Preference offered by some public charter schools for children of their staff members applying to their school. There is no place on the application to indicate eligibility; however to qualify, the school must verify that the applicant is a full-time staff member and a DC resident. Schools will inform My School DC directly of any applicants who are eligible for this preference. Visit a school's profile to see if they offer this preference.

Preference offered by some public charter and DCPS schools for qualifying applicants who have been identified by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)  as meeting at least one of the following criteria as measured after April 1 for the prior lottery year (the day after Results Day):

• Experiencing homelessness
• In the District’s foster care system
• Receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits; or
• In high school and are one year older, or more, than the expected age for the grade in which they are currently enrolled.

To potentially qualify for this preference, on Step 5 of the application you must consent to your eligibility being reviewed.

This preference will be added to your application at the time of lottery results. To learn more about this preference and see participating schools, please visit the “Applying to Equitable Access Schools” page.

Preference that applies to DCPS preschool (PK3) and prekindergarten (PK4) programs, as well as dual-language strands at zoned (in-boundary) schools. Zoned schools are any DCPS school that has a boundary. Locate your DCPS in-boundary school here. 

There are also three DCPS elementary schools that offer a dual-language strand and a non-dual-language strand. Students applying to their in-boundary DCPS dual-language program (PK3 – Grade 5) at these schools also receive a lottery preference in all grades:

• Cleveland ES
• Marie Reed ES
• Shirley Chisholm ES (Formerly Tyler ES - 1st to 5th grade only)

Similar to PK3 and PK4 applicants, this preference is automatically applied based on the guardian's home address used on the student’s My School DC application.

Important: If your child is matched to a school with this preference, be prepared to provide proof of DC residency at the address you listed on the application. If your addresses changes from in-boundary to out-of-boundary and you are matched to the school with an in-boundary preference based on your former address, it is possible you will lose your match and be added to the school’s waitlist according to your child’s random lottery number or post-lottery submission date and any other preference they qualified for.

Preference offered only by participating DCPS preschool (PK3) and prekindergarten (PK4) zoned (in-boundary) schools for qualifying applicants who have been identified as  meeting at least one of the following criteria as measured after April 1 for the prior lottery year (the day after Results Day):

• Experiencing homelessness
• In the District’s foster care system
• Receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits; or
• In high school and are one year older, or more, than the expected age for the grade in which they are currently enrolled.

To potentially qualify for this preference, your in-boundary school must participate, and on Step 5 of the application you must consent to your eligibility being reviewed by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE).

Qualifying students will have their records checked by OSSE to see if they qualify.

If a student meets one of the qualifications and is zoned for a participating school, then this preference will be added to your application for the zoned school at the time of lottery results. To learn more about this preference and see which schools are participating, please visit the “Applying to Equitable Access Schools” page.

Preference that typically* only applies to DCPS preschool (PK3) and prekindergarten (PK4) for a student who is both in-boundary and has a sibling already attending the school. Locate your DCPS in-boundary school here. The "in-boundary" portion of this preference is automatically applied based on the guardian's home address used on the student’s My School DC application; sibling status is verified by the school prior to the lottery. If your child is admitted with this preference, be prepared to provide proof of DC residency at the address you listed on the application.   

The "sibling attending" preference is intended for applicants who have a sibling currently enrolled at the school and who will remain attending at the time of the applying sibling's enrollment. List all of the applicant’s siblings attending DC public schools on the Sibling Preference section on step one of the application and the preference request will be sent to the school. Before the lottery, the school will verify eligibility for that preference.

Please note that this preference is meant to allow siblings to attend the same school at the same time. If you withdraw the "attending" student for the following school year, this may result in the siblings losing their enrollment, match, or waitlist offer, or moving down on the waitlist at that school. The siblings will remain on the school’s waitlist but will be assigned a new waitlist position based on their random lottery number or post-lottery submission date and any other preference they qualified for. The DCPS definition of "sibling" can be found in the DCPS Enrollment and Lottery Handbook. 

*This preference can also apply to in-boundary siblings applying to a dual language strand of the following three elementary schools: Cleveland Elementary School, Marie Reed Elementary School, and Shirley Chisholm Elementary School.

Preference that typically* only applies to DCPS preschool (PK3) and prekindergarten (PK4) for a student who is both in-boundary and has a sibling who was offered a seat in that school through the lottery. Locate your DCPS in-boundary school here. The "in-boundary" portion of this preference is automatically applied on the application based on the guardian's home address used on the student’s My School DC application. If your child is admitted with this preference, be prepared to provide proof of DC residency at the address you listed on the application.    

The "sibling offered" portion of the preference is awarded when a student has a sibling who is matched in the lottery or offered a seat from the waitlist. This preference is meant to allow siblings to attend the same school at the same time. If the sibling who was matched or offered a space at the school does not enroll at that school or later enrolls at another school, the “sibling offered” preference will be removed for all siblings that applied to that same school. This may result in the siblings losing their enrollment, match, or waitlist offer, or moving down on the waitlist at that school. The siblings will remain or will be placed back on the school’s waitlist but will be assigned a new waitlist position based on their random lottery number or post-lottery submission date and any other preference they qualified for. If the sibling who was offered a space does enroll at the school, the preference remains as “sibling offered” for all siblings that applied to that same school; it does not change to “sibling attending.” The DCPS definition of "sibling" can be found in the DCPS Enrollment and Lottery Handbook.

*This preference can also apply to in-boundary siblings applying to a dual language strand of the following three elementary schools: Cleveland Elementary School, Marie Reed Elementary School, and Shirley Chisholm Elementary School.

• Sibling preferences. Sibling Attending preference, Sibling Offered preference, Twin Offered preference (charter only), In-boundary with Sibling Attending preference (DCPS only), and In-boundary with Sibling Offered preference (DCPS only)  
• Geographic preferences (DCPS only). In-boundary preference and proximity preference  
• Equitable Access
• Transfer preference 
• Children of Staff preference (Charter only)
• Special Education Preference (Charter only)
• Military Preference (Charter only)

A lottery preference provided to students who live greater than a half-mile walking distance from their DCPS in-boundary elementary school and apply to attend a DCPS out-of-boundary school that is a half-mile or less walking distance from their home. This preference only applies to students enrolling in PK3 – grade 5. Proximity preference is not offered at DCPS citywide schools. The application will automatically apply this preference based on the guardian's home address provided on the application.

Preference for a student who has a sibling currently attending the school. There is a place on the application to enter the name of a sibling(s) currently attending the school. Before the lottery, the school will verify eligibility for that preference. Please note that at most schools, this preference is meant to allow siblings to attend the same school at the same time. If you withdraw the "attending" student for the following school year, it is possible that your sibling preference, and subsequent enrollment, match or waitlist offer, will be revoked. The definition of "sibling" may vary by school. Please contact the school directly for this information. DCPS's sibling information can be found in their Enrollment and Lottery Handbook.

Preference for a student whose sibling is matched in the lottery or offered a seat from the waitlist. Please note that at most schools, this preference is meant to allow siblings to attend the same school at the same time. If the sibling who was offered a space at the school does not enroll at that school or later enrolls at another school, the “sibling offered” preference may be removed for all siblings that applied to that same school. This may result in the siblings losing their match, or moving down on the waitlist at that school. The siblings will remain on the school’s waitlist but will be assigned a new waitlist position based on their random lottery number or post-lottery submission date and any other preference they qualified for. If the sibling who was offered a space does enroll at the school, the preference remains as “sibling offered” for all siblings that applied to that same school; it does not change to “sibling attending.” The definition of "sibling" may vary by school. Please contact the school directly for this information. DCPS's sibling information can be found in their Enrollment and Lottery Handbook.

Preference for an applicant that has been identified as having a high level of need in their Individual Education Program (IEP) as measured on March 1, 2025. Identification for this preference means the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) has a record that the applicant has an eligible IEP for the high level special education classrooms where the preference is offered. This preference is implemented using designated seats. Currently, this preference is offered at one public charter school.

Some schools offer a transfer preference to students who currently attend one of their campuses and apply to attend another one. Transfer preference is automatically applied on the application based on the applicant’s current school as provided on the application. Schools will verify that a student is eligible for a transfer preference before the lottery. 

Preference for a student who has a twin matched to a public charter school in the lottery. If your child is admitted with a twin preference, be prepared to prove that your children are twins when you enroll them. 

Preference for an applicant to a public charter school located in the same Ward as a United States military base for children of active duty members of the United States Armed Forces. This preference is implemented using designated seats. This preference is offered at one public charter school.

A set amount of a school’s available seats at each grade level that are designated for a specific group of students. Only applicants that have applied to the school and meet the criteria of that specific group are entered into the lottery for the designated seats. All applicants (including those that meet the criteria for the specific group) are entered into the lottery for the remaining general seats.

Applications are updated by My School DC so that eligible students are considered first for the designated seats. If a match can’t be made, they will be waitlisted for designated seats and entered into the lottery for the general seats. Learn more. 

If the designated seats do not fill in the lottery, they will not be automatically filled with applicants outside of the defined group. This allows a school to ensure the seats remain open for post-lottery applicants who meet the specific group criteria.

The following three preferences are implemented through designated seats: Special Education, Military, and Equitable Access*. 

*The Equitable Access preference can be implemented as either a traditional preference or through designated seats.

Founders preference: Preference offered by some charter schools for children of school founders. Applicants are required to submit proof of DC residency to the school as part of the enrollment process. There is no place on the application to indicate eligibility. Schools will inform My School DC directly of any students who are eligible for this preference. Visit a school’s profile to see if they offer this preference.

Early Action Pre-Kindergarten (PK) guarantees access to all in-boundary families in preschool (PK3) and prekindergarten (PK4) at select DCPS schools. To secure an Early Action PK seat, in-boundary families must submit a My School DC lottery application online to their DCPS in-boundary school by the PK3-grade 8 deadline. Eligible families who submit a My School DC application by the deadline are guaranteed an Early Action PK match if they are not matched to any other higher-ranked school. If a student is matched at their Early Action PK school, they will not be waitlisted at any school they ranked lower. Locate your in-boundary school here. Post lottery applicants are not eligible for the guaranteed seat. Participating DCPS schools in the 2025-26 school year can be found here.