Today, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) reminds families to apply for the My School DC lottery as the deadlines are quickly approaching for the 2024-25 school year. The last day for students entering grades 9-12 to apply for the lottery is tomorrow, February 1 at 11:59 p.m. Families with children entering pre-K through Grade 8 have until March 1 at 11:59 p.m. to apply. Families can go to myschooldc.org and apply to as many as 12 schools.

Now in its 11th year, My School DC is the common application and public school lottery for all DC Public Schools and most public charter schools that serve pre-K 3 – Grade 12. Families are required to submit a My School DC lottery application if their child will be a new student in pre-K, or wishes to attend a dual-language strand, citywide DCPS, out-of-boundary DCPS, selective DCPS, or public charter school.

“Beginning with EdFEST in early December, staff with the My School DC lottery work with families across the District to help them understand their options among an amazing array of schools and how the lottery process works,” said State Superintendent Dr. Christina Grant. “Last year, nearly 23,000 applicants participated in the My School DC lottery and 74 percent were offered a seat at a school they applied to. We’re excited to offer our families this opportunity and look forward to announcing results on March 29.”

For the 2024-25 school year, families who missed the Feb. 1 lottery application deadline for grades 9-12, can submit a post-lottery application for those grades only beginning Feb. 2. The post-lottery application expands to all grades (pre-K 3-Grade 12) on March 2 for families who missed either of the application deadlines. Post-lottery applicants are added to schools’ waitlists below lottery applicants. Learn more about waitlists HERE.

The My School DC hotline is available Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., to support families as they navigate the lottery process. The hotline can be reached at (202) 888-6336 or at [email protected]. The team is equipped with bilingual staff and has access to interpreters through a telephonic interpretation service to support non-English speakers.