Sarasota County Schools opens controlled school-choice window Feb. 3–March 3; notifications in early April

Sarasota County Schools announced that its controlled school-choice application window will be open Feb. 3 through March 3, and that families will be notified in early April about placements and wait-list status.

Millie Wheeler, of the district—s Office of School Choice, said: "Este a—o, la ventana de solicitud de elecci—n de escuela estar— abierta desde el tres de febrero hasta el tres de marzo, eso es de lunes a lunes. Las notificaciones se enviar—n a principios de abril para las familias, y recibir—n una notificaci—n por correo electr—nico y tambi—n una notificaci—n dentro de su portal para padres focus." The office added that notifications will arrive both by email and via the district—s parent portal (Focus).

Why it matters: the controlled-choice window determines which students can request seats outside their attendance zone and how the district allocates limited seats across schools. The topic matters for families whose attendance zones changed after the district set new boundaries to open Sky Ranch, a new elementary school scheduled to open in August.

Key details provided by district staff:

- Application window and notifications: The application window runs Feb. 3—March 3; placement notifications will be sent in early April. Families may apply online at the Sarasota County Schools website and must use the Focus parent portal to submit applications.

- Number of choices and wait-listing: Families may apply to up to three schools. If a student is placed at their second or third choice, the district will place that student on the wait list for their first-choice school. If a student cannot be placed in any of the three selected schools, they will be placed on the wait list for their first choice.

- Lottery and preferences: The district will validate preference claims (for example, sibling preference) before running the lottery. "Los estudiantes que tienen una preferencia validada recibir—n un ligero peso en la loter—a, pero de nuevo, todavía no lo es garantizado," Wheeler said. District staff said many of the preference weights are set by state law; the office will apply those statutory preferences when the lottery runs.

- Capacity rules and new school openings: Deyan Cominati, of the district—s planning office, said the district creates a new attendance boundary for a new school, reserves capacity for in-zone students and future growth, and applies a 90% utilization factor to the school's permanent capacity when calculating seats available to school choice applicants: "...aplicamos un factor del noventa por ciento sobre la capacidad permanente de la escuela." That 90% factor is the basis for how many seats are left for choice applicants after reserving in-zone capacity.

- Transportation and program limits: The district said students who attend a school through the choice process do not receive district-provided transportation; parents are responsible for transporting those students. The regular choice lottery cannot be used to apply to specialized magnet or exceptional-student programs; families seeking those programs must follow each program's separate application process.

- Eligibility: Families who are not currently enrolled in a Sarasota County Schools traditional public school may apply during the choice window; non-enrolled families will need to create a Focus parent portal account to submit an application.

Staff guidance and a transcript inconsistency: the transcript contains inconsistent statements about whether a student already attending a school via choice must reapply to remain in that same school. Because the record is contradictory on that point, the district's Office of School Choice directs families with questions about continuity of placement to contact the office directly for confirmation.

Where to find more information: the district said families should visit the Sarasota County Schools website and search "school choice" for policies, procedures, the application link and an updated list of capacity by grade level for each school.

Ending: The district reiterated that wait lists remain active into the summer and that families who accept newly available seats will be contacted through the Office of School Choice through July.