Transferring to Another School

When available, targeted transfers are open to students residing in specific attendance zones or planning units*

Targeted Transfers for 2025-26: Rising K-5th grade students currently residing in specific planning units are eligible to apply.

Specific grade-level numbers of seats that will be offered will be shared by APS in January.

Elementary Targeted Transfers – Arlington Science Focus ES to Innovation ES

• Only certain planning units (PUs) are eligible.
• They are 23211, 24080, 24100, 24111, 24120. These PUs are walkable to Innovation.

• No transportation provided.

• Find your planning unit here.

Targeted Transfers

Example: “Superstar” Elementary School has the capacity for 20 additional students for the upcoming school year.  It shares a boundary with two other ESs (“Deep Creek ES” and “Turner ES”).

• All rising K-5 students currently residing in the the Deep Creek ES neighhorhood (with which Superstar shares a boundary) are eligible to apply to transfer to Superstar ES.

OR

• Any rising K-5 students who live in specific Planning Units (PUs) within the Deep Creek ES or Turner ES neighborhoods are eligible to apply for a transfer to Superstar ES.

*Planning units are defined neighborhood areas (see map). Every Arlington residential address is part of a planning unit. Find your planning unit using the Boundary (Attendance Area) Locator.This is just an example.  Participating schools and numbers vary year to year. An announcement regarding which schools, if any, will accept transfers for the following school year is made in early February after the January enrollment update to the Superintendent and the School Board.

Neighborhood Transfers

When available, neighborhood transfers are open to all APS students.

Neighborhood Transfers for 2025-26

Middle School Neighborhood Transfers – Williamsburg

Specific grade-level numbers of seats that will be offered will be shared by APS in January.

• Open to all students with priority to students whose elementary school attendance zones are Nottingham and Tuckahoe.

• No transportation provided.

Example: Awesome High School has the capacity for 40 additional students for the upcoming school year.

• ALL rising grades 9-12 students who attend an APS school are eligible to apply, but students from Happy High School have a priority in the lottery.

This is just an example.  Participating schools and numbers vary year to year. 

Neighborhood Transfers for 2025-26

No Neighborhood Transfers are planned for APS High Schools.

If more applications are received than there are seats available, APS will conduct a random, double-blind lottery to determine admission. Families DO NOT receive lottery results on the day of the automated lottery.

• Families will be notified of their acceptance or placement on the waitlist by email and/or text on the date specified in the Application Timeline.
• Families must confirm or decline attendance at the school or program within one week of notice.
• If families do not accept or decline their seat by the deadline, their seat will be given to the next student on the waitlist.
• If families apply to more than one school/program, their application will go into all lotteries simultaneously. 

Waitlists: Students who applied, but were not selected through the lottery process, will be placed in numerical order on a waitlist.

• Applications received after the deadline are placed at the bottom of the existing waitlist for the upcoming school year.
• When students on the waitlist are offered a seat, they have a one-week window to accept the slot. If the slot is not accepted within the one-week window, the offer will be rescinded and offered to the next student on the waitlist.
• Option seats are continuously filled throughout the school year as seats become available.

Parents and guardians are responsible for transportation when the student accepts a transfer to another neighborhood school that is accepting transfers unless otherwise directed by the School Board as part of another decision.

Families must submit a transfer application for each student. If a spot is received at the transfer school and the student enrolls at that school for the 2025-26 school year, the student is able to remain at that school until they are promoted to another school or graduate.

Neighborhood transfers are reevaluated annually.

There is no guarantee a space will be available for siblings at a school accepting transfers in future years.

Requesting an Administrative Placement

If a student meets the criteria below, a family is able to request an Administrative Placement for a student to be placed at a school other than their neighborhood school. Administrative Placements are approved on a case-by-case basis and are based on the particular circumstances of a student’s situation pursuant to School Board Policy J-5.3.32 Administrative Placement.You will have the opportunity to include details regarding the reason for your request and to upload supporting documents.  The Administrative Placement committee only reviews supporting documentation submitted with the form to determine if the request meets criteria.

The Administrative Placement Committee does not recommend that APS staff write letters of support for administrative placement requests. Please note if they are shared, we will not be able to consider them. Thank you for understanding.

PreK Administrative Placement Information

Rising Pre-K students are not eligible for the Administrative Placement process. For more information regarding Pre-K, please visit: (Early Childhood Education) For questions, please contact the Early Childhood Office at 703-228-8632.

Requests for Administrative Placements will not be considered for the following circumstances:

• Special Education – Individualized Educational Program teams are responsible for all Special Education placements. These placements cannot be appealed through the Administrative Placements process.
• Personal Preference – Admission to a school based on personal preference is conducted through the Options and Transfers process.
• Boundary changes – School assignments as a result of boundary changes are in accordance with rules adopted by the School Board as part of the boundary change process.
• Placements at options schools/programs – Admission to these programs is only through a random double-blind lottery.

The Administrative Placement committee considers ONLY the written statements required in the form and supporting documentation submitted as uploaded documents (if required for a Medical or Psychological request) when determining if a request meets one of the required criteria. Please note the following:

• All requests require a written explanation from the parent/guardian submitting the request.
• Additional documentation is required for medical or psychological requests.
• Additional documentation for all other requests is suggested.
• For students in grades 5 or above, a student narrative is required.
• Administrative Placement approvals do not come with transportation and are not applicable to future siblings.

All Administrative Placement requests must be submitted for review by using the link to the Administrative Placement Request Form below.

ENGLISH Form for School Year 2025-26

SPANISH Form for School Year 2025-26

MONGOLIAN Form for School Year 2025-26

AMHARIC Form for School Year 2025-6

ARABIC Form for School Year 2025-26

Instructions for Uploading Supporting Documentation

You must upload your supporting documentation using this secure link: https://apsva.egnyte.com/ul/6f6YW3rKfrImportant: Use the same email address for submitting this form and for all documents you upload. Consistently using the same email ensures that all your documents are organized and tracked correctly.

Timeline for Decision

Expect to hear back from the committee with a decision within approximately 30 school days.For Medical/Psychological requests, within approximately 60 school days

If you need assistance completing this administrative placement form or have any questions, please contact the APS Welcome Center at 703-228-8000 (Option 1) or email [email protected]

Reasons for an Administrative Placement

In special situations, Arlington Public Schools may admit a student or place a student in an alternate school or program. Placements are based on aligning student needs with Arlington Public School’s services. The following special circumstances are considered for Administrative Placements:

Requests of Local Courts

The Superintendent or designee may, upon written request from a judge of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court of Arlington County, permit a student to transfer to an Arlington school other than the one serving his/her attendance area. Such a request shall be related to the student’s appearance before that judge or before a judge of a similar court in another jurisdiction and shall be based on the student’s court involvement.

Program Continuity

The Superintendent or their designee may place a student at a school to bridge short-term (typically one or two quarter) gaps in their instructional program.

Result of Disciplinary Actions

The Superintendent or their designee may place a student at a school as a result of a disciplinary incident.

Inability to Access Education

The Superintendent or their designee may place a student at a school if the student is unable to access the education at their assigned school due to repeated bullying or other similar documented situations.

Medical or Psychological Needs

The Superintendent or their designee may place a student at a school as a result of medical or psychological needs as certified by a medical professional.

Additional documentation is required for a medical or psychological administrative placement request. Please read about the requirements below.

Hardship

The Superintendent or their designee may place a student at a school as a result of hardships which make it difficult for the student or family to access APS services at their home school. The following are considered hardships:

1. 1. Death in the family
   2. Medical illness of the parent/legal guardian
   3. Financial difficulties

Supporting Documentation for your Request

Examples of documentation include, but are not limited to:

• Request of Local Courts- Example: A copy of court documentation.
• Program Continuity- Example: A signed, legally binding construction contract specifying the renovation of the home.
• Result of Disciplinary Actions- Example: Result of Disciplinary Actions documentation.
• Inability to Access Education- Example: Email correspondences with school staff, screen shots of exchanges with school staff, any other correspondence with the school in an attempt to resolve your concerns.
• Hardship- Example: Financial hardship (bills, income statements), medical or hospital documentation for parent/guardian going through medical hardship, etc.

Medical and Psychological Needs — Required Documentation

• Release of information form: There is a requirement to provide a Release of Information for APS staff to communicate with the professional who wrote the letter of support for the Medical/Psychological criteria. Please fill out this form by using this link: apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/sites/57/2023/05/APS-Release-of-Information.pdf For the agency, please write “APS staff”.

 For Medical Needs:       

• Healthcare professional(s) recommendation: A written recommendation for such transfer from health care professional(s) (i.e. physician, nurse practitioner, or physician’s assistant), who is treating the student, including the reasons for the request and the probable length of such assignment.

 For Psychological Needs:

• Healthcare professional(s) or mental health professional recommendation: A written recommendation for the transfer, from at least one mental health professional(s) (i.e. licensed clinical counselor, licensed clinical social worker, psychologist, or psychiatrist), who is working with the student, stating the reasons for the request and the probable length of such assignment.

The Options and Transfers Policy (J-5.3.31) and Policy Implementation Procedure (J-5.3.31 PIP-1) outline the process determined by the School Board that APS follows to ensure equitable access for all students to the available option school/programs and neighborhood transfers.

The Options and Transfers Policy (J-5.3.31) and Policy Implementation Procedure (J-5.3.31 PIP-1) outline the process determined by the School Board that APS follows to ensure equitable access for all students to the available option school/programs and neighborhood transfers.

View application data for option schools and programs.