Non-resident enrollment begins for Kansas school districts

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – Non-resident school open enrollment is now open in Kansas meaning you can apply for your children to attend a public school district you don’t live in. However, many of you still have questions about the application process.

Goddard Public Schools said it started getting messages at midnight when applications opened. Goddard Public Schools Director of Community Relations Dane Baxa said families should get their applications in early. He said you also have to reach out to your current school.

“If you have any student that’s already attended school,” said Baxa. “You have to get that student information from the current school district and make sure that it’s getting to the school district that you’re applying for before that deadline.”

The deadline is June 30. In Goddard, the only openings are in kindergarten, first, second, fourth and seventh grades. If you get accepted, you will be notified by the school district on or before July 15. If more students apply than capacity allows, there will be a lottery.

Baxa said the system may leave families with a difficult choice to make.

“Even if you got that phone call, if only one or two, out of the multiple students you have in your family, get drawn, you still have to make a difficult choice,” he said. “‘Do I have a couple of students at the existing school district because not all of my students maybe got accepted to the district I was hoping they would be in?’”

Baxa said military and foster students will get preference.

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