Ask an Expert: School choice and changing addresses in DPS

Q: If you move out of a neighborhood in Denver Public Schools, does your child get to attend the same school for the upcoming year automatically?

A. Any student not attending their boundary school must participate in SchoolChoice. A student attending his or her boundary school must move to their new boundary school for the following school year.

  • If the address change is made during the current school year (2011-12), you must enroll your student in the new boundary school for 2012-13, or you must submit a Second Round SchoolChoice form to remain in his current school in 2012-2013, which is subject to a waitlist.
  • If the address change is made during the following school year (2012-13), even on the first day of school, the student may remain at his current school for the entire school year.  But you must participate in the first round of SchoolChoice to remain at the school for 2013-14. Your child will receive priority as a currently attending student.

We encourage the latter option, so the student will not have to be subject to a possible waitlist next year.

Once a student is assigned to a school via SchoolChoice, they may move anywhere within the district and remain at the assigned school.

Ellen Ahn is from the Office of Choice & Enrollment Services for Denver Public Schools.

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