How to LAUSD:The Complete Guide to LAUSD School Selection
LA Unified is one of the largest and most complicated school systems for parents and caregivers to navigate. If you live in LA and are trying to learn about public schools and the LAUSD school selection process, you’ve come to the right place.
How to LAUSD:The Complete Guide to LAUSD School Selection was written by me, a local mom, for the benefit of other local moms. The reason? The endless research moms do for their children is valuable and should be shared. Read more about the importance of pooling our collective research on the MakeTimeForMom local Resources Page.
While reading through this guide you may encounter unfamiliar terminology used by LAUSD to describe their programs and processes. Use the How to LAUSD Glossary to help clarify terms as needed.
This How to LAUSD Guide is made up of the following Posts:
The only two programs not covered in this guide are Admission Criteria Schools and Permits with Transportation. As these programs apply to a smaller student population they are best researched on the e-Choices website directly.
LAUSD School Selection Process Overview
There are only four types of school applications you can make within the Los Angeles public school system:
1. Apply to your Resident School through e-Choices
This is by far the easiest option for attending an LAUSD school. Simply locate your assigned LAUSD Resident school and begin the process of enrolling online or collect a paper application from the school’s office. Most schools will then contact applicants directly to coordinate next steps.
Make sure to use the Resident School Identifier to locate your Resident school. Avoid using other online tools that might inadvertently provide inaccurate information regarding school zoning. An address can be walking distance from a school and not be zoned for it!
If you’re not planning on attending your Resident School or would like to explore more options, you can also apply to Independent Charter Schools:
2. Apply to Independent Charter schools through their respective websites
One easy way of increasing your chances of getting into a local public school is to apply to Independent Charters. These charters have looser ties to the district but are still public, free, and subject to review.
Independent Charts do not have a centralized platform for tracking applications. Apply to each program on its respective website and follow their specific application guidelines.
It’s important to note that acceptance into a specific Independent Charter will not affect acceptance to other Independent Charters or into programs applied to through e-Choices.
In addition to applying to Independent Charters trough their websites, you can also apply to multiple programs through LAUSD’s e-Choices online platform.
3. Apply to specialized programs on e-Choices
E-Choices is the main platform for applying to most public schools and special programs in Los Angeles. Here is what you can apply for on this platform:
While the requirements for each type of program differ, they are all applied for on the same e-Choices platform, unlike Independent Charters. As such, acceptance to one program may affect other applications. Visit the next sections of this guide for more specific program guidelines.
In addition to applying for the programs above on e-Choices, there is one last application you can make within the LAUSD school system – applying for a Resident school that is not your own:
4. Apply to a local School that is not your own by using an Intra-District Permit
If there is another neighborhood school that does not offer one of the programs mentioned above, applicants can still request to be released from their resident school. This is done by applying for an intra-district permit on e-choices. Both Resident school and non-Resident school need to agree for this permit request to go into effect.
Intra-District permits are granted for reasons such as:
- Parent employment.
- Continue enrollment request.
- Sibling attending school.
- Child Care permit.
- Safety and protection reasons.
- School offers programs not available at the Resident school, such as a language program or a International Baccalaureate (IB) designation.
- Individual exceptions.
- School has open spots that can be applied to on e-Choices during the Open Enrollment period in April-May.
Visit Intra-District Permit Guidelines for more information about the process.
Feeling confused about your public school options? Here’s a quick recap:
LAUSD School Selection – Next Steps
At this point it should start feeling like the process of applying to an LAUSD program is complicated and it is. Luckily, you can find answers to your questions in the next chapters of this guide:
Read How to LAUSD, Part 2: Independent Charters 101 to get you started.
Questions or corrections? e-mail them to maketimeformomblog@gmail.com
All the information shared here was accurate, to the best of my knowledge, at the time of writing this guide. However, information gets updated frequently and guidelines change. The MakeTimeForMom is not responsible for actions taken as a result of information shared on this guide. Please visit LAUSD e-choices for the most up-to-date information available for school selection in Los Angeles Unified.