3.8.8 Interdistrict Permit Requests

CA Education Code 46600 et seq., SFUSD Board Policy 5117

A parent/guardian who is a resident of San Francisco and wishes for their child to attend a public school outside of San Francisco must submit an interdistrict permit to the Enrollment Center (EC). The parent/guardian should bring a current verification of the San Francisco home address. Permits are processed and approved or disapproved on a weekly basis and forwarded to the requested district. Final approval is made by the requested district.

If a student wishes to attend a San Francisco public school and the parent/guardian does not live in San Francisco, the parent/guardian must obtain an interdistrict permit from the current public school district of residence. The interdistrict permit is required for anyone living outside of San Francisco who wishes to attend or continue attending a San Francisco public school.   In accordance with any valid and current interdistrict transfer agreement between SFUSD and the district of residence, the interdistrict permit is an annual permit and must be on file for each school year. Interdistrict transfer request students cannot be guaranteed for enrollment in SFUSD.

Application Process:

Interdistrict students applying for a new school in the Fall 2025, must submit both an SFUSD Enrollment Application with their out-of-district address and an approved Interdistrict Permit from their district of residence.  Enrollment Applications are due by January 31, 2025. Interdistrict Permits are due by February 17, 2025.

Interdistrict applicants will be assigned after San Francisco residents in the MainRound of the student assignment system. Applicants who submit both forms by the deadlines will receive an assignment notification in March 2025.  Applicants who miss these deadlines may join waiting lists for up to 5 schools and may participate in Open Enrollment beginning in July.

Students who currently attend an SFUSD school but move out of San Francisco during the school year or summer, must apply for a permit in their new district of residence for the current school year and/or the following year in order to continue attending their current school.

Approval and Revocation Criteria:

Interdistrict Permits must be obtained annually.  Approval of annual permits may be affected by the student’s academic grades, attendance, or disciplinary record.  Approval of permits also depends upon space availability.  Permit for students with Special Education Services will need additional approval by the Special Education Department and may take additional time for processing.

Interdistrict attendance permits may be approved for any of the following reasons:

• To meet the child care needs of the student.
• The parent/guardian is employed within the city of San Francisco.
• When the student has a sibling attending school in the receiving district, to avoid splitting the family’s attendance.
• To allow the student to complete a school year when their parents/guardians have moved out of the district during the year.
• When there is a valid interest in a particular educational program not offered in the district of residence.
• A student who has been determined by personnel of either the district of residence or the district of proposed enrollment to have been the victim of an act of bullying, as defined in subdivision (r) of CA Education Code 48900, committed by a student of the district of residence shall, at the request of the person having legal custody of the student, be given priority for interdistrict attendance under any existing interdistrict attendance agreement or, in the absence of an agreement, be given additional consideration for the creation of an interdistrict attendance agreement.

SF Residents Have First Priority Link to this section

The Enrollment Center (EC) reviews requests at the end of Round 2 of the Student Assignment System. First EC needs to make school placement offers to students from the city of San Francisco. EC recommends that students who do not reside in San Francisco enroll in their district of residence in the event that SFUSD is unable to assign the child to a requested school.

EC can grant interdistrict transfers only on a space-available basis, and EC reserves the right to determine whether or not to accept interdistrict transfer requests. EC also reserves the right to limit the number of incoming students and establish priorities according to types of requests.

Also, EC cannot grant interdistrict transfers to high demand schools, i.e., schools that are filled to capacity at the end of the first placement period or programs that are impacted. Interdistrict permits are not allowed for Lowell or Asawa School of the Arts High Schools. 

For more information, please visit sfusd.edu/schools/enroll/apply/student-needs#32256