As a choice of school district, Garland ISD allows parents to elect which school they want their children to attend.

Each year, GISD has a winter selection window for parents to select preferred schools through the district’s Skyward Family Access platform. This year’s window for filling out the school choice form opened Jan. 3 and will close Feb. 20 for students in first- through 12th-grade. Applications to the GISD magnet programs are due Jan. 20.

New students will be able to complete the application during their enrollment process.

The district’s website describes the  “Choice of School” program as a way for parents to “customize their student’s educational experience.” Parents can visit garlandisd.net/node/10662 to learn more about the school choice process and picking the campus that will best meet the needs of their child.

In accommodating each selection, GISD will consider building capacity, teacher-to-student ratios, proximity of a student to their selected campus and any court-ordered ethnicity ratios required when ruling on a school choice application. However, the website states that 96% of families receive their first-choice school.

Additionally, not every student is required to fill out a form. If a student wishes to remain at their current campus, the district grants them priority over an applicant. Only parents with students entering kindergarten, sixth- or ninth-grade are required to fill out a school choice application.

If a student accepts a seat in one of the district’s special programs, they are not required to fill out the form.

Depending on the circumstances of students, they may also be eligible for district transportation so long as they live more than two miles from the campus they are attending. Maps for district transportation can be viewed online or picked up at each GISD campus, the Harris Hill Administration Building, or the Manuel and Maria Valle Student Services Center.