3: What's Next?

Thank you for registering with Boston Public Schools. At the completion of your registration visit, the FRC staff will provide a copy of your case and a What's Next information sheet. Please keep these copies for reference - they will show your date of registration, schools ranked, and case number. The What's Next information sheet includes the schedule for Assignment Notices by Registration Round.

3.1 The Assignment Notice
3.2 Unassigned and Wait Lists

3.1 The Assignment Notice

School Assignments are available approximately six weeks after the close of each registration round and notices are mailed home to every registrant. For registrants applying for the current school year, assignments are typically available five business days after the completion of the registration process, which may include home language assessment.

The FRCs can also provide information on school assignments when they become available - contact information can be found on the Family Resource Centers page.

Sample Assignment Notice

As you can see from the sample in the link above, each Assignment Notice includes:

• The school to which your child is assigned, including its address and hours for next year
• Transportation eligibility - whether or not your student can receive transportation. For school bus eligible students (some students receive MBTA passes instead), bus assignments are mailed to families in late August by the Transportation Department
• If applicable, the school(s) where your child is wait-listed.

Responding to your Assignment Notice

Each Assignment Notice includes a reply portion to be mailed to BPS (postage is prepaid):

Choice 1: Will your child attend his/her assigned Boston Public School?

If yes, please see Choice 1a and 1b.
If no, please see Choice 2.

Choice 1a: Do you want BPS to keep or remove your child from his/her waitlist(s), if any? Waitlists remain in effect until the end of the calendar year.

Choice 1b: If your child is eligible for transportation, will s/he use or not use "yellow bus" transportation?
 

Choice 2: My child will not attend Boston Public Schools for the upcoming school year. S/he will attend...

Please name the school your child will be attending for the upcoming school year.
Please indicate whether you want BPS to keep or remove your child from his/her waitlist(s), if any.

If you decline your school assignment, BPS will re-assign that seat to a student on that school's wait list.

When you have completed your reply to the Assignment Notice, please sign at the end and mail it back to us.

If you lose your Assignment Notice and need to know your assignment, please call a Family Resource Center. If you lose your reply portion, please email your choices to rsvp@bostonpublicschools.org.

Administrative Assignments:

If a child will be six years or older by December 31, s/he may be assigned to a school the parent/guardian(s) did not rank on the Assignment Application. This is called an "administrative assignment." Administrative assignments only occur in cases where none of the schools originally selected has a seat available for a student who must be in school. Administratively assigned students are placed at the school that is closest to their home that has an open seat. These students will still be placed on the wait lists of their top three school choices.

Kindergarten registrants who will not be six years old by December 31 will not be administratively assigned, even if they cannot be placed at any of the schools on their Assignment Application. These students will be placed on the wait lists of their top three school choices. Applicants may also return to an FRC to make additional school choices.

3.2 Unassigned and Wait Lists

Unassigned
In the event BPS is unable to assign your child to one of the schools you ranked:

• Children who will be six years or older by Dec. 31 will be administratively assigned to the school closest to their home that has an open seat, and placed on the wait lists of their top three school choices
   
• Children who will be five years or younger by Dec. 31 will not be administratively assigned but will be placed on the wait lists of their top three school choices

Unassigned registrants are encouraged to return to an FRC to apply for additional schools where seats may still be available. Please note that K0 and K1 seats are the most limited and many of these classrooms are completely assigned after Round One.

Wait Lists
If your child is not assigned to one of your top three school choices, s/he will be placed on up to three wait lists. If you prefer to remove your child from one wait list and/or place him/her on another wait list, please visit an FRC and ask to fill out a "Wait List Action Request Form."

A child's place on a wait list is based on his/her priorities for that school, random number, and the registration round in which s/he applied. The same rules that apply to BPS Assignment apply to BPS Wait Lists.

If seats become available, assignments from wait lists will be made automatically until mid-August. New Assignment Notices will be sent home to families who receive a seat at one of their wait list schools.

After mid-August, BPS contacts families by phone before assigning children from wait lists. Parent/Guardian(s) have 24 hours after being notified to accept the new school assignment. BPS must hear from you within this time period in order to assign your student this seat.

If you are satisfied with your student's current school assignment and do not want to be automatically assigned because of a wait list, please fill out and send to BPS the RSVP portion of the Assignment Notice or visit an FRC to cancel and/or change your child's wait lists.

Any child who lives in the City of Boston may remain on a BPS wait list even after the BPS school year begins, regardless of whether or not s/he is a BPS student. All wait lists expire at the end of January.

For more information on BPS Wait List policy, please read this Wait List FAQ and/or contact a Family Resource Center.