Transferring Schools

Dorchester Welcome Center will be open On Saturday, January 11, and January 25 from 9-1 pm for registration, transfers and change of address.

No appointments are needed.

In BPS, a transfer is a student moving from one Boston Public School to another Boston Public School. If your child currently attends a school outside of Boston or attends a private, parochial, or charter school, please follow the instructions for registration provided here.

To submit a transfer, a parent must visit a Welcome Center
with a photo ID.

• The transfer period for the 2024-2025 school year ends on November 30, 2024 for students in grades 1-12 and will end on January 31, 2025 for students in grades K0-K2.
• You are now able to submit transfer requests for the 2024-2025 school year.  Please visit www.bostonpublicschools.org/register or contact a Welcome Center for more information. 

Please note:

• Due to the limited availability of seats, transfers are not guaranteed. If available, students will be assigned to their top-ranked school with an available seat. 
• If a transfer does not go through, the student will be placed on the waitlist for their requested school.
  • Prior to August 1, students can be placed on mutliple waitlists for all schools they have ranked.
  • After August 1, students will remain on only one waitlist.  This waitlist will be for their highest ranked school, unless a parent contacts a Welcome Center to specify otherwise. 
• A transfer request will replace any prior assignments, rankings, and previous waitlists. So, if a transfer is granted for the current school year, your child will lose their current school year assignment. 
• Similarly, if a transfer is granted for the next school year, your child will lose any prior assignments for the next school year.  
• If your child is assigned to a high-level-of-need special education program (full inclusion or substantially separate), transfer requests for the 2024-2025 school year will be reviewed in late July/early August of 2024 and then again in November of 2024. If your child is in a kindergarten program, requests will also be reviewed in January 2025. Please note that the transfer request policy applies to students moving from one program to the same program at a different school and does not apply to students who need a different school and/or program as determined by the IEP Team. 

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School Choice Reference Guides for BPS Families

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