Eugene School District 4J

If you are offered a seat and fail to login and accept: Parents must accept an offered seat within 7 calendar days of the notification or the seat will be automatically declined and offered to the next student on the waitlist. When a request form is declined, either by the parent or the system, it is not possible to re-offer the seat. A parent may ask for the request form to be reopened and the student be placed back on the waiting list.  The student will be placed within their priority section on the list.

If you accepted an offered seat but then enroll in a neighborhood school: If you accept a school choice seat and then enroll in your neighborhood school, you will be removed from the school choice offered list when enrollment is verified with your neighborhood school.  This verification typically happens the first few weeks of school. When a request form is declined it is not possible to re-offer the seat. A parent may ask for the request form to be reopened and the student be placed back on the waiting list.  The student will be placed within their priority section on the list.

If you accepted an offered seat but delay enrollment: If you accept a school choice seat and then delay enrollment, your student’s seat will only be valid for 30 days after the first day of the school year. If you were offered a seat after the start of the school year, the seat will expire 30 days after it was offered. When a request form is declined by the system, it is not possible to re-offer the seat. A parent may ask for the request form to be reopened and the student be placed back on the waiting list.  The student will be placed within their priority section on the list.

• 4J residents before non-residents
• Returning students
• Siblings who will be co-enrolled (enrolled in the same school)
• Free and reduced-meal qualification (in-district lottery only; selected schools)
• Language speakers (language immersion schools only, grade 2-5)
• High school residence area (Eugene International High School programs only)

Residence: Eugene School District 4J residents have priority for any opening in a 4J school. Non-resident requests, including siblings and returning students, will be offered seats after 4J residents are accommodated.

Returning student: To qualify for a returning student priority at a school, the student must be attending the school for the current school year and requesting to continue enrollment in the school next school year.

Sibling: To qualify for a sibling priority, the students must reside in the same immediate household in a family relationship, and the requestor’s sibling must be attending the school for the current school year and would continue to be co-enrolled in the school with the requestor for the next school year.

Free and reduced-meal qualification (in-district lottery only; selected schools): To qualify for a free and reduced-meal qualification priority, the student’s family household income must be at or below the federal guidelines for the school year in which the request form is submitted. If the student is attending a 4J school for the current school year, they must have submitted a request and received eligibility approval for the current school year. Families applying for kindergarten must submit an application and receive eligibility approval prior to enrollment.

Language speaker (language immersion schools only): To qualify for a language speaker priority, the language must be the student’s first language, or the parent/guardian’s first language and the dominant language spoken at home. Language priority also may be granted to students entering second grade through fifth grade from an immersion program in another district.

High school residence area (Eugene International High School only): To qualify for a high school residence priority for Eugene International High School, the student must reside in the host high school neighborhood. For example, to qualify for a high school residence area priority to the International High School at Churchill, the student’s neighborhood school must be Churchill High School.

A Grade 12 Transfer Request Form is required if your student is enrolled in Grade 11 at a 4J high school and moves residence outside of the neighborhood of their high school or the 4J enrollment boundary prior to entering Grade 12.

A  4J student requesting to continue at their current high school for grade 12 must meet each of the following requirements:

• Complete grade 11 at the 4J high school in good standing.
• Be on track to graduate at the end of their grade 12 school year.

If you student does not meet the above requirements, please contact schoolchoice@4j.lane.edu

Students and their families who are interested in pursuing an online education are encouraged to read about 4J’s Eugene Online Academy.

There are five charter schools in the Eugene School District. For more information visit Charter Schools.

For information on virtual public charter schools, visit the Charter Schools or State of Oregon Department of Education. No more than three percent of the students who reside in Eugene School District 4J may enroll in virtual public charter schools.

For information on homeschooling students and registration requirements in Lane County, see Lane Education Service District.

After the 4J and non-resident school choice transfer lotteries, request forms may be submitted beginning May 1–mid-December for the current school year. Post-lottery school choice transfer requests are placed in the order received, not by lottery. If the requested school is currently full, students will be placed on the waiting list based on date of request submission and certain priorities. For example, if the requesting student is a returning student or sibling of a current student, they will be placed on the waiting list behind other students with the same priority who applied at an earlier date/time, and ahead of students who do not have that priority.

The parent/guardian of a student who moves residence (changes address) must notify the 4J school of each their students. During the school year, parents must notify the school and provide proof of address documentation within 10 days of moving into the residence.  A temporary transfer will be granted to allow a student to complete the current school year at their attending school IF the following criteria are met:

• The parent/guardian notifies the school of each student and submits updated proof of address documentation.
• The student has completed the previous school year and/or begun the current school year at the attending school AND the move occurred after the last day of school for the previous school year as noted on the 4J School Calendar.
• The move applies to a student’s primary residence, i.e. the address at which a student lives with the enrolling parent/guardian more than 50% of the time.

For the student to continue at their attending school beyond the current school year, they must receive a school choice transfer. For more information, see Who Can Apply for a School Choice. If your student does not meet the above criteria, please contact schoolchoice@4j.lane.edu

Eugene School District 4J families may enroll their student in their neighborhood school at any time. They may request to have their child attend a different 4J school through the district’s school choice transfer process provided space is available. The annual school choice transfer request period for 4J resident families is January 1–31 prior to fall enrollment.

Eugene School District 4J also welcomes families who live outside of the district to request a transfer to 4J schools. For more information and a list of 4J schools open to non-residents, please see the Out of District (Non-Resident) Transfer Information page. The annual interdistrict transfer request period for non-resident families is March 1–31 prior to fall enrollment.

Lotteries are held after each request period to determine the order in which transfer offers will be granted.

Post-lottery transfer requests from 4J resident and non-resident families are accepted beginning May 1 prior to fall enrollment and through mid-December. Post-lottery transfer requests will be offered available seats or placed on school waiting lists by priority and in the order they are received.

For fall enrollment, requests will be accepted:

• January 1–January 31 at 11:59 p.m. for 4J residents.
• March 1–March 31 at 11:59 p.m. for non-residents.

For fall enrollment, lottery results will be emailed to parents/guardians:

• No later than February 15 for 4J residents.
• No later than April 15 for non-residents.

Parents of students who have chosen to attend a 4J school other than their neighborhood school are responsible for providing transportation.

However, school choice students may ride 4J buses on existing bus routes within the attendance area of the school they will be attending, if space is available.

For more information on transportation options, including free LTD bus passes and assistance with carpooling and walking/biking routes, visit 4J Transportation Department webpage. 

4J resident: To apply for a school choice transfer as a 4J resident, your student must be a 4J resident as of the date of the request and entering a grade K–11 in the fall.

Non-resident: To apply for an interdistrict transfer as a non-resident, your student must be a current Oregon resident entering a grade K–11 in the fall.

There are no early waiting lists for 4J schools, and the district enrolls students at age-appropriate grade levels.

Are you a 4J resident?

Eugene School District 4J has more than 30 schools, and every one offers an excellent education for our students. We invite you to visit your neighborhood school and any other schools you’re interested in before you submit a school choice request. The district’s school choice policy means that any student in the district may attend any 4J school, provided there is space available.

Residency Requirements

To be considered a resident of Eugene School District 4J, your student must reside with you inside the district boundaries more than 50% of the time. Proof of residence is required upon enrollment. A student and parent or guardian must reside within the Eugene School District boundaries when submitting an in-district school choice request.

Request Process

Transfers between neighborhood schools and entry into alternative schools are possible as space is available. All school choice request forms received will be included in the school choice lottery which takes place each spring for the following school year. Transfers will be granted in the order determined by the lottery. Transfer requests received after the lottery deadline may be accommodated if there is space available, otherwise the student will be placed on the school’s waiting list.

School Choice Priority 

To be considered for priority placement during the School Choice Request process:

• Families and students must reside in the same household in the Eugene School District 4J attendance area at the time a request is submitted.
• Sibling priority is given after the co-enrolled sibling has attended a school for an academic year. Siblings must reside in the same household in a family relationship.
• Elementary school students receiving Free/Reduced priority must qualify for free and reduced lunch at the time of school choice application and enrollment. Verification of Free/Reduced status will be determined upon enrollment. Students who do not qualify for Free/Reduced status at the time of enrollment will lose priority status, and will be withdrawn if other students are waiting for admission, and placed at the end of the list.

The following elementary schools have been identified for free/reduced meals priority: Buena Vista, Camas Ridge, Charlemagne at Fox Hollow, Edgewood, Edison, Gilham, and Yujin Gakuen.

Athletic Eligibility For Students Applying for School Choice

Students who participate in school choice at the high school level will be eligible to participate in interscholastic athletics in accordance with procedures established by the superintendent. The procedures are intended to prohibit recruiting of athletes without unjustly penalizing students. The procedures in no way are to be interpreted as condoning the recruitment of any athlete from one high school to another since recruitment is a clear violation of District 4J policy and intent.

Rules For Approved Transfers

Parents will be responsible for transportation to and from school unless space is available on a district bus traveling to that school.

Once approved, a transfer will ordinarily remain in effect until the student completes the highest grade in the school or the student’s parent requests that school choice be rescinded

When a student is promoted to a new level (from level K–5 to level 6–8 or from level 6–8 to level 9–12), the student will enroll in the school in the attendance area in which his or her parents reside unless a school choice request is submitted and approved. Students attending K–8 or K–12 alternative or language immersion schools will automatically be enrolled in the next level school. If the student rescinds enrollment in the alternative or language immersion school, a school choice request must be submitted and approved to remain in a school outside their attendance area.

School choice may be revoked by the superintendent or if information on the school choice request application is falsified.

Students With Disabilities (Special Education/Section 504)

If a student with a disability is accepted through school choice, his or her position on the list will be held at the choice school until the district has objectively determined whether the choice school can provide appropriate special education and related aids and services for the student, and there is space in the program. If the Special Education program does not have space or the student’s IEP or Section 504 plan cannot be implemented at the choice school, the student will be denied transfer into that choice school. The parents of a student with disabilities (special education and Section 504), who attends a school other than their neighborhood school on a school choice transfer, must provide their own transportation.