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School Choice Transfers

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Applications for the 2024-2025 school year are no longer being accepted.

Sibling Transfer applications for the 2025-2026 school year will be available beginning in January 2025.

HB251 School Choice Transfer applications for the 2025-2026 school year will be available beginning in late January 2025. 


General Provisions For All School Choice Transfers

  • A student must be a current Cobb County School District resident in order to apply for a school choice transfer.  If a student is approved for a transfer and subsequently moves outside the Cobb County School District, the school choice transfer will end at the time of the move.
  • If the student receives Special Education services, the school selected must have the Special Education services required by the current Individual Education Plan (IEP).
  • Online applicants will be provided a confirmation email that the application has been received. This is not a confirmation of approval.
  • Parents/Guardians will be notified of final transfer approval prior to Spring Break each year .
  • Selected students may complete the highest grade of that particular school before having to re-apply if the student maintains acceptable attendance, behavior, and academic performance. Parents/Guardians are also expected to maintain a cordial and cooperative working relationship with school personnel.
  • If a transfer is approved there is no guaranteed that the student will be able to continue in the same feeder pattern in the future. 
  • Parents/Guardians are responsible for timely transportation to and from the transfer school.
  • If the student transfers at the high school level, he/she must meet Georgia High School Association requirements to participate in competitive interscholastic activities.
  • Once a school choice transfer is approved, the parent/guardian must officially accept the transfer by the established date in order for the transfer to be valid.  Failure to accept the transfer by this deadline will result in the school choice transfer being nullified.
    • The deadline to accept an approved school choice transfer for the 2024-2025 school year is March 29, 2024.


Sibling Transfers

Parents/guardians of a student who has a sibling already enrolled in a District school through an approved transfer may apply for the younger sibling to attend the same school in accordance with District Administrative Rule JBCD-R. This provision attempts to address siblings enrolled in different schools at the same time due to an approved transfer.

This provision does not apply to or impact student placement via an IEP team decision, which is determined in accordance with federal law.

  • A sibling is defined as a brother, sister, step-brother, or step-sister living in the same household and who otherwise meets the requirements for enrollment.
  • The younger sibling must be a student in the same school at some time during the tenure of the older sibling.
  • The application window for the 2024-2025 school year is scheduled for January 4 - 17, 2024.


HB 251 Transfers

Parent/guardians of a student zoned to attend a District school may apply for an HB 251 transfer in accordance with Georgia’s Quality Basic Education Act and District Administrative Rule JBCD-R in order to pursue a transfer to another District school.

  • The application window for the 2024-2025 school year is scheduled for January 22 through February 16, 2024 .
  • Available space at a school is based upon permanent classroom space.
  • Available spaces are not assigned on a first-come-first-served basis.
  • If there are more applications received than spaces available at a particular school, a lottery will be held.
  • Charter schools and new schools are exempt from HB 251.
  • Current fifth and eighth grade transfer students must re-apply when moving from elementary to middle or middle to high.
  • Current fifth and eighth grade students applying to continue in the school feeder pattern will be given first priority in the lottery process.
  • The final lottery process will be to fill any remaining available seats.
  • Students not chosen in the random lottery for their first choice school will be placed on a waiting list based on the outcome of the lottery.
  • Individual schools will use a waiting list generated during the lottery process to fill any available seats that are vacated.
  • Students chosen from the waiting list will be notified prior to the start of the new school year.


For questions regarding school choice transfers, please email Student.Transfers@cobbk12.org.


How to Apply

School choice transfer applications may be submitted online.  For current Cobb County students, the online application can be found in ParentVUE.  For students new to Cobb, the online application is part of the Online Registration system.  Directions for applying through both systems can be found HERE.