A new Kansas law will allow all students to enroll in districts other than the one they live in — as long as the district has availability.
The state law was signed in 2022 and goes into effect this upcoming school year.
Under the law, the only reason districts can reject students’ enrollment is if there is not a spot available. Nonresident enrollment will open June 1. If a district receives more enrollments than open spots, students will be randomly selected.
Once enrolled, students will be allowed to stay in the non-district school through their graduation but are allowed to transfer to different schools at any time. Enrollment forms and information can be found on each district’s website.
If a student is currently enrolled in the district they reside in and move outside the district, they would have to follow the open enrollment process to stay in their current school. All nonresident students will also be responsible for transportation to and from school.
Wichita Public Schools , the largest district in Kansas, has 60 high school openings, 120 middle school openings and 275 elementary school openings across all their schools. Some individual schools have no space available, according to the district’s dashboard.
There are 54 Wichita schools not accepting students via open enrollment, either because they don’t have enough additional space or they meet certain criteria. That includes schools filled through a magnet lottery process, those who welcome current Wichita students through the Transform24 program, schools with different eligibility rules based on students’ special needs or programs that operate virtually.
Wichita’s school district was given an overall grade of B- by school review website Niche. U.S. News & World Report shows a total district enrollment of 46,657.
On the other end of the spectrum, Maize School District announced they do not have enough availability to allow nonresident students to enroll next school year.
Maize School District was given an overall Niche grade of A and has an enrollment of 7,980, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Here’s a look at some school districts around the Wichita area who have published their nonresident opening numbers.
Andover
The district has 338 in person openings and 124 eCademy openings.
Niche gave Andover an overall grade of A, as well as rating it the best school district in the Wichita area. U.S. News & World Report says the school district has an enrollment of 8,720.
Goddard
This district has 78 spots open – 42 in first grade, 12 in second grade, four in fourth grade and 20 in seventh grade .
With an overall Niche grade of A-, the Goddard School District ranked third in Niche’s school district rankings. The district has an enrollment of 6,297, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Valley Center
Next school year, Valley Center has 13 non-resident openings ( three at Wheatland Elementary and 10 at Valley Center Intermediate School )
Niche gave Valley Center an overall grade of B+ and ranked it the fifth best school district in the Wichita area. U.S. News & World Report reports the district has an enrollment of 3,092.
Derby
Derby has 689 total nonresident openings.
Derby was given an overall Niche grade of B+, as well as rated eighth among school districts in the Wichita area. U.S. News & World Report shows an enrollment of 7,262.
Clearwater
Clearwater is expected to have 30 nonresident openings: 10 in kindergarten, 10 in first grade and 10 in second grade.
Niche gave Clearwater an overall grade of B and ranked it the 12th best school district in the area. The district has an enrollment of 1,133, according to U.S. News & World Report.
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