By Glenn Rolfe

The window of school choice opportunity in the Indian River School District opens next week.

For those interested in moving their child from their home school, the district’s 2023-24 choice application period will open Monday at 8 a.m. and close Jan. 11, 2023, at 11:59 p.m.

A separate application must be submitted for each child, and he/she must be registered in his/her home school for consideration.

The district will utilize the Data Service Center’s web-based Delaware Public and Charter School Choice Application.

All applications for 2023-24 must be submitted here. By doing so, parents can experience a user-friendly interface, in both English and Spanish, to quickly submit requests to their schools of choice.

When visiting the portal, parents must create an account with a username (recommended to be an email address) and a password. Once an account has been created, the parent can select up to three schools. However, three schools are not required for completion.

Simply select the school(s) of interest and enter the child’s information. Parents can also apply to the Spanish Immersion Program for kindergarten. Certain conditions apply for application of Spanish Immersion in subsequent grades.

The website will also designate the schools that are anticipated to have openings for 2023-24. While facilities that are at capacity will be labeled as such, parents will still be permitted to submit applications to them. However, they may be placed on a waitlist or denied due to capacity.

Parents will receive an email confirmation once their application has been submitted. They may review, edit or withdraw an application prior to the Jan. 11 deadline with the use of the username and password.

The board of education will take action no later than Feb. 27, 2023, on choice applicants. Parents will have until March 17, 2023, to accept or decline a school’s invitation (made via email). Parents will also be notified of waitlisted and declined applications within these dates. Consideration for waitlisted students will begin in July 2023.

Students currently attending choice schools who will be moving to the next building level (for example, fifth graders moving to middle school or eighth graders moving to high school) must submit a choice application to be considered by the next school.

For information, contact 302-436-1000.