Colleen DeGuzman/Houston Public Media
Two students walking down the hallway of Houston ISD’s River Oaks Elementary.
Applications opened Tuesday for Houston ISD’s school choice program for the 2026-27 school year. The program allows families the chance to send their children to a district campus outside of their local neighborhood.
The first phase of the annual program is underway and applications will close Feb. 27. Parents and guardians can file a single application on HISD’s website to apply to as many as 10 different schools in the district. Families rank the schools they want their children to attend, and HISD then runs a lottery to determine which students get spots at those campuses. Students who don’t get a seat are waitlisted at all schools they ranked higher than the campus where they were initially offered a spot.
Applicants will be notified of their offers April 8 and must accept their seat within two weeks, by April 21. The Phase 2 application period begins April 8.
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HISD is hosting a series of school choice fairs through April, with the next event scheduled for this Saturday, Dec. 13 at Mickey Leland College Prep Academy.
Though it is also referred to as “school choice,” the HISD program is separate from the statewide school voucher-like program passed into law earlier this year by Texas legislators. Applications for Education Savings Accounts, which allow families to use state funding for private school and homeschool education, are slated to open in February.
For its school choice program, which offers access to specialized academic initiatives, HISD advises parents to rank the schools based on personal preference and says families “have the same chance to get into a school whether you rank it first or last.” Students are removed from waitlists for schools ranked lower than the placement offered to them. If families change their mind and would like to be reconsidered for a school they ranked lower, they will have to reapply in the second phase of the program.
The district encourages interested parents to apply during the first phase, when their child has the best chance at getting a seat in their preferred school. HISD adds that applying to fewer than 10 schools does not increase the chances of getting into a particular school.
Applying also does not risk students’ placement at their zoned campus close to where they live. Students keep their spots at their zoned school unless and until they accept an offer from another campus.
School choice applications are required for the following students:
Students who wish to attend a school other than their zoned school. This includes students enrolling from private, charter, homeschool or out-of-district schools as well as those not enrolled in HISD prior to Nov. 9, 2025.
Students in grades 6-12 who wish to participate in a HISD magnet program, even if they are zoned to that school.
Currently enrolled pre-K students entering kindergarten who do not plan to attend their zoned neighborhood school.
Current 5th-grade students at the following campuses who wish to remain for 6th grade: Baker, Garden Oaks, Pilgrim and Wharton.
Current 8th-grade students at Long Academy who would like to remain at Long Academy for 9th grade.
Parents looking to learn more about the program can attend school choice fairs held on Saturday mornings from 9:00 a.m.-noon. The following fairs are scheduled:
Dec. 13 at Mickey Leland College Prep Academy
Jan. 19 at Sharpstown High School
Feb. 7 at Mandarin Immersion Magnet School
April 11 at Madison High School