Student Enrollment Process
We are excited to welcome you to San José Unified! We want to make the enrollment process as simple and easy as possible, whether you are enrolling for the first time or transferring from another district.
We offer Transitional Kindergarten (TK) through grade 12 at our 41 schools. The majority of our students attend their neighborhood school, but we also offer the following programs:
- Science/environmental elementary magnet school
- Montessori elementary magnet school
- Two-Way Bilingual Immersion (TWBI)
- International Baccalaureate (IB)
Some of these programs require families to attend an information session prior to enrollment. Learn more about our educational programs.
Families who live within the San José Unified boundaries are welcome to enroll for the current school year, 2023-2024.
New student enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year opens on December 1, 2023 This only applies for families who live within the San José Unified boundaries who have a child that will be entering as a new student in grades TK-12 in the 2024-2025 school year.
Appointment Find Your School Enroll Online
How to Enroll
- Verify you live within the San José Unified boundaries by entering your current address in our School Locator.
- Gather required documentation.
- Complete and submit your enrollment application online or in person.
- Wait for confirmation that enrollment is completed.
Online enrollment applications may be submitted at any time. We strongly recommend making an appointment with the Enrollment Center if you prefer to enroll in person. The Enrollment Center is open Monday through Friday from 8 AM – 4 PM, except for holidays and early closure at 2:00 PM every Tuesday.
Required Documentation
You will need to provide documents that verify the age of your child, your residency address, a government issued photo identification for the parent/guardian, and other student documents, such as vaccination records. We cannot process your enrollment without these verification documents.
Please review the enrollment requirements for a list of accepted documents. If you are enrolling online, you will need to save all documents to your device before completing the enrollment application. If you are enrolling in person, please bring all required documents with you.
Complete Enrollment Application
- Online Enrollment: Visit go.sjusd.org/enrollonline to complete the online enrollment application and upload required documents.
- In-Person: Schedule an appointment with the Enrollment Center. Bring a completed enrollment form and required documents to your appointment.
Enrolling a student on behalf of the child’s parent or legal guardian? The parent or guardian must complete a Consent for Enrollment form a provide a copy of their current photo identification before you can enroll the student.
Questions? Contact the Enrollment Center at 408-535-6412 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
TopTransitional Kindergarten Enrollment
San José Unified offers Transitional Kindergarten (TK) at all of our elementary schools except Hacienda Science/Environmental Magnet, Hammer Montessori at Galarza Elementary, and River Glen K-8.
- For the 2023-2024 school year, children who are born between September 2, 2018 and April 2, 2019 are eligible to enroll in TK.
- For the 2024-2025 school year, children who are born between September 2, 2019 and June 2, 2020 are eligible to enroll in TK.
- Expanded TK Eligibility
The following schools will accept TK enrollment for students who live within the attendance boundaries of the schools below and meet the age eligibility:
- For the 2023-2024 school year, children are born between September 2, 2018 and September 1, 2019
- For the 2024-2025 school year, children who are born between September 2, 2019 and September 1, 2020
- Allen at Steinbeck
- Almaden Elementary
- Anne Darling Elementary
- Canoas Elementary
- Empire Gardens Elementary
- Ernesto Galarza Elementary
- Gardner Elementary
- Grant Elementary
- Horace Mann Elementary
- Lowell Elementary
- Merritt Trace Elementary
- Rachel Carson Elementary
- Selma Olinder Elementary
- Terrell Elementary
- Walter L. Bachrodt Elementary
- Washington Elementary
Kindergarten Enrollment
All our elementary schools offer kindergarten. For the 2024-2025 school year, children who are born by September 1, 2019 are eligible for kindergarten enrollment.
Elementary Enrollment
If you are interested in enrolling your student in an elementary magnet school, a TWBI program, or the IB program, you will request this preference as part of the enrollment process.
All students who have requested a magnet school or TWBI program and have enrolled by March 15, 2024 are entered into a lottery to determine placement. These schools and programs are extremely popular and generally have a waitlist. If your student does not get the request through the lottery, they will automatically be placed on the waitlist for the school/program. Students who enroll after March 15, 2024 will be added to the waitlist.
If you are interested in the TWBI program, you must attend a program orientation to request enrollment for your student. Learn more about the TWBI program
Educational Programs
School Assignment and Transfer Requests
All San José Unified schools have established attendance boundaries used to assign students to their neighborhood school. Your neighborhood school is based on your residence address. You can find your neighborhood school using our School Finder.
The majority of students enrolled in San José Unified attend their neighborhood school. Students in grades TK-5 are assigned to their neighborhood school unless they attend one of our magnet schools or request a transfer to a different San José Unified elementary school.
- Middle and High School Preferences
We offer a school preference process for students entering grades 6 and 9. Students are eligible to request any of our middle schools or comprehensive high schools.
Watch the recordings from the most recent virtual High School Information Night. Translated videos can be available upon request.
- Transfers Between San José Unified Schools
Elementary Transfers
Families who live within the San José Unified district boundaries and want their child to attend a non-neighborhood school may request an Intradistrict Transfer. Intradistrict Transfers are not guaranteed and will only be considered after all neighborhood students have been assigned to the school.Middle and High School Transfers
Students entering middle or high school participate in the school preference process, which provides an opportunity for families to request any San José Unified middle or high school. Students may request a Secondary Transfer, which will place them on the wait list for the requested school.If you would like to request an intradistrict transfer, please complete the Intradistrict Transfer form and email it to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Transfers Between San José Unified and Other Districts
Occasionally, families may want their child to attend a school outside their district of residence. Families who want to transfer their child between San José Unified and another district may request an Interdistrict Transfer. Interdistrict Transfer requests must be approved by the district of residence and the desired district of attendance.
San José Unified is currently accepting Interdistrict Transfer requests for the 2023-2024 school year.
- Transfers Out of San José Unified
Students who live with the San José Unified boundaries and want to attend a school in a different district must request an Interdistrict Transfer using the following process:
- Complete an Interdistrict Transfer Request and email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or submit in person to Student Assignment at 855 Lenzen Avenue, San José, CA 95126.
- Wait for San José Unified’s response with the approval or denial of the request. If the request is approved, San José Unified will forward the Interdistrict Transfer Request to the desired district of attendance.
Transfer requests that are denied are considered closed.
- Transfers Into San José Unified
Students who live or move outside the San José Unified boundaries and want to attend one of our schools may request an Interdistrict Transfer from their district of residence. The district of residence must approve the request before it can be considered by San José Unified. If you are interested in requesting a transfer into San José Unified, please contact your district of residence and follow their process for submitting an Interdistrict Transfer request. If the district approves the request, it will forward the application to San José Unified for consideration.
San José Unified considers Interdistrict Transfer requests using our policies and procedures for Interdistrict Transfers. (Board Policy 5117)
Please refer to our Interdistrict Transfer Procedures and Process for additional information on timelines, notifications, and appeals.
For questions, please contact the Student Assignment Department at 408-535-6232.
Forms & Applications
Enrollment and Registration Forms
The following documents are provided to help you begin the registration process. You can click here to complete these forms online, download the forms by clicking below, or pick up a hard copy packet at the Enrollment Center.
- Enrollment Requirements
- Enrollment Forms
- Declaration of Residency
- Parent/Guardian Consent Form for Enrollment
- Transfer within SJUSD (Grades TK-5 - attendance boundary)
- Transfer within SJUSD (Grade 6-12 - SJUSD active student only)
- Intradistrict Student Transfer(TK-5 - transfer within SJUSD school)
- Child Care Affidavit(to use with Intra/Inter-out transfer application)
- Interdistrict Transfer(Transfer to another district)
- TB Risk Assessment for School Entry
- Oral Health Assessment
- Report of Health Exam (required for entering First Grade)
- Exchange of Student Information (School in US only)
- Legal Name Gender Change
- Name and Pronouns Change
- Ethnicity Change
- Change of Address
- Parent Portal Authorization
- TWBI Program Application
- Housing Questionnaire
Frequently Asked Questions
- When should I enroll my child?
Enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year begins on December 1, 2023. New elementary students must enroll by March 15, 2024 to be entered into the magnet school or two-way bilingual immersion lottery. All new 6-12th grade students must enroll by February 16, 2024 to be entered into the lottery for school placement.
- How old does my child have to be to enroll?
For the 2024-2025 school year, the following cutoff dates apply:
Transitional Kindergarten
For the 2024-2025 school year, children who are born between September 2, 2019 and June 2, 2020 are eligible to enroll in Transitional Kindergarten- What to Expect
Enrolling for the current year
Upon enrolling, students will be placed in their attendance boundary (or “neighborhood”) school and can start as soon as the next day.
It’s important for you to know that enrollment at your neighborhood school may sometimes exceed that school’s programmatic or physical capacity. Whenever that happens, the district will assign students to the nearest school with space available for the current school year and place those students on the wait list for their neighborhood school.
Elementary enrollment for the 2023-2024 school year
Transitional Kindergarten to 5th grade: Student will be placed in their neighborhood boundary school pending space availability at time of enrollment or at an overload school. Any Two-Way Bilingual Immersion program, Magnet School, International Baccalaureate, or intradistrict transfer requests will be processed according to the deadlines above.
Middle and high school enrollment for the 2023-2024 school year
Students in grades 6-12 will be assigned to their neighborhood boundary school or at an overload school and may request to be placed on the waitlist of another middle or high school.