Office of
Student Enrollment & Placement
440 N. Broad Street

You are considered a District student if you are currently attending a school in the School District of Philadelphia for the 2022-2023 school year.

• If your student is attending a District school, you will need to access the school selection application through the District’s Parent Portal. If you do not currently have a Parent Portal account, click here to create one.
• If your student is not attending a District school, you will need to create an account on the school selection platform once the application goes live on September 16th.

There are three types of School District of Philadelphia schools

1. Criteria Based schools (academic criteria based)
2. City Wide schools (lottery based on space)
3. Catchment schools (lottery based on space)

Students should not apply to their catchment school through this application. If a student wishes to attend their catchment school, please communicate with your school directly to complete the enrollment process.

Begin gathering these documents you will need for your application.

•  If you did not attend a District school for the 2020-2021 and/or 2021-2022 school year, you must submit a transcript using the District’s transcript template. This transcript must include the following:
  • The final course grades for the four core subjects (English, math, science, and social studies) for each of the prior years (2020-2021 and/or 2021-2022 school year)
  • The number of unexcused absences for each of the two prior years (2020-2021 and/or 2021-2022 school year)
• If you attended a District school for the 2020-2021 and/or 2021-2022 school years but are missing a final grade in one of your core subjects (English, math, science, and social studies) , see your school counselor or administrator.

Consider the following key questions when making your selections:

• Are your strengths or interests aligned with what the school has to offer?
• Do you meet the criteria for admission?  This includes, but is not limited to: grades and attendance.
• Can you attend the school everyday, on time, given the distance from your home?

• Students and families may log into their application as many times as they wish to view or make changes until the application window closes on November 4th at 11:59 PM.
• An email address must be added to Guardian Information section in order to receive communications.
• Incomplete and unsubmitted applications will not be entered into the school selection lottery.  Please note, hard copy documentation is no longer accepted.
• If you have any questions about the School District of Philadelphia’s school selection process, please contact the Office of Student Enrollment and Placement at 215-400-4290 or via email at schoolselect@philasd.org.
• If you have started an application and you have questions on how to complete your application, please include your school selection application number in your email along with your question or have it available when contacting the Office of Student Enrollment and Placement.

• Be prepared to meet any additional requirements for criteria-based schools, like project-based submissions and auditions.
• Make sure you know where your selected schools are located and any SEPTA routes needed to get there.

• District students will be able to submit the school selection application using the Parent & Family Portal by creating a new account or logging in to an existing one.
• Non-District students will be able to create an account and access the school selection application starting September 16th.

• All application notifications regarding the School Selection process will be through email sent from the School Selection system. It will come from the email address: bouncebacks+philadelphia
  @smartchoicetech.com. This is a no-reply email address.
• The email address displayed on the Guardian Information section step will receive all communications.
• Please check your spam or junk folders if you do not see the emails in your inbox. It is important to monitor your email inbox throughout this process as there will be time-sensitive actions required.

The School District of Philadelphia provides parents with an opportunity to appeal a School Selection “Ineligible” decision. Appeals may only be submitted for the following reasons:

• There is a significant disruption during the time the student(s) is presenting their project based presentation , or audition.
• There is a request for a required accommodation, pursuant to an IEP, 504, or an English Learner’s level, that is alleged to have not been provided while taking the required assessment.
• A student was isolated as a result of their positive COVID-19 status and was unable to participate in a required audition or a project based presentation.
• A student was unable to participate in a required activity to be entered into the lottery as a result of an excused absence.

The appeal along with any relevant documentation must be submitted to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities.

There are 3 basic categories of results: Eligible and Offered, Eligible and Waitlisted, and Ineligible.

• It is recommended that students confirm at least one offer even if the student was accepted to only one school by the end of the Student Response phase on January 18, 2023.
• If no action is taken during the Student Response phase, all school selection offers will be automatically declined.
• An offer can be rescinded by the School District of Philadelphia if the student is not promoted by the end of the school year.

• If no action is taken during the Student Response phase, all school selection offers will be automatically declined.
• Once an offer is declined, students will not be placed on the waitlist or offered a seat after the Student Response phase ends.

• All students will see their waitlist status (numeric order on the waitlist).
• If a student is waitlisted for any school, no action is required unless a seat is offered.
• A student will remain on the waitlist even if they accept an offer from a school other than a waitlisted school. Waitlisted students will be offered a seat at the waitlisted school if one becomes available.
• If a student is offered a seat at one of their waitlisted schools, an email notification will be sent out and students will have 3 business days from the day that the notification was sent to respond. Otherwise, the offer will automatically be declined.
• If a student is waitlisted at more than one school, they may only accept one waitlist offer. Once a student accepts a waitlist offer, they will be removed from the waitlists of the other schools.