• School Choice / Controlled Open Enrollment (COE) Overview

    The School Choice application opens in February for the following year. The 2023-2024 application is closed.  

    If you submitted an application during the 2023-2024 open enrollment window, please continue to monitor your email for status updates. Results of the lottery will be sent via email in April. If awarded a seat, parent/guardian must follow the directions in the email to accept the seat by the posted deadline, or the seat will be forfeited and offered to a family on the waitlist.

    Sarasota County Schools is dedicated to meeting the educational needs of every child. Every school has high-quality educational options for students. Students originally are assigned to the school in the attendance area in which their parents/guardians live, but the district also provides a number of opportunities for parents to select other options for their children.

    Parents/guardians residing in Florida can apply to have their grade K-12 students attend a public school in any school district within the state through Controlled Open Enrollment (COE), also called School Choice.

    Parents/guardians interested in COE for other Florida districts are responsible for directly contacting the districts of interest to learn more about their policies, timelines and application procedures.

    Transportation is not provided for students receiving a school choice assignment through COE. Parents/guardians are responsible for transporting their children to and from school.

    Random Lottery
    In the event there are more requests than available seats, a random lottery will be conducted to award the choice school assignment. Students meeting specific criteria will have the opportunity to receive one or more preferences during the lottery process. Please refer to the COE plan below or the FAQ for more details regarding available preferences.

    Eligibility Criteria

    COE is available to students who are not subject to a current expulsion or suspension from public school and who reside with their parent/guardian in Florida.

    COE School Board Policy and COE Plan

    School Board Policy 5.23 governs COE in Sarasota County Schools.