Dive Brief:

• The Board of Education for Los Angeles’ Unified School District approved a plan that would establish an online enrollment system so parents could apply to enroll their student in any school in the district with a single application in an attempt to boost enrollment in district schools, according to the Los Angeles Times.
• L.A. Schools Superintendent Michelle King said parents complained the current system with different enrollment practices is too confusing. The new program will include the district’s magnet schools, dual-language programs and a permit program allowing minority students to attend any school in the district.
• Charter schools will be excluded from the new enrollment system for at least three years, though it is unclear if charters in the district would want to be a part of the system. Two charter school supporters will take office on the board next month, which could conceivably lead to a change in procedure for the future.

Dive Insight:

While the process stands to offer more opportunities to all parents, with easier ability to search and more access to information on special programs, district officials will need to work to ensure the push to improve all schools in the district runs parallel with any desire to make the best schools more accessible to all students and parents.

Some districts are working to ensure that their schools are available to students outside the district in order to counter declining enrollment, as in the case of El Segundo Unified School District, located just southwest of Los Angeles proper. About 20% of that district’s students live outside of its boundaries and enroll through an inter-district permit, according to the district’s superintendent in a report from 89.3 KPCC. Administrators should consider that some districts, particularly those in major urban areas like Los Angeles, could possibly benefit from higher usage of such permits. Open enrollment to all schools in the district could be beneficial to parents who may live outside of the city but commute there for work.