Controlled Open Enrollment:  Information and Links

The District's Controlled Open Enrollment Plan for the 2025-2026 school year is now accessible online by clicking this link.

If your family requires assistance with a student transfer request for the  2024-2025 school year, the Escambia County School District maintains a process for handling hardship transfer requests throughout the school year. Furthermore, if your family has recently moved into the area, or is new to the Escambia County School District, you may submit a student transfer request to our office.

For more information, please peruse the Enrollment Services website, or give our office a call at 850-469-5580.

This section of the site is devoted to providing parents and students with information regarding the minimum eligibility requirements for the various elementary schools and programs offered in our online application process. In addition to submitting the application within the posted timeframe, all applicants are expected to meet the minimum eligibility requirements outlined below in order to be considered for our various schools/programs.

GENERAL MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS/PROGRAMS

• The elementary school applicant must be entering grades K through 5 for the 2025-2026 school year. 
• The applicant must currently be a bona fide Florida resident. (Note: Military families who are not yet stationed in the area may still submit an online application, using their current out-of-area address, as long as the family provides a copy of active duty military orders.)
• Students entering Kindergarten during the 2025-2026 school year must be age 5 by September 1, 2025.
• Students entering 1st grade during the 2025-2026 school year must be age 6 by September 1, 2025.

ADDITIONAL CRITERIA FOR CONSIDERATION FOR OVERCAPACITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS/PROGRAMS AND MAGNET PROGRAMS.

• Florida Statutes afford Florida families generous school choice options, even across county and district lines. While families from other Florida counties may seek placement in any of Escambia County School District's public schools during the Online Open Enrollment Window, Florida Statutes restrict the displacement of in-district students by students outside of the district. Practically speaking, the Office of Enrollment Services cannot consider for placement out-of-county applicants into an overcapacity or lottery-based school until the pool of eligible in-county applicants has been exhausted. Per the Federal Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, exceptions are granted to allow qualified military families to apply during the Online Open Enrollment Window as outlined in the previous section, titled "GENERAL MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS/PROGRAMS".

MAINTAINING ELIGIBILITY ONCE YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED

Upon selection for any school/program, students are expected to maintain or exceed the minimum standards of behavior, attendance, and academic achievement established for eligibility. If a student is selected and accepted into a program, but his/her behavior, attendance, or academic performance declines during the remainder of the 2024-2025 school year, the receiving school maintains the right to rescind permission for that student to attend the academy/program for the 2025-2026 school year.

This section of the site is devoted to providing parents and students with information regarding the minimum eligibility requirements for the various schools and programs offered in our online application process. In addition to submitting the application within the posted timeframe, all applicants are expected to meet the minimum eligibility requirements outlined below in order to be considered for our various schools/programs.

Please note that requirements for consideration for and/or continued enrollment in Brown Barge Middle School, Pensacola High School’s IB Program, and West Florida High School vary slightly. If you are interested in any of these programs, be sure to familiarize yourself with their minimum requirements and expectations below.

Be encouraged to be pro-active by reviewing the student applicant’s student records for the first semester of the 2024-2025 school year to ensure that the student meets the academic, behavioral, attendance, and (where applicable) standardized test score minimum eligibility requirements. Escambia County School District students (and parents) may use the FOCUS student (and parent) portal to view this data for the student applicant.

Students who do not meet these requirements may still apply, but must submit a substantiated appeal letter (and any relevant documentation) to Christopher McFarland, the Coordinator of the Office of Enrollment Services by January 24, 2025 in order for the student’s ineligibility to be reviewed by an appeals committee. A strong letter of appeal addresses the deficit area(s) that caused the student to be deemed ineligible, and provides attached evidence that shows the deficit is not characteristic of the student's past and current academic, behavior, or attendance record. A granted appeal simply allows the student to be included in the pool of eligible applicants so that the student may be considered in the selection process.

GENERAL MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR HIGH SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL CAREER ACADEMIES

• The high school student applicant must be entering 9th, 10th, or 11th grades for the 2025-2026 school year. The middle school student applicant must be entering 6^th, or 7^th, or 8^th grades for the 2025-2026 school year. 
• The applicant must currently be a bona fide Florida resident. (Note: Military families who are not yet stationed in the area may still submit an online application, using their current out-of-area address, as long as the family provides a copy of active duty military orders. Upon receiving the application, our office will contact the family and request a copy of the current military orders.)
• ATTENDANCE: The student applicant must maintain a satisfactory attendance record that consists of no more than 5 unexcused absences and/or tardies for the first semester of this current school year.
• DISCIPLINE: The student applicant’s disciplinary record must reflect no more than a minimal number of minor infractions, if any at all.
• ACADEMIC: Student applicants must have earned at least a C in each core academic class (English Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Reading, where applicable) for both the first AND second nine weeks of their current 8th grade year and be seeking either a standard, merit, or scholar high school diploma. Each nine weeks will be looked at individually, not as a semester average.

ADDITIONAL MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT FOR WEST FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL

• Student applicants must be entering 9^th grade for the 2025-2026 school year. (No incoming 10^th, 11^th, or 12^th graders will be selected.)

ADDITIONAL MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR PENSACOLA HIGH SCHOOL’S INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB) PROGRAM

• Student applicants must be entering 9^th or 10^th  grade for the 2025-2026 school year. (No online applications from incoming 11^th or 12^th graders will be processed. Contact Colleen Boyett, the IB Coordinator, if you are seeking admission to IB if you are an incoming Junior or Senior.)
• Student applicants are required to have at least a 3.0 (“B”) grade point average.
• Student applicants must have an FSA score of 3 or higher in reading and 3 or higher in math, OR must rank in the 67th percentile or above on an equivalent national achievement test for reading and 67th percentile for math. 

ADDITIONAL MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL'S MARINE SCIENCE ACADEMY

• Student applicants must be entering 9th or 10th grade. 
• Student applicants must have an FSA score of 3 or higher in reading.
• Student applicants must be enrolled in 8th grade advanced Science and 8th grade advanced English.

ADDITIONAL MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR BROWN BARGE MIDDLE SCHOOL

• Student applicants must be entering 6^th grade for the upcoming 2025-2026 school year. (No incoming 7^th or 8^th grade students will be selected.)
• Student applicants must have at least a B in each core academic class (English Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Reading, where applicable)
• Student applicants must score in at least the "Below Satisfactory" range (level 2) or higher, in BOTH ELA AND Math, as measured by the most recent administration of the Florida State Assessment or an equivalent standardized assessment.

ADDITIONAL CRITERIA FOR CONSIDERATION FOR OVERCAPACITY MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOLS AND PROGRAMS AND MAGNET PROGRAMS.

Florida Statutes afford Florida families generous school choice options, even across county and district lines. While families from other Florida counties may seek placement in any of Escambia County School District's public schools during the Online Open Enrollment Window, Florida Statutes restrict the displacement of in-district students by students outside of the district. Practically speaking, the Office of Enrollment Services cannot consider for placement out-of-county applicants into an overcapacity or lottery-based school until the pool of eligible in-county applicants has been exhausted. Per the Federal Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, exceptions are granted to allow qualified military families to apply during the Online Open Enrollment Window as outlined in the previous section, titled "GENERAL MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR HIGH SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL CAREER ACADEMIES".

MAINTAINING ELIGIBILITY ONCE YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED

Upon selection for any academy/program, students are expected to maintain or exceed the minimum standards of behavior, attendance, and academic achievement established for eligibility. If a student is selected and accepted into a program, but his/her behavior, attendance, or academic performance declines during the remainder of the 2024-2025 school year, the receiving school maintains the right to rescind permission for that student to attend the academy/program for the 2025-2026 school year.

GENERAL EXPECTATIONS FOR CONTINUED ENROLLMENT AT HIGH SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL CAREER ACADEMIES/PROGRAMS

Upon acceptance, students must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA in the Career and Technical Academy course requirements (where applicable) or achieve an overall 2.0 GPA and maintain acceptable attendance and behavior. Failure to maintain the appropriate GPA each semester will result in one of the following: a) the student being withdrawn from the academy and returned to his/her residential school or b) the student being withdrawn from the academy and re-scheduled into non-academy classes for the following semester (for students whose residential school is the location of the academy). The school must make a good-faith effort to employ parental assistance to rectify student's deficiencies prior to withdrawal.

We hope that you find this site informative and helpful. However, we understand that every family and every child is unique. If you have questions, please read on. You may find the answer you need. However, if you still have questions, you are encouraged to call or email our office by using the links on the right of this website.

FAQs

If I am among the first people to submit my application, does that increase my chances of being selected for my first choice?

No. All applicants are vetted based on whether they meet the eligibility criteria for the schools for which they apply. For our magnet schools, all eligible applicants are selected via a lottery process.

How can I find out more about the various schools listed in the online application?

Each Fall, the Office of Enrollment Services holds its annual School Choice EXPO at Washington High School (6000 College Parkway, Pensacola, FL 32504).   This year the Expo will be held on October 29, 2024.  Representatives from every school/program are available at the event to engage in one-on-one conversations about their programs.

If you are seeking additional information about a specific elementary school, you are encouraged to visit the District’s Elementary Education page. To learn more about middle and high school programs, please visit the District's Middle School Education page, High School Education page, or the Workforce Education Department's Career Academies page. From those pages, you will be able to navigate to each school’s website to learn more and to obtain pertinent contact information.

The application requires me to list 3 schools, but I only want to list one choice. Can I still apply?

Due to high demand and limited space at some of our programs, we encourage EVERY applicant to have a "plan B" (and even a "plan C"). Applicants are encouraged to list 3 different choices, in order of preference. The selection process is designed to attempt to place each applicant in his/her first preference. Typically, if your child meets the minimum eligibility criteria for that particular school listed as his/her first preference, your child will be selected for that school, except in cases wherein the number of eligible applicants exceeds the space available for that school. In the event that the number of eligible applicants exceeds a school's capacity, a randomized selection process will be used to determine which students--out of the pool of all eligible applicants who listed that school as their first choice--are chosen. Historically, selections for N. B. Cook Elementary, Brown Barge Middle, and West Florida High are conducted in this manner.

If your child is not selected for his/her first preference, our office will attempt to place your child into the school that you list as your second preference. In a similar fashion, as described above, if your child does not get selected for his/her second choice, our office will attempt to place your child in the school that is listed as your child's third preference. For this reason, EVERY applicant is required to list a second and third preference. Listing the same selection more than once does not increase the chances of being placed in that school. Rather, you risk not being placed in any school other than your zoned school. 

Don't fret. If you get selected for a program that you are not fully satisfied with, you retain the right to attend your residentially-zoned school. If you're not sure which school you're zoned for (based upon your primary residential address), you can always use our district's "Find Your School" feature (here) and find out! 

I listed 3 schools. Will I receive a letter from each school to let me know if I was selected or turned down?

No. You will only receive one selection letter. It will only indicate a single school for which the student applicant was selected. Again, our office attempts to select students based upon their first preference, where possible. Please see FAQ #3 for more information regarding the selection process.

What if I decide that I do not wish to attend the school for which I have been selected?

All selected applicants retain the right to attend their residentially-zoned school if they do not wish to attend the school for which they have been selected. 

Who can apply?

The online application process is open to any of the following:

• any student who currently resides at an address in Escambia County, Florida (exception: IB applicants may reside outside of Escambia County.)
• any student who is the dependent of an active duty military member who has active duty military orders that station the family in Escambia County

If I do not meet the eligibility requirements, can I still apply?

Yes. Parents of students who are deemed ineligible for all programs will be emailed to notify them of their child's ineligibility. Any appeals submitted by parents must specifically address the area(s) in which the child did not meet the minimum criteria and should provide evidence that the deficit is atypical for the student and is not ongoing.

Why do you need my email address for this application?

Applicants and their families could be notified by email under certain circumstances:

• The student applicant does not meet one or more of the eligibility requirements.
• The student applicant listed a military preference and our office needs to request a copy of the active duty military orders of the parent/guardian.
• The proof of residence submitted does not meet district requirements.
• Our office needs to ask clarifying questions about the student’s application.

I made a mistake on my first application. Can I make changes?

Please submit another application. The last application submitted will be processed, all earlier versions will be deleted.

Will I get a confirmation email to let me know that my application was submitted properly?

All applicants will receive a confirmation email from Google with a summary of their application. If you do not receive an email within 24 hours, please call the office of School Choice at 850-469-5580 to confirm your application was received. 

How will we be notified of the school for which we have been selected?

Each applicant will receive ONE email, sent to the email address listed in the application. The email will indicate the school for which the applicant was selected. If our office is unable to place your student in any of the preferences listed in his/her application, the email you receive will indicate that the applicant was not selected for any program. 

The email listed on the application must belong to the parent/guardian of the applicant. Otherwise, you risk missing important communications from our office.