My child is entering Kindergarten or will be new to the District next school year. What are his/her options? Parents/Guardians may fill out a Boundary Waiver Application starting December 6th if they wish to try to attend school outside the home attendance area. For an application to be considered, parents/guardians should enroll the rising Kindergarten or new student to the District at the Kindergarten Roundup or at their home school. Early registration packets and boundary waiver applications will be available at the Kindergarten Roundup this spring.

When will I hear if an application has been approved for my child? All applicants will be notified on or before July. 

How are waivers granted? Waivers are granted by looking at projected enrollment for individual grade levels at each school. For example, if your student is entering 3rd grade, class sizes for the 3rd grade will be reviewed to see if any spots are open. This may be made in one grade level at a particular school, but not another, pending the projected class enrollment. First priority is given to those with siblings already attending the desired school. Siblings must be enrolled concurrently at the same school to receive sibling priority and applications must be received by the indicated deadline on the application. Siblings are students who share a biological or adoptive parent/guardian. Finally, remaining students are placed on a first come, first serve basis.

Should students re-apply each year? No. Students previously accepted into an application-based specialty program or boundary waiver will be automatically rolled over to the same school until completion of the highest grade level, unless the family chooses to enroll in their home school, or unless attendance or discipline becomes an issue addressed by the Principal. If a student has graduated from the highest grade level of their school, they must fill out a new application if they wish to continue on a placement. The attendance and discipline records of all students assigned through the program will be reviewed each year to determine if the student is allowed to keep their specialty program placement or Boundary Waiver the following year. Families will be notified at the end of the semester or school year if a student will not be allowed to return to his/her school.

What if my student or I do not like the school that was selected? Upon receiving approval for a school, families can decide not to accept that placement and instead enroll the student in their home neighborhood school. However, once the school year begins, students will not be allowed to re-enroll in their neighborhood school and must finish the semester or school year at the school or program that was selected. 

What about specialty programs offered in the district? Peoria Public Schools offers specific specialty programs at different buildings throughout the district, such as Roosevelt Magnet, Washington Gifted, IB or JROTC at Richwoods, Fine Arts at Peoria High, or Manufacturing and JROTC at Manual. For these programs, students must be auditioned, tested and/or interviewed to be eligible. Auditions, testing and interviews took place during first semester for the 2022-2023 school year.

What are the options for high school students? Boundary Waivers are not available to high school students. High school students must attend their home high school unless they have applied for and been accepted to a special high school program (IB at Richwoods, Fine Arts at Peoria High, Manufacturing at Manual, or JROTC at Manual or Richwoods). Applications for IB and PSA are typically accepted during first semester.

Additional Questions? Email boundarywaiver@psd150.org or call 672-6744!