K-12
Main Round

Overview

Any student who is interested in enrolling at a school with eligibility criteria during Main Round must first meet requirements to qualify for enrollment. There are 10 schools with eligibility criteria: 4 schools with academic eligibility criteria, 5 schools with foreign language eligibility criteria, and 1 school with open house eligibility criteria. See the list below.  

Students who are interested in enrolling in one of these schools should complete the school's linked form below to start the next steps to complete the eligibility requirements. Families will be asked to complete testing, attend an open house, and/or submit documentation through the school’s linked form below. Schools use this information to determine whether your child is eligible to attend. Schools and NOLA-PS will communicate with families about an applicant’s eligibility this winter.   

Families must take two steps to apply to one of the 10 schools with eligibility criteria. Families can complete these two next steps in any order:   

1. Between 11/4/24 - 1/24/25: Complete a NOLA-PS Main Round application through the Parent Portal and list all schools your student is interested in attending.   

2. Starting in October (opening date will vary by school, please see below for specifics): Complete the school’s linked form below to schedule next steps to determine the applicant’s eligibility. Please Note: Families must schedule testing prior to the posted testing dates on each school’s website. Do not wait for the last minute to complete these requirements!   

Students who rank a school with eligibility criteria on their NOLA-PS application and who met the eligibility criteria of the school by the deadline will be considered for admission at that school during the Main Round match. Students who do not meet the eligibility criteria OR do not rank a school with eligibility criteria will not be considered for admission at a school with eligibility criteria. Families will receive their Main Round school placement by March 31, 2025.

Eligible students who are not assigned a seat during Main Round will be added to the waitlist.  
 

School-Specific Information

• Academic Eligibility Criteria: Students must pass an academic proficiency test and submit additional information to be eligible. 

• Language Eligibility Criteria: Students must demonstrate proficiency in French or Spanish to be eligible. 

• Open House Eligibility Criteria: Students and parent/guardians must attend an open house to be eligible. 

Family link is a way to try to have multiple students from the same household be assigned to the same school during Main Round. Family link happens automatically when families rank school choices in the same order for multiple students under a single parent account. Family link seeks to place all linked students into the highest-ranked school choice with available seats for each applicant, even if one or more applicants would have received a higher-ranked placement without the link. Please note that all students must be eligible for all schools listed on the application and all ranked school choices must be in the same order for family link to be enabled. If a student is not eligible for one of the ranked schools on their application, family link will not apply. 

Families may wish to opt out of family link. Families may rank school choices in the same order on their children’s applications, but want each child to get into the highest ranked school on their application for which they can receive a placement. If a parent/guardian would like each child to be matched to their highest ranked school (more than they would like all children to be matched to the same school), the family should opt out of family link. Opting out of family link could increase the chances that one applicant may receive a higher ranked placement, however it also increases the chances of receiving a different placement for the sibling applicants. In order to opt out of family link, email enroll@nolapublicschools.com. 

If a family has more than one child born together in the same birth event, like twins, there are some special procedures for enrolling them together. If one of the twins gets placed at a school they applied to, the other twin will also get in if they applied to the same schools. This only happens if all the kids in the family completed a Main Round application on time and with family-linked turned on. The schools will check to make sure they are in fact siblings before they start school. Please note that for schools with Eligibility Criteria, each child will need to meet eligibility requirements to be placed together. If a student is not eligible for one of the ranked schools on their application, family link will not apply. 

Specialized Programs are designed to meet the needs of students with cognitive and intellectual disabilities and/or students with disabilities requiring therapeutic behavioral supports.

Students must have a current IEP in order to be eligible for these specialized programs. Students who are interested in a specialized program may seek a referral through the student’s IEP team at their current school. The NOLA-PS specialized support team can assist families to connect with their child’s IEP team and learn about program options.

For more information, please review this Overview of Specialized Programs and the NOLA-PS Specialized Program Guide. Reach out to Justin Allison (jallison@nolapublicschools.com) with questions.

Additional resources for families and students with exceptionalities
For additional information about programs, organizations, and resources available throughout the city for individuals with exceptionalities, please check out the 2023 Special Education Resource Guide. The Resource Guide is a living document that contains more than 20 areas of assistance, boasting more than 170 organizations and providers. Resources to assist families obtain housing, extra-curricular activities, financial aid, transportation, and employment opportunities are just a few of the categories the Guide contains.