The SchoolChoice Round 2 window begins every year in April after families are notified of their Round 1 school placements. If you are happy with your school placement following Round 1, you do not need to participate in Round 2.
Round 2 of SchoolChoice is for:
Please note: If your student was waitlisted at a school in Round 1, do not submit a Round 2 application to the same school, as your student already has a spot on the school’s waitlist.
There is no lottery in Round 2. Applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis within school admission priorities. If the school has available space, your student will be offered a seat, and you will have 72 hours to accept or decline that seat. If a waitlist exists, your student will be added to the list in date and time order within your given priority.
Please note: Waitlists are dynamic, meaning your waitlist positions can move up or down based on the actions and priorities of all other applicants, both from Round 1 and Round 2.
If your student is accepted to a school in Round 2, any Round 1 school assignment is relinquished. You will remain on waitlists for any higher-ranked schools.
Create an account or, if you’re a parent of a current DPS student, use your Parent Portal username and password to log in to the SchoolChoice application. Then, rank up to 12 of your most-preferred schools. For the 2025-26 school year, the Round 2 application is open from 10 a.m. on April 8 to 4 p.m. on Aug. 29. Families can submit one application per student. You can also call the Choice Hotline at 720-423-3493 for assistance with submitting a Round 2 application.
You can view your waitlist position(s) at any time by logging in to your SchoolChoice account.
Waitlists are dynamic, meaning your waitlist position(s) can move up or down based on the actions and priorities of all other applicants, both from Round 1 and Round 2.
For example, your student’s waitlist position at a school might change from No. 6 to No. 7 because a student in a higher priority group applied for a seat at that school.
Other position change examples:
Learn more about school admission priorities.
SchoolChoice waitlists for kindergarten through 12th grade remain active through September and waitlists for ECE-3 and ECE-4 continue until April.
If you are offered a seat from the waitlist at a higher preference school and you accept, any school choices below that option will be withdrawn.
Stephen Knight (SKCEE) offers full programming for 3 and 4 year olds. We also offer full day Kindergarten for our incoming 5 year olds (our kinder feeds into Cory Elementary for 1st grade). We only offer a half day program in our Autism room, students must be placed in this room by Child Find. All other ECE programs are full day only.
Round 2 for the 24-25 school year will remain open until April 25, 2025. Schools will conitnue to place students as seats become availble through April 25, 2025.
Applying for ECE-3 or ECE-4?
All ECE-3 and ECE-4 families will need to participate in DPS SchoolChoice to be matched with their preferred school for the 2025-26 school year.
Every school district in Colorado, including DPS, is working with the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) to continue expanding its Early Childhood Education with an enrollment process for Universal Preschool Colorado, also known as UPK.
UPK ensures that every child, in the year before they are eligible for kindergarten, is eligible for half-day, state-funded, voluntary preschool. 3-year-olds with qualifying factors may be eligible for at least part-time (10 hours-per-week) preschool programming. 4-year-olds with qualifying factors may be eligible for additional hours of tuition-free preschool.
Following your DPS SchoolChoice application submitted during Round 1, DPS will reach out to families to provide the next steps for completing an application for funding support through UPK.
Preschool is a tuition-based program. Tuition is determined on a sliding fee scale by the family household size and gross income and ranges from free to out-of-district cost.
UPK ensures that every child, in the year before they are eligible for kindergarten, is eligible for half-day (minimum 15 hours per week) state-funded, voluntary preschool, provided they complete the UPK application.
3-year-olds with qualifying factors may be eligible for at least part-time (10 hours-per-week) preschool programming. 4-year-olds with qualifying factors may be eligible for additional hours of tuition-free preschool. After SchoolChoice Round 1, DPS will reach out to families that submitted their application to provide the next steps for completing an application for funding support through UPK.
2024-2025 Tuition Billing Information – English
2024-2025 Tuition Billing Information – Spanish
Denver Public Schools offers tuition assistance credits through the Denver Preschool Program (DPP), Colorado Preschool Program and other funding sources. Your child’s tuition rate depends on your household size and income. Families are automatically considered for tuition credits when they fill out the application and supply all the correct documentation. If parents don’t provide all documentation, they will be assessed the full tuition rate.
Children are only eligible for tuition reductions if:
DPP is an independent, non-profit organization that administers tuition credits made available through Referendum 1A, passed by voters in 2006. If your child is 4 years old or in their last year before kindergarten, they are eligible for DPP tuition credits. Students are only eligible for one year of DPP tuition credit total. These credits are built into our approved tuition levels.
When a child applies to DPS, they are also applying for DPP tuition credits and do not need to fill out another application.
If you have any questions, please call Tuition Billing at 720-423-3698.
The DPS Enrollment Guides are a great resource for families to find the best school for their students! To request a translated version of part or all of this guide at no cost, please call our family helpline at 720-423-3054 or email translations@dpsk12.org with the language and sections needed. You can also view the enrollment zone guides and School Finder for detailed information about each DPS school.
Our Enrollment Information Packets are a shortened version of the Enrollment Guide, focusing less on each school and more on the SchoolChoice application process itself. These packets are available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Vietnamese, Somali, Amharic, Nepali, French and Mandarin. Email communications@dpsk12.org with questions.
Questions about SchoolChoice? Call 720-423-3493 or email SchoolChoice@dpsk12.org. (Hotline hours: Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
Questions about UPK? Call 303-866-5223 or email cdec_upkcolorado@state.co.us.