K-12 Student Priorities & Verification

In certain cases, applicants are grouped together and given priority before all applicants are assigned a random number. Each school that participates has a different system that decides how applicants are prioritized if there are more applications than there are available seats. Priority structures are determined and approved by a school’s authorizer. Applicants are considered in order of their priority groups. If any school, or grade within the school, has student priorities, the information is listed on the Admissions tab of the school’s page on the NOLA-PS Explore Schools tool. 

All priorities are either full priorities or partial priorities. 

• Full priorities apply to 100% of available seats, after accounting for students with a guarantee to the school. 

• Partial priorities apply to less than 100% of available seats, after accounting for students with a guarantee to the school. 
  
  To view how each school prioritizes groups of applicants, and other statistics from the 2024 - 2025 Main Round, visit the Main Round Dashboard.

  Main Round Dashboard
   

   

Priority Types

There are many types of priority in the NOLA-PS Common Application Process. Priorities can vary between schools and across grade levels based on their Charter Operating Agreements. 

There are several priority types that apply to many schools. 

• Sibling Priority (full): priority that applies to applicants who have a sibling enrolled in a non-terminal grade at the school.

• Geographic Priority (partial): geographic priority is made up of two partial priorities:

  • Half-Mile Proximity (partial): applicants who live within a half mile of the school site receive priority for up to 25% of available seats.

  • Geographic Zone (partial): applicants who live within the school’s geographic zone receive priority for up to 50% of available seats, except in specific cases. 

• Closing School Priority (full): Applicants currently in grade K-7 and grade 9-11 who do not have a guarantee for the upcoming school year due to the closure of an OPSB charter or direct-run school where the student attends, where no provision to another school has been made. When closing school priority is in effect, it is the highest priority, ranked above sibling and geographic priority.

There are some priority types that apply to a small number of schools. 

• Economically Disadvantaged Priority (partial): Applicants who qualify as economically disadvantaged based on financial need receive priority for a designated percentage of available seats. The percentage of available seats depends on the school. 

• Feeder Pattern Priority (full): Applicants who attend an elementary feeder school that is linked to a high school receive priority to attend 9th grade at that school. 

• Individualized Education Plan Priority (partial): In some cases, Type 2 schools are directed by the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) to grant priority for applicants who have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) . The percentage of those designated to receive this priority is determined by LDOE. 

There are a few priority types that apply to only one school. 

• French Priority (full): Applicants currently enrolled in an accredited French school or French immersion school receive priority to Audubon Uptown French program. French programs must be accredited by the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE).

• Military Priority (full): Applicants who are dependents of U.S. Military and Department of Defense personnel receive priority to New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy (NOMMA). 

• Montessori Priority (full): Applicants currently attending an accredited Montessori program receive priority to Audubon Uptown Montessori School. 

• UNO Staff Priority (partial): Applicants who are children of full-time University of New Orleans employees receive priority to Hynes – UNO and Hynes – UNO French for up to 15% of available seats.

• Tulane Affliated (partial): Applicants who are children of full-time Tulane employees, full-time graduate students, and full-time professional students receive priority to The Willow School. Tulane University verifies eligibility for this priority.

Priorities that require verification for SY25-26

Some schools require families to verify, or prove that they qualify for certain types of priority considerations. Families can reach out to the school to get additional information about the process for verification. 

Priorities that do not require verification SY25-26

The following priorities are automatically applied and do not require verification.

Additional details on Priority types

Sibling Priority 

On the student’s NCAP, there is a space for families to indicate if the student has a sibling who will be continuing to attend the school next year. For most schools, families do not need to take any additional steps to qualify for sibling priority, simply naming the student’s sibling on the application is sufficient. However, some schools require the sibling relationship to be verified in order to receive the sibling priority. 

The applying student’s sibling must be continuing to attend for the applying year for the applicant to receive sibling priority. For example, if a student applying to 9th grade at Edna Karr has a sibling who is currently a 12th grader at Edna Karr, the 9th grader will not qualify for sibling priority because the student’s sibling will not be attending Edna Karr for the school year for which the sibling is applying. 

If a family has more than one child born together in the same birth event, like twins or other types of multiples, there are some special procedures for enrolling them together. If one of the multiples gets placed at a school they applied to, the other multiples 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. 

Sibling Verification 

For some schools, sibling preference must be verified. Verification of priority is a process to make sure that students who self-report they should receive priority qualify for the priority.

At these schools, the sibling relationship must be verified in order to be eligible for the student priority. The family will provide documentation to the school that meets a burden of proof set forth by the district to demonstrate either:  A biological or legal sibling relationship through one or more common parents or legal guardians OR  shared household status among siblings through a common address. These priorities shall be verified in coordination between the applicant and the school. Families shall have the ability to appeal the school’s review of sibling status within one week of the close of the Main Round application. 

Required Documentation 

Documents should be submitted to the applicant’s sibling’s school. Documentation can be submitted in-person or electronically depending on the directions from the school. All applicants seeking to verify sibling priority must provide matching documentation that lists the parent/guardian’s name and the siblings’ names. Documentation should be active and issued by a governmental agency. Options include:

• Documentation that lists all children and the parent/guardian’s name on the same document
  • Consent Judgment that names the applicant and the sibling as in the custody of the parent/guardian 
  • Department of Children and Family Services household information sheet that lists the parent/guardian name, the applicant name, and the sibling name
  • Medical insurance letter listing the parent/guardian name, the applicant name, and the sibling name
  • Letter from the Louisiana Department of Health about Medicaid coverage including the parent/guardian name, the applicant name, and the sibling name
  • LA Cafe household information listing the parent/guardian name, the applicant name, and the sibling name, such as a letter or screenshot of the online portal 
  • Letter from the Social Security Administration about benefits that lists the parent/guardian name, the applicant name, and the sibling name
  • Multiple documents of the same form that list the consistent parent/guardian name and each child’s name
  • Birth certificates for the applicant and the sibling that list the same parent/guardian

Geographic Priority

Most open enrollment schools authorized or directly run by OPSB offer geographic priority. Families can see what priorities a school offers at each grade level on the Explore Schools tool. For schools that offer geographic priority, applicants who live within a half-mile radius of a school receive priority to the defined percentage of open seats. Applicants who reside in a school’s “geographic zone,” also receive priority to the defined percentage  of open seats. The geographic zones are predetermined areas divided by zip codes. 

Applicants can see the individualized list of schools where they qualify for geographic priority based on their address within the application. Most K-8 schools offer geographic priority for 50% of open seats to applicants who live in the school’s zone. Most high schools do not grant geographic priority. Type 2 charter schools do not offer geographic priority for any grade. 

This approach maximizes student choice and schools’ ability to provide specialized programming. Three schools (Alice Harte, Edna Karr, and Hynes Lakeview) grant geographic priority to 67% of open seats, and/or have a geographic zone that differs from the standard zones. The remaining percentage of available seats do not grant geographic priority, to help ensure that families who live further away also have the opportunity to attend. 

Applicants who reside in the geographic zone of an application school are eligible for priority enrollment in cases where: 

• The application school offers geographic priority. 
• The applicant resides within the specified geographic zone, in cases where application schools are authorized by OPSB policy or Charter Operating Agreements. 
• The applicant verifies their residence in a geographic zone for application schools authorized by OPSB policy or Charter Operating Agreements to require residency verification. 

The geographic zones can be seen in the map; half-mile radii are drawn for each school using Google software. To see whether a particular school offers geographic priority, please go to the Admissions tab of the school’s profile on the Explore Schools tool.




Geographic Priority Verification 

There are three schools that requires applicants to verify geographic priority: Hynes-Lakeview, Hynes-Parkview, and Hynes-UNO. All other students automatically receive geographic priority at qualifying schools based on the student’s residence address. Applicants to programs at Edward Hynes Charter School – Lakeview who live within the 70124 zip code or who live within 1/2 mile of the school should contact the school to verify their geographic priority by January 31, 2025. Applicants to programs at Edward Hynes Charter School – Parkview and Edward Hynes Charter School - UNO who live within the 70122, 70124, 70126 (West), 70148 zip codes or who live within 1/2 mile of the school should contact the school to verify their geographic priority by January 31, 2025. Families must submit proof of residency to Hynes directly in order to verify this priority. 

Schools must collect and retain readable copies of one or more of the following documents as proof of residency. 

• Electricity/Gas Bill dated within ninety days of the registration date. 
• Sewerage/Water Bill dated within ninety days of the registration date. 
• Cable/Internet Bill dated within ninety days of the registration date. 
• Section 8 or HANO Voucher Statement dated within ninety days of the registration date. 
• Mortgage Agreement or Lease where the end term is a future date. 
• Homestead exemption in parent or guardian’s name. 
• Official letter from a governmental agency dated within ninety days of the registration date. 

Closing School Priority 

Please note that closing school priority does not apply to applicants to kindergarten or to grade 9. 

Economic Disadvantage Priority

Per Act 136 (HB 130) of 2017, the Economically Disadvantaged (ED) definition includes any student who is:

• Eligible for Louisiana’s food assistance program for low-income families (SNAP),
• Eligible for Louisiana’s disaster food assistance program (DSNAP),
• Eligible for Louisiana’s program for assistance to needy families with children to assist parents in becoming self-sufficient (TANF),
• Eligible for Louisiana’s healthcare program for families and individuals (Medicaid) with limited financial resources,
• Eligible for free or reduced lunch price meals based on the latest available data,
• An English Language Learner,
• Identified as homeless or migrant pursuant to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Children and Youth Assistance Act and the Migrant Education Program within the ESSA,
• Incarcerated with the office of juvenile justice or in an adult facility, or placed into the custody of the state.

This ED definition applies to both the MFP At-Risk indicator and to the federal formula allocations.

Children of Staff

Children of staff do not receive any priority during Main Round, but can enroll after placements are released, beginning in April. Staff members should reach out to their school enrollment lead to learn more about how to enroll. 

Louisiana charter schools may offer eligible children of school staff the opportunity to enroll in grades K-12 directly at the employee’s school of work (per Act 253). In order for a child to be eligible for child of staff enrollment, the school must elect to offer all qualifying employees the opportunity to enroll eligible children. The staff member must be assigned to report to the school they seek to enroll their student each day that students are in session and not be assigned to any other schools. 

One or more of the following conditions must be met: 

• The staff member is an employee of the non-profit organization that holds the charter for the school and receives a W-2 from the non-profit. 
• The staff member is contracted for employment by the charter non-profit organization. 
• The staff member is an employee of another entity the charter non-profit organization has contracted with to provide services at the school.

AND all the Child Eligibility Requirements for Children of Staff Enrollment must be met: 

• Child must seek to enroll in grades K-12. 
• The child must be the biological child or legal ward of the employee. 
• The child must reside primarily at the employee’s residence. 
• The child must meet all admissions criteria, including selective admissions criteria, as applicable. 

No student admitted to a charter school pursuant to this item shall be counted to determine whether such enrollment exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or school. These students can be enrolled over capacity. Eligible children of school staff will be offered a school start-date on or after the employed parent’s official start date, as determined in consultation with the school of employment. 

Children of staff for the upcoming school year can be assigned to the school after Main Round. School staff members should reach out to their school enrollment lead for more information and next steps for enrollment.