact the school to inquire about a school tour or visit.

During the Phase 1 applications, parents may apply to up to 10 School Choice Programs and must rank their selections in order of preference. The School Choice process seeks to provide each applicant with the highest-ranked school to which they are eligible and which has a seat available for them, given their lottery number and priority. As a result, it is very important that you consider the rank order of your selected programs carefully. 

When a student is offered a seat at a program, the following happens:

1. They will not be considered for placement at lower-ranked programs. For example,  If a student ranks 10 programs and is admitted to the program ranked #3, they will not be considered for programs ranked #4-10.

2. They will be placed on the waitlist of higher-ranked programs. In the example above, a student admitted to the program ranked #3 will be on the waitlists of the programs ranked #1-2.

If there are more qualified applicants to a particular school or program than seats available, the system will conduct a lottery to determine which applicants will receive an assignment to that school/program. Applicants who do not receive an assignment to the school/program will be placed on the waitlist.

Yes. You can monitor your parent dashboard for updates. We also advise parents to watch for emails regarding offers. 

Applications move upward as offered seats are declined. Sibling priority may also affect waitlist movement. 

A space available list will be posted on the School Choice website. Additionally, in Phase 2 (April 5 - June, 15, 2023) only schools with space avaialble will populate for you to select. 

For more information, please contact the Office of School Choice at SchoolChoice@houstonisd.org. 

Depending on whether the school has an entrance criteria requirement, K-12 grade siblings, or other students that reside in the same home, a special needs student can attend the same school.

Only siblings due to multiple births may share a lottery ticket. For twins, triplets, etc., you may apply for them to attend the same magnet program and be treated like other siblings. You may also choose for them to receive the same lottery position, meaning they will all be offered a seat or all placed on the waitlist. If they are on a waitlist, they will not be offered seats until there is room for all of them. Each sibling must have a separate application.

Sibling priority is offered to 25% of the entry grade (PreK, K, 6, 9 grades) seats available. Applicants who are applying to the school an older sibling will attend next year will receive priority.

Out-of-district applications will be considered during the Phase 1 lottery, but only after all in-district applicants are accommodated. Applications from HISD residents will be considered with priority. Students of out-of-district employees are considered in-district applicants.  Out of district students enrolled in HISD will be offered available seats prior to new Out of District students.  For magnet-only programs (schools that do not have an attendance zone, such as the High School for Performing and Visual Arts) out-of-district magnet transfers must be approved by the superintendent of schools, and tuition may be required.

Except for Pre-K, 5^th, and 8^th grades, students will not need to reapply, and their transfer will “roll over” to the next school year. The school can choose to non-renew the transfer due to behavior, attendance, and for a magnet program not meeting the program theme requirements.

If you’re able to edit the incorrect information, you may update the application at any time prior to the deadline. If you are not able to edit, please contact the Office of School Choice at SchoolChoice@houstonisd.org or call 713-556-6734 for assistance.

Students with disabilities are required to follow the HISD application process for School Choice programs. A student with disabilities who meets the specified school choice criteria and is accepted for admission is required to have an Admission, Review, and Dismissal/ Individualized Education Program (ARD/IEP) or Section 504 committee meeting prior to enrolling in the program to ensure that the student’s IEP or Section 504 plan can be implemented in the school choice requested program.

A student who meets the eligibility criteria and qualifications for a specific program shall be granted a transfer when there are seats available. Some transfer types are discretionary per HISD Board policy.

The Office of School Choice Operations manages notifications and appeals.  Parents can start the appeal process by emailing SchoolChoice@housonisd.org with their student’s name, HISD ID, and a detailed explanation as to why you are requesting the denial to be reconsidered. The Appeal Committee will make a decision based on Board approved policy and school guidelines.

With the principal’s approval, the school can use what is called a Moved Within Semester Transfer. This transfer will allow students who moved from their zoned school to remain until the end of the semester. Parents should always secure a School Choice transfer to continue to remain at the enrolled campus.  

If you did not select the transportation option when submitting a student transfer application, your student may not be guaranteed transportation. Please call the Transportation Department Customer Care Team at 713-556-9400.

Vanguard (G/T) programs are designed for gifted and talented (G/T) students. So, when you see the word Vanguard, just think G/T. All schools have a Vanguard (G/T) program. Vanguard is one choice of magnet programs, just like fine arts or STEM. (Students must be identified as Gifted and Talent through GT testing and other GT matrix criteria to be eligible for a Vanguard Magnet program. 

Yes. Only G/T identified students are offered a seat to a Vanguard program.

The “ineligible” status means that the student did not meet the Vanguard qualification requirements to be identified as gifted and talented.

Even if some School Choice programs fill up completely, there are usually similar programs at other schools with room. Additionally, many non-magnet programs provide quality opportunities for students.

School Choice prekindergarten guidelines match HISD’s Early Childhood Office, based on Texas Education Agency (TEA) policy.

To be TEA eligible, a student must meet the following criteria:

• Be four years of age on or before September 1 of the enrollment year
• Live within the boundaries of the Houston Independent School District, AND

Meet at least one of the criteria listed below:

1) Be unable to speak or understand English

2) Be economically disadvantaged

3) Qualify for the National School Lunch Program to include all children who meet any eligibility criteria for Head Start, not only those who meet the low-income eligibility criteria for Head Start. The TEC, §5.001(4), defines educationally disadvantaged as "eligible to participate in the national free or reduced-price lunch program." Consequently, all children who are eligible for Head Start are eligible for free prekindergarten, based on their eligibility for the NSLP. [1][1] Public Law 110-134, which amended 42 USC,1758

4) Be homeless

5) Student is or ever has been in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services following an adversary hearing held as provided by Section 262.201, Family code

6) Be the student of an active-duty member of the U.S. military or one who has been killed, injured, or missing in action while on active duty.

7) Be the student of a person eligible for the Star of Texas of Award as (1) a peace officer as defined in Section 3106.002, Government Code. (2) a firefighter under Section 3106.003, Government Code. (3) an emergency medical first responder under Section 3106.004, Government Code. The Office of the Governor, Criminal Justice Division honors recipients annually in September. A list of past honorees may be viewed on the Criminal Justice Division webpage.

The student will be placed at the bottom of the non-TEA eligible list.