The Open Transfer application period for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year will be from 9:00 a.m. on Monday December 11, 2023 through  4:30 p.m. on Friday, January 19, 2024.

All resident students in the Bellevue School District are guaranteed a spot at their attendance area school. These Frequently Asked Questions are for those interested in applying to enroll in another school as part of the Open Transfer process.

What is Open Transfer?

Open Transfer (formerly Open Enrollment) is a period of time each year when Bellevue School District RESIDENT students may apply to attend a school other than their attendance area school and new nonresident students of eligible BSD employees to request an enrollment school for the upcoming school year.


If my student has an approved Transfer, do we have to apply for Open Transfer again?

No.  Open Transfer placement is approved for the school level (elementary, middle or high school). Once a student has been accepted through an Open Transfer, they can continue at the school and in the feeder pattern provided the student is in good standing.  For more information, refer to Procedure 3120.1P.


What is the timeframe for Open Transfer applications?

The Open Transfer application period for the upcoming school year will be from Monday of the second full week of December to Friday of the second full week of January, the actual dates will be posted on the BSD website in late November.


How do we apply?

During the Open Transfer period applications are completed online at www.bsd405.org. Families may access online applications from their personal computers or smart phones, or by using a kiosk at any school or the district office. If internet access is unavailable please contact Student Placement at [email protected] for assistance; Student Placement personnel will enter your application information into the online application and provide application confirmation as needed.


I have an incoming kindergarten student, do they need to be enrolled to apply for Open Transfer?

No, the Open Transfer application period is open before enrollment for the upcoming school year is available.


How many spaces are available at each school?

When deciding if students can be admitted, we look at projected enrollment and staffing numbers at both the releasing and receiving schools.

  •  Initial Open Transfer placements: If space is available, students will be offered placement by grade level at the requested school by lottery number. (Applicants with priority will be moved to the top of each list; children of eligible BSD employees and those having sibling preference)
  •  Additional placements (typically in late August but offers may occur in Spring): placements at this time may be to alleviate projected over- crowding at a school; in this case students from the overcapacity school will be offered placement to their requested school without regard to their waitlist number.    (Example: If Stevenson is overcrowded and District administrators decide to alleviate the overcrowding by placing some Stevenson students at Cherry Crest, Stevenson attendance area students from the Cherry Crest waitlist will be offered placement at Cherry Crest regardless of their position on the waitlist) 

What is meant by school status?

This is an indication of projected available space in the individual schools.


What are the school statuses?

The descriptions for school status are:  “Open,” “Limited,” and “Closed”.

  • “Open” is based on the forecast and we expect some space at all grade levels.  Although we will maximize opportunities for all students who wish to attend a requested school, this does not mean we will be able to admit all students who apply.   We plan to have notifications out in February.
  • “Limited” means there may be some opportunity at specific grade levels closer to the start of school as it will depend on the actual enrollment numbers and class sizes.  Notification will likely be made in August or September.
  • “Closed” schools are unable to accept transfers. As a school’s enrollment numbers reach capacity, we will move them to a “Closed” status.

Who can apply for Open Transfer?

  • Resident students – to participate in Open Transfer, the student must be physically living within the boundaries at the time of application.
  • Nonresident students of Bellevue School District eligible employees – may participate in Open Transfer and will be considered as resident students for this process; employee status will be verified with Human Resources.
  • Nonresident students – if your student does not live in the district at the time of application they may not apply as a resident student; please use this link for information about transferring into the Bellevue School District.
  • Students participating in center-based programs – you may not apply through Open Transfer to request a transfer in a center-based program such as Advanced Learning or Special Education. School placement for students in centered programs is determined by the department providing the services.

The address provided on the application must be where the family is living at the time of application. If it is discovered that this has been falsified, the application and any placement offer given will be null and void. There will be no exception to this rule.


What if my student does not meet the age requirement to enter kindergarten, but will take the Early Entrance to Kindergarten assessment?

If your student turns 5 years old on or before October 31st of the entry year you may apply through Open Transfer for kindergarten entry. If your student is selected in the lottery and offered placement, your student’s  actual enrollment will be contingent on whether they qualify through Early Entrance testing, they will retain their spot pending the assessment results.  If your student does not qualify the placement offer will be rescinded and the spot will be offered to the next student on the waitlist. Being selected via the lottery and offered placement is not a valid reason to appeal the results of the early entrance assessment should your student not pass.


I am an eligible employee of the Bellevue School District but I don’t live in BSD attendance boundaries, can my student apply?

Yes, please submit an Open Transfer application for the school you are requesting for enrollment if the following is true:

  • if you are enrolling a new student
  • if your student is currently enrolled in the District and would like to request a different school

Please DO NOT submit an Open Transfer application if your student is currently enrolled and will remain at their current school or continue in the approved schools feeder pattern for the next school year.

Per Washington State Law and District Policy, the nonresident children of eligible Bellevue School District employees* may apply as resident students. Student Placement will verify eligible employee status with Human Resources before the student is given employee preference.

*The parent/guardian is working for the Bellevue School District (i.e. teacher, principal, in a support function) and receives a paycheck from the Bellevue School District, not that the parent/guardian works in the Bellevue community.


What is the definition of an eligible Bellevue School District employee?

For the purpose of enrollment, eligible employees of the Bellevue School District are defined as:

  • classified employees who work 16 hours or more per week
  • certificated employees who work .4 FTE or greater

Can my student attend the same school as their sibling?

No, not without submitting an Open Transfer application for consideration. If the sibling has a special education assignment to the requested school, the new sibling must apply and then will have first-tier sibling preference in admission.

Siblings who do not apply will not be considered for admission.


What if the sibling is attending the requested school on an approved Open Transfer, in a Choice Language Program or Advanced Learning, can my student attend the same school as their sibling?

No, not without submitting an Open Transfer application for consideration. For siblings attending the requested school on an approved Open Transfer or Request to Remain, or assigned to the requested school through a choice language program or advanced learning, the new sibling must apply and then will have second-tier sibling preference in admission provided that both siblings will attend the school together for a minimum of one year.

Second-tier preference means that the sibling will be moved to the top of the list in the order of their lottery number (below siblings with first-tier preference and children of employees who work at the school). While second-tier preference moves them up the waitlist there is no guarantee of admission to the requested school; enrollment numbers, staffing levels and building capacity will determine if the request can be approved.

Siblings who do not apply will not be considered for admission.


My student is in a centered or self-contained program (i.e. Advanced Learning, Special Education, etc.) can they apply for Open Transfer?

No, not for centered or self-contained program placement.  Placement of students in centered programs is determined by the department providing the services or program.

Open Transfer is an Attendance Area Transfer, these transfers are only between attendance area schools for general education students.


What if my student accepts an Open Transfer placement and then qualifies for self-contained Advanced Learning services?

If the Advanced Learning Program feeder pattern places your student at a different school, you will have to make a choice:

  1. Accept self-contained services at the Advanced Learning assigned school or
  2. Remain at the approved Open Transfer school and receive differentiated services

Note: If your student qualifies for and you accept self-contained Advanced Learning services, the Open Transfer placement will be cancelled; the Advanced Learning department will determine the school assignment mainly by your home attendance area school, but capacity and overcrowding may also be a factor. 


If we apply early are we guaranteed a place at our requested school?

No.  Placement is not made on a first come, first served basis for resident students and the children of eligible nonresident BSD employees.  All general Open Transfer applications received during the Open Transfer period are considered equally and all applicants will be in a general lottery. Students will be placed by grade level on the requested school list by lottery number.


How many schools can we apply for?

You may apply for one school per student.  If you submit multiple applications to multiple schools for the same student, all your applications will be discarded.

If the applicant applied for and was selected in the lottery for several different schools, we could not offer spots to applicants further down on the waitlist because the spot would be held up while decisions were made.


Can we apply multiple times to one school to improve our chances in the lottery?

No.  Any student with multiple applications will have all submissions discarded and will be removed from the Open Transfer process.


How will we know our application has been received?

You will receive a confirmation email at the email address provided on the application. When you receive the email confirmation, please verify your student’s information is correct. If a correction is needed please reply to the confirmation email with the correct information. Please do not send a new email; just reply to the email you receive as it includes all the information we need and we have email routing rules on the subject line.

There is no need to respond if the information is correct & correction is not needed.

TIP:  When completing your Open Transfer application, please provide the contact information (i.e. name, phone number and email address) of the parent you want us to contact. If you have multiple email addresses, take special care to provide the email address you check frequently on the application, this will be the email we use to contact you for placement offers.


What if we do not receive an email confirming our application has been received?

If you did not receive a confirmation email please check your spam, junk and promotion email folders for an email from [email protected] if you do not find the confirmation then contact us with your student’s name and school requested, we will let you know if your application has been received or if you need to resubmit the application.

TIP: Please make sure that [email protected] is in your list of safe emails.


How do the lotteries work?

Following the close of the Open Transfer application period, all resident applicants will be entered in a general lottery and placed on a list in the order of their general lottery number.  Then qualified applicants will be placed on the requested school list by grade level in the order of their general lottery number. Applicants with priority, children of eligible BSD employees and those having sibling preference will be moved to the top of each list. Available spots will be offered to students by their list order, those not offered placement will be on a waitlist.


Can we attend the lottery drawing?

No.  All lotteries are closed to the public.


How will we be notified of the results of the lottery?

Notification will be made via email using the email address provided on the application. Families will receive either a placement offer or their student’s number on the waitlist.  Please add the [email protected] email address to your list of safe emails so you can receive notifications. If you do not receive the confirmation email during the notification time frame, please check your spam, junk and promotion boxes before contacting us.


When can we expect to be notified about the application status?

Initial notifications for high school will be sent by the beginning of February. Middle school notifications will be sent mid-February. Initial elementary school notifications will be sent in March. Please check your spam and junk email box during this time for emails from [email protected] .


How long do we have to accept an Open Transfer placement offer?

Families will be given one week to respond to the Open Transfer placement offer.  If there is no reply or the spot is declined the spot will be offered to the next student on the waitlist.

For placement offers in late August the response will typically be expected within 24 hours:  Because the start of school is eminent, Open Transfer offers made in late August or early September may be made by phone call with a follow-up email and you will have less time to accept the placement offer. The deadline to reply will be stated in the phone call/voice mail and email. If you do not respond by the deadline the offer will be rescinded and your student removed from the waitlist.


What happens if we are placed on a waitlist?

If your student is placed on a waitlist, please plan on attending your attendance area school.  Rest assured, if space becomes available Student Placement will contact families immediately with a placement offer, it is important to get students in their schools as soon as possible. There is no need to continually check with Student Placement to see if your student has changed their position on the waitlist.


If my student is placed on an Open Transfer waitlist, can I submit a Transfer Request Waitlist application to help get a place at my desired school?

No. Transfer Requests are for students who missed the Open Transfer application period and will be added to the bottom of the Open Transfer waitlist.  If you feel there is a specific reason that your student needs to be transferred, please work with your student’s current principal who will work with Student Placement.


If selected, when does my student begin at the new school?

If selected through Open Transfer, the student will attend the new school beginning the first day of school for the upcoming school year.


Is there paperwork required if we accept an Open Transfer placement offer?

Yes. All students new to BSD must be enrolled by the date indicated by Student Placement you will be asked to upload required paperwork and residency documents during the enrollment process. Visit the Enrollment webpage to learn more about the enrollment process.

RESIDENCY DOCUMENTS 

  1. A copy of your current PSE bill and
  2. One of the following as it applies:
  • Renters: a fully signed (signed by you and the property owner), current lease agreement
  • Homeowners: a copy of your homeowner’s insurance policy declaration page

Learn how to download your PSE bill.

If you do not have a legal residence or are unable to provide residency documents – Find additional options here.

Failure to enroll and submit the paperwork within the time frame requested may result in the offer being rescinded.


If we accept an Open Transfer offer to a school, can we change our mind?

Yes. You can always go back to your attendance area school.  If you will be canceling your approved open transfer placement please email  [email protected] as soon as this decision is made so that we can have accurate enrollment numbers and offer the spot to the next student on the waitlist.  Be sure to include your student’s full name, grade and both schools involved.


Do we have to be at school for the first day of school if accepted through Open Transfer?

We want to stress the importance that all students be in attendance the first day and week of the new school year.  Critical learning and class cohesion is happening the first week of school and students arriving late can be disruptive to the learning process.  Students accepted through Open Transfer MUST attend their new school on the day of the statewide enrollment count or the approved open transfer placement will be rescinded and your student will be withdrawn and enrolled in their attendance area school. The dates of the statewide enrollment count are – Friday, September 6, 2024 for grades 1 – 12 and Wednesday, September 11, 2024 for kindergarten students.


Does the district provide transportation for Open Transfer students?

No.  Transportation is the family’s responsibility for all elementary and middle school students.  Middle and high school students will be given an ORCA card if they would like to use public Metro Transit.


What happens when my student moves up to middle or high school?

When it is time to go to the next school level, students will automatically be enrolled in their attendance area school and if on an approved transfer will be able to continue in the feeder pattern as long as they remain in good standing. Students must apply through Open Transfer to request a different school.


Can my high school student participate in athletics?

If your student is going to a new school in 9th grade, they will be able to participate in athletics as the new school will be their school of record.  If your student is transferring to a new school in 10th, 11th or 12th grades, it is possible that they may not be eligible to participate in varsity sports but would be able to participate in sub-varsity competition.  Please review the Washington Interscholastic Athletics Association (WIAA) guidelines for varsity eligibility.


Who do we contact if we have questions?

If you have questions, please send an email to [email protected] with specific information:  student name, grade, school, address, etc.  We will answer your question as soon as we are able.

The Bellevue School District acknowledges that we learn, work, live and gather on the Indigenous Land of the Coast Salish peoples, specifically the Duwamish and Snoqualmie Tribes. We thank these caretakers of this land, who have lived and continue to live here, since time immemorial.