Open Enrollment Instructions & Tips

The Douglas County School District embraces parent and student choice by offering a wide variety of pathways to learning, including neighborhood schools, charter, magnet, and online schools and home education options.

Families who wish to enroll their student in a school other than their neighborhood school must use this tool to request Open Enrollment during one of two open enrollment periods DCSD offers annually. You do not need to use this open enrollment tool to stay at your school of current enrollment.   

For the 2026-2027 School Year:

• First Round Open Enrollment opens on November 3rd 8:00 am and closes on December 1st 4:00pm.
• Parents can see offers in the EngagED Parent Portal on December 11th at 8:00am and have until December 18th at 4:00 pm, to log back in and accept any open enrollment offers. annually unless either day is not a school day, in which case the next regular school day will be the beginning acceptance or ending day, respectively.
• If you are open enrolled at a neighborhood school or attend a DCSD-Authorized Charter School, but would like to return to the neighborhood school associated with your address for the next school year (26/27), you must file an intent to return form by January 5, 2026. If you miss this date, you must open enroll for a chance to return to your address assigned school, and enrollment is not guaranteed. Please note: If you are currently attending your address-assigned neighborhood school, there is nothing you need to do at this time if you wish to remain. 
• The Intent to return process does not apply if you are home schooling, attending a non-DCSD Charter School, attending an out-of-district school, or private school. Please reach out directly to your address assigned school for more information. If you do not know your address-assigned school, visit the school locator map for more assistance. 
• All new to the district students must complete OLR (Online Registration/enrollment) by the deadline by January 10th, 2026.
• Second Round Open Enrollment runs from January 22, 2026 at 8:00am through August 3, 2026 at 4:00pm.  If a student was put on the waitlist during the first round, they will still be on that list for the second round. Schools will ONLY reach out to families through email when and if a spot becomes available. Families must reply to those emails to accept the offer of enrollment.
• Applicants not accepted during the first Open Enrollment period are automatically placed on the annual prioritized list and shall have priority over second round applicants.

 Please refer to DCSD Open Enrollment for Frequently Asked Questions and to access the application.