Los Angeles families have a lot of choices when it comes to public schools.

In Los Angeles Unified alone, there are more than 400 elementary schools, plus hundreds of specialized programs and dozens of charter schools run by separate nonprofits.

The default option is to attend the assigned school nearest your home, but there are many reasons families may consider another school. Some of these schools are so popular there isn’t room for every student who wants to enroll.

Families have told us the process of choosing a school for their child is bewildering, overwhelming and anxiety-driven.

LAist is here to help. In this guide we’ll cover:

• The application process.
• Important dates.
• School options.
• What to consider as you’re making your choice.

We’re primarily focused on elementary and middle school choices in LAUSD, but some of this information is also relevant to families looking for a high school or in another district. LAUSD also operates more than 80 preschools which have historically served low-income families — though that’s changing.

Like the rest of our School Game Plan series, what you read is based on the experience of real southern California families, educators and other experts. And throughout this story you’ll see the experiences of L.A. families, in their own words. We will continue to add more stories — share yours here.

Why can choosing a school feel so stressful?

It’s not just choosing a school, it’s choosing a school plus everything else.

Nearly half of parents say that on most days their stress is overwhelming compared with about a quarter of other adults.

In August 2024, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called parent mental health and stress an “urgent public health issue.”

There’s an underlying current of economic anxiety. Children born in recent decades are less likely to outearn their parents than those born in 1940.

“Too many fear they won’t be able to provide what’s necessary or their kids won’t be able to access what they need in order to lead a fulfilling life,” including sending them to the “right schools,” Murthy wrote.

The “right” school will look different for every family — and this guide can’t make that decision for you. But we can equip you with the information you need to navigate the options available.

And while there is often a lot of negative rhetoric around public schools, it’s worth noting that parents’ views of their own child’s school experience are often positive— 70% say they are completely or somewhat satisfied.

When should I start a school search?

LAUSD has worked to streamline its “confusing maze” of school choices in recent years, but the process still perplexes many families.

If you want to attend your local school, the process is fairly straightforward, but to send your child to another school or a specialized program within the district (more on what those are below), it gets more complicated.

The application process for the largest pool of schools is called “Choices.” It can be done online or on paper. LAUSD had more than 40,000 Choices applications this past year.

There are two windows to apply— on-time and late.

• The on-time application usually opens about 10 months ahead of the first day of school.
• The late application consists of all the spaces left after families who applied on-time accept their offers.

Let’s say you’re applying for the 2026-27 school year. Here’s the general Choices timeline you’d be on for LAUSD:

• September 2025: School fairs start.
• October 2025: Choices application opens (on-time).
• Mid-November 2025: Deadline to apply online or by mail.
• February 2026:  Late applications begin.
• March 2026: On-time applicant results sent.
• Early April 2026: Deadline to accept or decline school offers for on-time applicants.
• April 2026: Late selection process begins.

Consider this a rough estimate. We’ll update the timeline when LAUSD releases the new dates, usually in early autumn.

What kind of public school experience is best for my family?

No one type of school is inherently better than another. Here are some of the factors that can contribute to a “good school”:

• High-quality, experienced teachers and administrators.
• Engaged parents and families — and avenues for them to participate at the school.
• Clean and safe facilities.
• Access to play and extracurricular activities including arts, sports and other clubs. 
• Student progress on academic goals, i.e. boosting reading scores.

Keep in mind:

• Public education, in general, has a lot of jargon, and as you’ll soon learn, LAUSD has several terms specific to the district. 
• Some schools may fall into more than one category. For example, your neighborhood school may also have a magnet program. 

Neighborhood schools

Every child who lives within the district boundaries has a default “neighborhood” or “resident” school close to their home — find yours here.

Families may enroll in their neighborhood school because it’s convenient, walkable and they want to be more connected to the community around their home.

Plus, your school choice journey becomes a short one if your neighborhood school fits the bill.

Some more affluent parents who live in gentrifying neighborhoods feel they can advocate for more resources that will benefit all students by sending their child to a local public school; those good intentions can have unexpected outcomes.

Still, there is ample evidence that students benefit from attending schools that are both racially and socioeconomically diverse. For example, a Harvard study found poor children who lived in places where people have more friendships across socioeconomic classes earned more in adulthood.

How to enroll: Collect the required documents (for example, proof of residence and immunization) and enroll online or in person at the school.

What if I want my child to attend a ‘neighborhood’ school that isn’t in our neighborhood?

As we’ve noted, your neighborhood/“regular” school doesn’t require a Choices application. And there are hundreds of these schools in LAUSD. Say you fall in love with one of these schools, but it is not your family’s resident or neighborhood school. Maybe it’s:

• Close to your work or before- and after-school child care.
• Offers a unique program or approach to learning.
• Recommended to you from a friend-of-a-friend.

Here are two possible pathways to get in:

Pathway No. 1: Open enrollment

California education law requires schools to accept students from anywhere in the district as long as they do not displace families that already live in a school’s attendance area.

LAUSD schools list the number of seats at their campus, and families apply online (or on paper) for the opportunity to claim one of those spots.

How to apply for the 2025-26 school year:

• Applications open between April 21 and May 9, 2025. 
• The late application window is May 27 through September 12, 2025. 

If there are more student applications than seats available, the district selects who gets a spot randomly. Everyone else will be placed on a wait list.

Factors to keep in mind for open enrollment:

• Families can apply for up to five participating open enrollment schools. 
• LAUSD does not provide transportation to families who select a school through open enrollment. 
• If your child enrolls at a school through open enrollment, they can continue to attend that school through the final grade offered. 
• There is no process to appeal an open enrollment application denial. 
• You can reach out to the District’s Master Planning and Demographics Office for help with the open enrollment process at at (213) 241-8044 or mpd@lausd.net.

Pathway No. 2: Intra-district permit

LAUSD created a separate process called an “intra-district permit” for families that want to attend a “regular” school that is not their resident school. The allowable reasons include:

• Parent employment: to be closer to the physical workspace of at least one parent or guardian. 
• Child care: to be close to a child’s before- or after-school care provider. 
• Sibling: to attend the same school as a sibling. 
• Specialized program: to access a program not available at their resident school (though this does not apply to programs covered in the Choices process). 
• Safety and protection: when a student is unsafe on their resident school campus. For example, they’ve been a victim of violence or bullying.
• Continuing enrollment: for students to continue to attend a school after moving out of the resident boundaries, but who still live within the district boundaries.
• Exceptions: The district may grant permits for other reasons on a case-by-case basis in situations of “extreme hardship.” 
• Special circumstances: There are several instances, including for students with disabilities, unhoused students and foster youth that may also qualify for an intra-district permit. 

Permits may be issued anytime during the current school year and the district started accepting applications for the 2025-26 school year in March.

Factors to keep in mind for the intra-district permit process:

• The resident school and the requested school must separately approve a student's application. 
• Schools can deny permits if they don’t have enough space to accept additional students. 
• LAUSD does not provide transportation to families who attend a school on an intra-district permit. 
• Schools can cancel permits mid-year for several reasons, including if students miss a lot of school, get in trouble or do not make academic progress. 
• There is a process to appeal a permit denial or cancellation. 
• Intra-district permits must be renewed annually. 

Magnet programs

There are more than 330 magnet programs in the district focused on a specific theme, such as science, math, language, advanced studies or art.

Magnet programs may encompass the whole campus (a magnet school) or be limited to a department within a larger school (a magnet center). In the latter, magnet students attend separate classes and have separate teachers.

Families may enroll in a magnet program because their child has a specific interest or they’re interested in a program that attracts students from different geographic areas.

See a list of all the magnet programs in the district organized by name (alphabetical) or by region, theme and grade level (selection tool).

LAUSD created its first magnet programs in 1977 to integrate segregated schools after a court order. The goal was to attract students to specific campuses to diversify the population.

In the decades since then, many magnets have grown in popularity among a broad range of families (though schools in L.A. and many other places remain segregated).

Any student who lives within LAUSD boundaries can apply, including those with disabilities and English language learners. There is no test required for admittance, except in some cases for the gifted magnet programs.

How to apply: Applications for magnet programs are typically due in mid-November and there is a late enrollment option early the following year. Apply online or in person at the school.

When there is more demand than seats available, families are admitted based on a points system that takes into consideration:

• Matriculation: Whether students are advancing from the last grade at their current magnet program to a middle or high school (12 points) OR Waiting list: If the student applied to a program where there were more applications than spots available (4 points for the following year, up to 12 points total for the prior three consecutive years).
• PHBAO: The ethnic make-up of their current school. Students at resident schools that are predominantly Hispanic, Black, Asian and “other non-Anglo” aka PHBAO (4 points).
• Overcrowding: Whether their resident school is overcrowded (4 points).
• Siblings: A sibling already in a desired program (3 points).

Keep in mind: 

• The maximum number of points a family may accrue is 23. Seats are assigned randomly to students with the highest number of points in descending order. 
• Families may apply to up to three programs a year. If a student is not selected for any of their three choices, they are placed on a waiting list for their first choice school. (And they get four points toward next year’s admissions cycle if they never get off the waitlist.)
• Families applying to “gifted” magnet programs must show the “ability” or “strong potential” to work two years above grade level, be assessed by the district and meet additional criteria. 
• Magnet schools are not required to provide transitional kindergarten, but there might be an on-campus TK option available. 
• Late applications do not accrue points. 

Multilingual Multicultural Program/Dual Language/Immersion

In these programs, students learn in both English and a second “target” language.

In LAUSD these programs are often called dual language programs and they are part of the district’s Multilingual Multicultural Education Department. Some families may also know these programs by the term “immersion.”

These programs may also include students who are native speakers of the second target language learning English.

Families may enroll in a dual-language program because they want their child to learn an additional language or because they want to reinforce the non-English language spoken in their household or among family.

In the 2024-25 school year, LAUSD offered more than 200 dual language programs in:

• Arabic. 
• Armenian. 
• French.
• Japanese.
• Korean.
• Mandarin. 
• Spanish (which has the most options). 

How to apply: Applications for dual language programs are typically due in mid-November, and there is a late enrollment option early the following year. Apply online or in person at the school.

If the number of applicants exceeds the space at the school, the spots will be prioritized in this order:

• Siblings of existing students in the school’s attendance boundary.
• Students within the school’s attendance boundary.
• Siblings within the district’s boundary.
• Students within LAUSD’s boundaries.
• Siblings of existing students outside the district’s attendance boundary.
• Students outside the district’s attendance boundary.

Keep in mind: 

• Any student can apply for a dual language program from transitional kindergarten to first-grade. Starting in second-grade, new students will have to take a test to assess whether they can keep up with the target language skills of peers already in the school’s program. 
• A school may not offer a dual-language class in every grade. For example, newer programs may build capacity grade-by-grade. 

Gifted and Talented/Accelerated/Honors/Schools for Advanced Studies

The district provides some form of “gifted and talented education” (GATE) programs at each school from TK through 12th grade. Accelerated and honors are other terms used to describe these programs, which may include small groups of students gathering for more complex discussions about coursework or separate classes focused on more advanced coursework.

Families may enroll in GATE because their child is bored in their current class or they are seeking a more challenging academic experience.

There are several additional options for higher-level academic programs beyond those offered at a neighborhood school.

“Schools for Advanced Studies” (SAS)

LAUSD awards schools with “exemplary” GATE programs this label. SAS teachers and administrators are required to participate in annual professional development. Schools must reapply for this designation every five years by submitting data including student academic outcomes, parent and family engagement and staff skill level.

Gifted magnet programs

Magnet programs and schools offer accelerated study for students. Unlike SAS schools, magnet programs’ “gifted” designation is continuous, and while teachers and administrators are encouraged to participate in professional development, it is not required.

How to apply: Applications for both SAS and magnet programs are typically due in mid-November, and there is a late enrollment option early the following year. Apply online or in person at the school.

The eligibility criteria of SAS and Gifted Magnet schools is the same, but the prioritization of who gets in is different.

• Gifted magnet programs prioritize applicants based on the above-mentioned points system. 
• SAS schools randomly select eligible students based on the available number of spots in the following order of priority: 
  
  • Siblings of existing students within LAUSD’s boundaries.
  • Students within LAUSD’s boundaries.

Keep in mind: 

• If your neighborhood/resident school is a School for Advanced Studies, you do not need to submit an application, but your child must be considered eligible by the school. 
• To be eligible, students must meet one of the district’s criteria, which include test scores, creative ability, critical thinking and leadership skills. 
• The district also has several “highly gifted" magnet programs that require a specific intellectual assessment administered by an LAUSD psychologist.

Charter schools

Charter schools are tuition-free, publicly funded schools often run by nonprofit organizations.

Families may enroll in a charter school because they are attracted to the school’s approach to teaching or resources, or are looking for an alternative to their local public school.

California first authorized the creation of charter schools in 1992. As LAist has elsewhere reported:

The “authorizer” in most cases is the local public school district. In the 2024-25 school year, 219 independent charter schools operate within LAUSD.

Any California student can apply to a charter school, but if there is more demand than available seats, there may be a lottery to determine who gets in. A school may also give lottery priority to specific groups of students. For example, siblings of current students or those who reside within school district boundaries.

You’ll encounter two types of charter schools in LAUSD.

First, affiliated charter schools are run by LAUSD but have some of the same legal freedoms as independent charter schools. Many of these schools were once regular district schools that converted to charter status. The head of the district’s charter school division once described them as “really connected to the mothership.”

How to apply: Choices applications for affiliated charter school programs are typically due in mid-November and there is a late enrollment option early the following year. Apply online or in person at the school. When there are more applications than seats available, the school will conduct a lottery and must publish the date on its website. Students who are not selected join a waiting list.

Second, independent charter schools are those run by nonprofit organizations with unelected boards.

How to apply: Independent charter schools have a separate application process that is unique to each school.

Out of district

There are 80 public school districts in L.A. County. Families may choose this option because they want their child to attend a school closer to their work, with a specialized program or for another reason.

It’s a two-step process to leave the district:

1. Apply online for an inter-district outgoing permit for the following school year between Feb. 1 and April 30.  
2. Apply for an incoming inter-district permit from the desired school district.  

The reverse is true for students who live outside of LAUSD who want to attend a school in the district.

Each school district determines the criteria for transfers into and out of their schools.

Private schools

Our region also has hundreds of private or “independent” schools. About 11% of students in Los Angeles County go to one of these schools, which include traditional private schools, religious schools, Montessori schools and others. These schools charge tuition, though some families may offset the cost with financial aid or scholarships — and each has its own application process.

What information should I consider in my decision?

Does my child have unique needs?

If you know or suspect your child has a disability, they may need additional support at school.

Federal law guarantees students with disabilities a “free appropriate public education,” but Congress has never fully funded special education as intended when the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) first passed in 1975.

“Even when we do know our rights, there's no real accountability framework in place,” said L.A. parent Lisa Mosko Barros, the mom of two neurodiverse kids, advocate and founder of nonprofit SpEducational.

A lot of parents say they have to advocate for services to help their children learn, and many families struggle to get help.

“It can be very discouraging, but there are wins,” Mosko Barros said. “The more you know, the more you know. ... There's no other option. We don't have the option of not trying.”

Here are some questions to consider asking a prospective school:

• What resources are available for families of children with disabilities? 
• How do you meet the needs of students with disabilities? 
• What's the turnover for special education teachers? Special ed aides?
• How do you identify children who struggle to read and what kinds of tools are available to help? 

What does my child like to do?

While all schools expose students to a variety of subjects and activities, some may focus on incorporating a specific theme or style of teaching throughout a child's educational journey.

LAist talked to several families who attended their neighborhood school in the early elementary years and started exploring other school options after their child showed interest in a specific topic.

How competitive is enrollment?

The interest in some schools far exceeds the capacity.

When you search for a magnet program through LAUSD’s website, compare the number of openings for the next school year to how many applications were received the prior year to get an idea of how likely your child is to be admitted. And remember, if they don’t get in the first year, you accumulate points that can boost subsequent applications.

For other types of schools, ask staff directly about the capacity, number of applications in previous years and the number of openings for the upcoming year.

How will my child get to school?

California lags the nation in providing bus transportation to students.

The state doesn’t require schools to offer transportation, though the federal government requires schools to provide it for a few specific groups of students, including some with disabilities and those experiencing homelessness.

LAUSD provides bus transportation for:

• Students with disabilities whose Individualized Education Program (IEP) includes transportation are the highest priority. 
• Some magnet programs. 
• Unhoused students.

Other students may also be eligible for transportation including those with:

• An IEP that does not include transportation.
• A hazardous walk to school. 

Or who live:

• More than one mile (elementary school) or more than two miles (middle through high school) from their school.
• Near an established bus route.

It’s best to inquire directly with the school your family is interested in to confirm what transportation may be available.

And remember, you’ll have to opt-in to transportation every year unless your student has an IEP.

Who cares for my child before and after school?

Many working families need child care outside of typical school hours.

LAUSD partners with several organizations to offer free before- and after-school programs, but there are not enough spaces for every child in the district, and it can be confusing to figure out what program your school offers and how many spaces are available.

These programs may also be referred to as Beyond the Bell, Expanded Learning Program (ELP) or the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP).

Here are a few options to try:

• Search for a school in LAUSD’s “school explorer” site, and look for “Beyond the Bell” beneath “School Experiences” to see what programs are available. 
• See a list of all the before-and-after school programs for the 2024-25 school year. 

Families must complete a separate application for before- and after-school programs.

What data can inform your decision? 

For better or worse, we have a school accountability system based largely on students’ standardized test scores.

“The scores tell you something, but usually they are — across the whole country — highly correlated with socioeconomic status,” Learning Policy Institute founding president Linda Darling-Hammond told LAist. “A lot of what they tell you is how well off economically are students in this school, rather than how much is the school contributing to their gains and growth.”

For example, one study in Mississippi found a school’s overall scores can mask outcomes for low-performing groups of students.

No one metric defines a great school, and there are many factors beyond test scores to consider — from data about student attendance, discipline and parent surveys on school safety.

By far the most frequent piece of advice we’ve heard is to go on an in-person school tour if possible.

“The very best thing that people can do is go to the school and try to watch the way that educators interact with students, the way that students interact with each other, and the way that families are included or not in the life of a school,” says Jack Schneider, a University of Massachusetts, Amherst, education researcher and parent. “Once you do that, you really get a sense of what kind of place kids are going to school.”

Some schools post information about tours online, but you may have to call for details.

Once you’re there, here are some questions to ask:

• Can I talk to staff and students? 
• Do staff send their children to the school?
• What is staff turnover? 
• What professional development is available for staff? 
• How big are classes?
• What extracurricular activities are available? 
• Is there before- or after-school care? 
• What is the school’s approach to social and emotional learning? 
• How does the school handle discipline and bullying? 
• How much time do students spend on screens? I.e. working on computers or tablets? 
• Are there any recent or planned improvements to campus? 
• What opportunities are there for parents to get involved? Is there a parent-teacher association (PTA) or other organized group of families?
• Can the school help connect families to other community resources, such as meals, mental health, housing support, internet access? 

Here are some things to observe:

• What time of day does the tour take place? Is it a moment of transition like the beginning of the day or lunch?
• Are students engaged in the lessons? Wandering around campus? 
• What is the condition of the buildings, classrooms, playgrounds and school grounds?  Is there green space? 
• How are staff interacting with students and each other?
• What information is posted in the front office and hallways? Are there opportunities for parental involvement? 

In the fall, LAUSD also hosts a series of in-person and virtual “Choices Fairs,” where families can talk to educators from different schools in each region.

We have a comprehensive overview of the information you can review from the comfort of home, but here are a few places to start your search.

LAUSD’s school explorer: You can search by location or by keywords. Each school page provides an overview of the programs and services available and few data points with a comparison to the district average including:

• Test scores.
• Student demographics.
• The percentage of students who feel safe at the school.

For more information, including suspensions, attendance and the progress made by English Language Learners, visit the district’s open data site.

Also check individual school websites. At their best, these platforms are a window into the school’s history, curriculum, current programs and events. On the other end of the spectrum, information can be sparse or outdated. But a bad website isn’t necessarily indicative of a bad school.

Look for:

• Events. 
• Tours.
• Extracurricular activities and after- and before-school programs.
• How to contact teachers and administrators.
• Parent and family resources.

California School Dashboard: Here you can compare a school’s test scores and other information against state standards. Many measures are assigned a color from red (worst) to blue (best) based on performance from the current year and growth from the prior year.

School Accountability Report Card (SARC): The wonkiest of these options. The SARC is an annual assessment each school must submit each year; among the data is:

• Teacher qualifications.
• School facility conditions.
• Student support staff on campus (librarian, nurse, psychologist, etc.).

The website isn’t super user-friendly. Search for an individual school here and then click the button that says “view full SARC” to see all of the available information.

How can I meet other parents?

There are parent Facebook groups, but there are also a variety of school, local government and parent-run organizations who can connect you to families willing to share their experiences.

At the school level:

• Parent-teacher association or a booster club.
• School site council, a group of parents, community members, staff, and students that advises leadership. 

At the city level:

• Local neighborhood council, the smallest and most accessible unit of L.A. government. Many have a representative focused on education.

When will I hear back?

LAUSD starts notifying families about the outcome of their Choices applications in March, and families have until early April to accept or decline the school placement offered. Otherwise, the student’s enrollment will default to their resident school.

Acceptance: If you accept the district’s offer, the next step is to contact the school to enroll. Students who do not enroll and subsequently attend class within the first week of school are dropped from the program.

Waiting list: When there are more applicants than available space, your child will be placed on a waiting list. If you applied for multiple schools and are not selected for any of them, your child is placed on the waiting list for their first choice school.

Schools start to offer available spaces to students on the waiting list in April and continue through the beginning of the fall semester. Spots may also open up the first two weeks of the spring semester.

You can contact the school directly to learn more about your child’s status on the waiting list.

Students still on the waiting list in the fall when the next application period opens should reapply.

How will I be involved in my child’s education?

Education experts and parents we interviewed also encouraged families to think about what they can provide to their larger school community in addition to what they hope their child will get out of their individual educational experience.

“Instead of obsessing over finding the one best school and angling to get our kids into that school and shove aside our competitors, we can begin to recognize that public schools are designed to bring us together,” Schneider, the education researcher, said. “They're designed to be spaces where young people from different walks of life sit alongside each other as they learn.”

One place to start is at your school’s parent-teacher association (PTA) or a booster club.

While fundraising is often a primary focus for school-based groups, they can be more inclusive, says former Atwater Village PTA president Lori Rosales.

“People can give money, they can give supplies or they can give time,” Rosales says. “If we thought through those lenses, that is going to ensure that everybody can participate in some way.”

Check out other ways to get involved in your child’s education.

Illustration: Olivia Hughes / LAist