Formerly known as "OneApp" NCAP is the NOLA-PS Common Application Process and the only way for interested families to apply to enroll in a participating school for the upcoming school year. Families should participate in the Main Round in the late fall/early winter to have the best chance to get assigned to your top school choices. The NCAP Main Round uses a matching process where each student receives a single best school offer. The algorithm of the matching process assigns each student to their highest ranked school choice for which there is an available seat. The algorithm makes assignments based on student and school specific information.
2.
Who should complete an NCAP?
If a student’s K-12 school offers the next grade level, the student is guaranteed a spot to return to their current school for the following school year at the next grade level.
Students who apply and are assigned to a different school will lose their guarantee to return to their previous school. Students who apply to change schools and do not receive an assignment to a ranked school will be re-assigned to the next grade level at their current school (if the next grade is offered). Families who receive a placement at a school they choose on their NCAP will forfeit any prior school placement.
Families should complete the K-12 NCAP if:
- The student is entering the public school system for the first time, such as a new kindergartener.
- The student is currently enrolled in a NOLA-PS school in a terminal grade (the last grade level offered) and will need to choose a new school for next year, such as 8th graders who need to apply to 9th grade.
- The student would like to switch schools to a different NOLA-PS K-12 school for next school year.
- The student is new to Orleans Parish and will be starting school in NOLA-PS next fall for the 2024 - 2025 school year.
- The student is seeking to transfer to a publicly funded K-12 seat in Orleans Parish for the next school year, such as from a private school, parochial school, or another school setting.
Families should NOT complete the K-12 NCAP if:
- If the student is happy with their current K-12 school and that school offers the next grade level. Returning students who do not apply to attend another school are guaranteed to return to their current K-12 school for the following school year.
- The student needs to be placed into a school for the current school year (not next school year).
3.
Do I Enroll in my closest neighborhood school?
New Orleans has a unique school system where 100% of our schools are public charter schools. See the
2023-2024 New Orleans Public School Governance Chart for more information about charter networks. Even though charter schools are managed by individual Charter Management Organizations (CMOs), the district manages enrollment and applications to all NOLA-PS schools through a unified enrollment system. Families can rank any school across the city on their application. Families are never automatically assigned to a default school (unless it is the school the student currently attends). In New Orleans, every family must choose where they would like their child to enroll. To learn more about what programs different schools offer, visit our
Explore Schools Tool. If a school close to home is important to your family, enter your address on the Explore Schools Tool to see schools closest to your home.
4.
What happens if I don’t complete a Main Round application?
If a family does not participate in K-12 Main Round, and they are currently enrolled in K-12th grade and attending a school that offers the next grade level, that student will be guaranteed a placement for next year at their current school. If the current school does not offer the next grade level (for example, the current grade is 8th grade and the school does not offer 9th grade) then that student will not have a Main Round placement and need to participate in Open Enrollment in the summer. In Louisiana, enrolling in school for K through 12th grade is mandatory.
5.
Can I work directly with a school site to enroll my student?
No. In NOLA Public Schools (NOLA-PS), there is a unified enrollment process for all schools. Students are enrolled by the NOLA-PS district enrollment team, and individual schools do not have the ability to enroll students directly. During the summer, the only way students are assigned to a school is through the Open Enrollment process. View all the schools we serve
here.
6.
Where can I learn more about the different schools in the district?
Visit our
Explore Schools Tool. You can look up a school by name in the search bar or use the filters to search schools that offer special programs (examples: after care, transportation services, sports, etc.). Check out our
how-to video for tips on how to use the tool.
7.
What is “Eligibility Criteria” and how do I enroll my student in those schools?
There are 10 schools with Eligibility Criteria—meaning students must complete required steps to be eligible to enroll, such as an academic proficiency test, a foreign language assessment, or an open house requirement. Each school has different requirements, as well as availability for completing requirements. For more information, visit:
https://enrollnolaps.com/eligibilityschools
8.
I have more than one child and I’d like to enroll them at the same school.
Family link is a way to try to have multiple students from the same household be assigned to the same school. 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 accepted to 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 choices selected. The schools will check to make sure they are in fact siblings before they start school.
9.
Does my child get sibling priority? Does my child get geographic priority if we live close to the school we’re interested in?
In some cases, when students apply to schools, they are organized into groups and given priority before the other applicants. Each school has a set of rules that determine who gets preference when there are more applicants than available spots. These rules are decided upon and approved by the authorities in charge of the school, such as the Orleans Parish School Board, or the Louisiana BESE (Board of Elementary and Secondary Schools). Applicants are considered in the order of their assigned priority groups. If a school or a specific grade level within a school has certain criteria for selecting students, you can find that information on the school's page on the
NOLA-PS Explore Schools tool under the Admissions tab. For complete details about Priorities, visit the
Student Priorities and Verification webpage.
10.
In which grade should my student enroll?
11.
Should I apply as soon as possible to get the best chance at a seat?
Main Round is not first-come, first-serve and all applications go through the match at the same time after NCAP closes. While you will need to apply before the deadline on January 19, there is no rush to apply as soon as the application opens. We do encourage early application though, so we can troubleshoot any issues if they come up and answer any questions. While there is no rush to apply on day one--please don't wait to the last minute to apply!
1.
I still have questions and I need help.
For assistance, submit a ticket at the
Help Desk, call us at 504-547-6652, or connect with us at a
Family Resource Center.
