Top 5 Things You Need to Know When Applying to School Choice

Only parents/guardians who reside in Connecticut at the time of application are eligible to submit a RSCO application. Please note that a post office box (P.O. Box) cannot be used to prove Connecticut residency and applications submitted by anyone other than a legal guardian may be deleted.

You may only submit ONE completed application for each child for the 2024-25 School year, either during the on-time application period or extended application period. Duplicate applications will be deleted.

Only apply to schools and programs that you would accept if your child were to receive an offer. Applying to multiple schools and programs may increase the chance of a placement, but applicants are only eligible to receive one placement offer with a few exceptions (listed below). This means that once your child receives an offer, they are removed from all other waitlists. Exceptions to this one offer rule are listed below:

• Hartford residents can decline their first Open Choice offer and remain eligible for a second Open Choice offer.
• If siblings in the same grade range are placed in separate schools or programs during the same offer round, parents may decline the offer for one child and request to keep that child on the waitlist for a placement in the sibling’s school. If only one sibling receives a placement, the sibling(s) on the waitlist will have placed sibling priority at that school. If the other sibling is placed in a different school in a later round, they may decline that placement and stay on the waitlist for the school where they have sibling priority. You must contact RSCO to exercise this exception to the one offer rule for sibling placements.

Choice order matters! Families should be sure to rank their school/district selections by preference. Choice order is important for placements and priorities.

• The placement protocol prioritizes choice order and seeks to fill open seats based on family preference. This means that when a school has available seats, the system tries to place applicants who ranked the school first, then second, and then continues to move through choice order. While the first-choice school is typically the best chance at placement, you could receive a placement for any school, depending on the number of open seats and other first-choice applications. For example, if your first-choice school does not have open seats and your second-choice school has open seats but no first-choice applicants, you could get an offer for the second-choice school.
• Most placement priorities apply only to the first-choice school or district. Make sure to rank the school/district with a priority as your first choice.

Applying early for CTECS or on time for magnets and Open Choice is one of the best ways to increase your chance of a placement offer.

• Apply by February 1, 2024, for CTECS Early Deadline
• Apply by March 15, 2024, for CTECS, magnet schools, and the Open Choice Program On-Time Deadline