Missed January 12? A CCSD school change can still happen through the late Open Enrollment window or an Administrative School Assignment. Neither one promises a bus.

Clark County School District doesn't run one transfer process. A family that wants a school other than the zoned campus has three: Open Enrollment, with an on time window and a late window; an Administrative School Assignment for life changing or catastrophic situations, considered throughout the school year; and the federal Unsafe School Choice Option. None of the three comes with a promise of a CCSD bus.

How is your zoned school set?

By where the parent or guardian officially lives. The Open Enrollment FAQs say the district uses "the official residence of the parent/guardian" to assign a school. A student can't claim residence while living with an aunt, uncle, sibling, other relative, or friend, except as Nevada guardianship law allows. If you share a home with another family, the FAQs send residential affidavit questions to the Office for Shared Housing, listed below.

Open Enrollment windows

The Open Enrollment page lists two windows for 2027 to 2028 (checked Tuesday, October 13, 2026):

On time: October 5, 2026, through January 12, 2027, at 3:00 p.m.

Late: March 22 through August 20, 2027, at 3:00 p.m.

March 22, 2027, is the Monday classes resume after spring break on the district student calendar. The Open Enrollment FAQs describe the second opportunity as running from the Monday after spring break "through the tenth day of the school year," and the Open Enrollment page says seats are filled through the tenth day. The two district sources don't match, so treat the posted August 20 at 3:00 p.m. deadline as the one that controls, and don't count on the tenth day.

The FAQs say families are notified in writing before spring break whether an on time request was granted, and must accept by the date given. A late request is answered by August. Accepting is not the last step. If the student doesn't enroll at the new school by the deadline, the FAQs say the Open Enrollment "will be revoked" and the student attends the zoned school.

Only schools on the live eligibility list take Open Enrollment applications. If a school isn't on the list, it has no space in the process, the FAQs say. The FAQs say that list is built with the Comprehensive Planning Department using each school's capacity, enrollment, projected enrollment, and building use, and that no Open Enrollment request is accepted for a magnet program. The rename from Change of School Assignment, the five application cap, and the one year stay are in CCSD Insider's Open Enrollment guide.

Who gets priority in the lottery?

Applications are approved "based solely on space availability," the FAQs say. When a school has more applicants than seats, a computerized random lottery decides, with priority given under Nevada law and district processes. Two groups get named breaks:

  • Siblings. A student gets a sibling preference if a brother, sister, stepbrother, or stepsister in the same household is enrolled and will attend the school the next year. It applies only to the first choice on time application.

  • District employees' children. A student can attend the school where a parent works full time regardless of space. The parent has to prove parental rights or guardianship and still complete an Open Enrollment application. Employees who don't work at a school can apply near their workplace only if that school is on the eligible list.

What if your child isn't selected?

The student stays in the pool and can still be picked if a seat opens. The FAQs list three more options. You can apply to another school with space during the late window, or apply to a magnet program. If your application "is not acted upon," you can appeal to the Superintendent, who reviews "based on space only." The FAQs say that decision is final.

If a seat was auto declined because you missed the acceptance date, or you accepted another choice seat and changed your mind, you can appeal to see whether the seat is still open. The FAQs say appeals are accepted only within the application timelines.

What is an Administrative School Assignment?

It is the route for a family whose situation can't wait for a window. The Open Enrollment FAQs say an Administrative School Assignment is considered by the central services office the Superintendent designates. Requests processed by the Open Enrollment Department are considered throughout the school year and must include written justification of life changing or catastrophic conditions.

Call the Open Enrollment Department at 702 799 1040 before you write the justification and ask what documentation it wants.

Unsafe School Choice Option

Federal law requires it, and CCSD describes it on Back to School. A student can transfer to a safer public school for two reasons: the State of Nevada labels the school "persistently dangerous," or the student becomes the victim of a violent crime at school.

For a persistently dangerous designation, CCSD says it will tell parents within 10 days, offer a transfer within 20 days, and allow the transfer within 30 days. In that same passage, Back to School says "transportation is the responsibility of the parent(s)/guardian(s)."

A student who is the victim of a violent criminal offense at school may transfer to another public school. "The transfer is optional; the student is not required to transfer," the page says.

Will CCSD bus my child after a transfer?

Not on Open Enrollment. The FAQs say: "CCSD Transportation will NOT be provided for students attending a school on an Open Enrollment (OE) option."

The up to $1,000 Open Enrollment Transportation Reimbursement Program covers the 2026 to 2027 school year only. Its reimbursement page now says applications "are no longer being accepted for the fall 2026 semester," and that "Funds are not secured for the 2027" to 2028 school year "or beyond." Don't plan a 2027 to 2028 transfer around it.

Magnet buses run only for students who live inside the program's transportation zone and more than two miles from the school, per the Magnet FAQs, which cite CCSD Regulation 3531. Back to School says magnet bus stops are at designated, centralized locations.

Leaving midyear

An Open Enrollment seat is a one year commitment. Once enrolled, the FAQs say, the new school "becomes the student's home school of record," and the student doesn't reapply each year. Read the Agreement of Understanding in the application before you submit. The FAQs say withdrawing to attend another CCSD school should happen at the end of the school year, and a student may return to the zoned school after one year. If your family moves during the year, an Open Enrollment student can finish the year at that school, then enroll at the new zoned school.

The seat ends at the top grade of that school. Moving from elementary to middle school, or from middle to high school, takes a new Open Enrollment application. A student withdrawn midyear to a non CCSD school who doesn't return that year must reapply. Pre K is not part of Open Enrollment. The FAQs send families to the Early Childhood Department's Pre Kindergarten Interest Form.

High school athletes can lose 180 school days of eligibility by switching schools. See Can a student play sports after enrolling outside the home zone? before you request any change.

Contacts

Open Enrollment Department (Open Enrollment and Administrative School Assignment): 702 799 1040, CCSDOpenEnrollment@nv.ccsd.net, 5100 W. Sahara Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89146.

Office for Shared Housing (residential affidavits): 702 799 8630, 151-SharedHousing@nv.ccsd.net.

Magnet Schools Department: 702 799 8492, magnetschools@nv.ccsd.net.