Open Enrollment Transfers and More...

Open Enrollment Transfers

Open Enrollment is a once a year process for "in district" school transfers. This gives parents/guardians the opportunity to request a school other than their school of residence within the South San Francisco Unified School District.

The Open Enrollment application window is only available between February 1st and April 15th of each year for the upcoming school year. During the application window, parents can fill out their request using the linked form when it opens on February 1st. All requests must be submitted by April 15th to considered. Approval of transfers is based on space availability for the grade level and school site requested as well as overall balance between school sites. All transfer applications received by April 15th will be reviewed later in the Spring, with most notifications going out to parents in late May, or for Kindergarten in June. Students with siblings attending the requested school will be considered first in this process.

If approved, Open Enrollment transfers do not need to be renewed.

Open Enrollment Transfer applications are no longer available for the 2024-25 school year.

2025-2026 school year applications available February 1 to April 15, 2025

New students must first register at their assigned school of residence. Please provide your 5-digit online registration number on your transfer application.
Have you moved? Update your address before submitting a transfer request: Residency Affidavit and Instructions / Spanish
Continuing students may use this application to renew a temporary transfer from a previous year.
Transfer decisions are determined by space availability, and are not first-come, first-serve.
If more transfer requests are received than space available, a random, unbiased lottery will be held.
Applications must be submitted via online by 4:30 p.m. on April 15th. Late applications will not be accepted.
Families must notify Student Services of any changes to their address, email or phone number that occur after submission of the Open Enrollment application.
Registration in an afterschool program at the school requested does not give priority for transfer approvals.
There are no updates regarding waitlists except to offer placement. Please do not call regarding the waitlist.
Waitlists generally close around the first week of September and do not carry over from year to year.

Other Transfers and Assigned Placements

Ideally, every student would attend their school of residence. Other than parent request via an approved Open Enrollment transfer, there are some situations in which students would attend schools other than their school of residence. These include:

1. Temporary Transfers (Address Change)

Families who move to a new neighborhood but want to have one or more of their students continue attending their current school, should bring your verification of the new address to the Office of Student Services at the District Office to complete a temporary transfer or to shift enrollment to your new school of residence. Parents can renew a temporary transfer for the following school year by completing an Open Enrollment application during the transfer filing period (see above).

If you have moved outside of the SSFUSD boundaries, in most cases we offer a courtesy transfer to allow completion of the school year at your current school. Please contact your new district of residence for an Inter-District Transfer Permit (more details on our Inter-District Transfer page).

2. Administrative Transfers (Overflow)

Schools occasionally do not have enough room in a grade level to accommodate all students living within the boundary area of that school. When this occurs, the District is notified that a student is need of a placement, Student Services will review enrollment numbers at other district schools and assign placement accordingly. Students are placed on a waitlist at their resident school and offered transfer to a school or choice of schools with space availability. If a space becomes available at the school of residence, the family will be given the option to to return to their resident school or to finish the remainder of the school year at their current school of attendance.

Class size in the district is bound by California Department of Education regulations and by class size limits contracted with the teachers’ union.

3. Transitional Kindergarten Placements

Transitional Kindergarten (TK) is currently located at some elementary school sites. If your school of residence does not have a TK classroom, your child will be offered placement at another school site. If your school site has reached capacity, Student Services will offer TK placement at another school site. All TK placements are temporary and students will return to their school of residence for Kindergarten in the following school year. Please contact Student Services for more information.

4. Special Education Placements

South San Francisco Unified School District's (SSFUSD) special education department helps identify students who may be eligible or benefit from placement in a special education program and delivers specialized instruction to help those students succeed. If a program is not available at your student's school of residence, the Special Education Department will offer an appropriate school placement.

5. Newcomer / English Language Learners

Most SSFUSD schools have support for students learning English, but for secondary school students who need additional support (based on a language assessment, the district's English Learner Team may offer and optional transfer to a middle or high school that has more services designed help newcomers navigate and thrive in their new home.