The SchoolChoice timeline has changed! For the 2026-27 school year, the Round 1 window will open on Dec. 2, 2025 at 10 a.m. and close on Jan. 20, 2026 at 4 p.m. Families will be notified of placement results in late February. This change will allow families more time to submit their application and learn of their placement or waitlist positions earlier in the year.
The DPS SchoolChoice open enrollment process is for any student who wants or needs to attend a new school for the following school year, particularly “transitioning” students (incoming kinder, sixth- and ninth-grade students). All incoming ECE-3 students, as well as incoming students who reside in an enrollment zone, must complete a SchoolChoice application.
The Round 1 SchoolChoice window for 2026-27 is open from 10 a.m. on Dec. 2, 2025 until 4 p.m. on Jan. 20, 2026. We highly encourage families to participate in Round 1 for the best chance of getting matched to your preferred school.
First, to prepare for SchoolChoice, learn more about schools in which you might be interested, starting with your neighborhood school. Check out the School Finder, read the Enrollment Guides and talk to schools you are interested in. (Links will be updated to the 26-27 year soon)
All kindergarten students are guaranteed a seat at either their neighborhood (boundary) school or, if living within an enrollment zone, are guaranteed a seat at one of the schools within that zone. If you “choice” out of your boundary school or enrollment zone, your current school of enrollment is your new right-to-attend school. To find your neighborhood school or to learn if you live in an enrollment zone, enter your address at School Finder.
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 anytime during the Choice window. For the 2026-27 school year, the Round 1 application will be open from 10 a.m. on Dec. 2, 2025 to 4 p.m. on Jan. 20, 2026. Families can submit one Choice application per student. For step-by-step instructions, review the application guide.
Following Round 1, when all applications have been submitted, the Choice algorithm will randomly assign all participating students a lottery number between 1 and 1 million. Students are also assigned a priority level for each of the schools they selected based on pre-determined priority categories published by each school.
The algorithm will then rank and stack students within each priority category based on their randomly assigned lottery number. This produces an ordered list of students for every grade at every school. The system then allocates seats to students based on the order in which they fall on this list; the system then assigns waitlist numbers to all students who do not obtain a seat in order of how they were ranked and stacked.
Round 1 results will be released to families in late February.
Stephen Knight (SKCEE) offers full day programming for 3, 4, and 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.
Age Requirements for Incoming Students
Preschool, also called Early Childhood Education or ECE, helps young children develop mentally, socially and emotionally. The DPS Early Education program provides quality half- and full-day preschool at more than 80 DPS schools. DPS preschool programs are designed to serve all students, including students with disabilities.
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