• Public school transfers are an education option that allows parents to move their child to a public school they’re not zoned for (as long as the school has space). 
• Georgia currently allows public school transfers within a student’s district but not outside of it. 
• Parents must apply for a public school transfer. Scroll down to find out how to check with your local school district for availability and application deadlines.

Public school transfers, also referred to as open enrollment for public schools, allow parents to move their student to a different public school than the one they’re zoned for. 

This is a great option for states to provide because it increases flexibility within the public school system—something parents increasingly want. The majority of Georgia students (84%) attend public school, so transfers empower more parents to choose the public school environment that’s right for their child.

• Allowed: Transfers within assigned school districts. Georgia offers restricted public school transfers. Families can send their child to any school within their assigned local district as long as that school has space and has been operating for at least four years. This option is known as an “intra-district transfer.” 

• Not yet allowed: Transfers outside of assigned school districts. Another type of public school transfer, called an “inter-district transfer,” permits students to switch to a public school outside of the district they’re zoned for. This option isn’t allowed in Georgia yet. Georgia lawmakers would need to pass a bill to make it available to families.

Parents must contact their local school system to see which schools will accept transfers and for which grades. The Georgia Department of Education provides a database of public school contact information. 

Each school system is required to notify parents by July 1 about which schools have space, and many systems post this information on their websites before that date. Most districts only allow transfers at the beginning of the school year, but all can choose to accept students throughout the year. 

Parents must then apply for a transfer through their district’s website, at the district office, or at the local school. If more students apply than space is available, some school systems will make decisions on a first-come, first-served basis. Others will hold a random lottery.

Eligibility requirements

• A student must be enrolled in a public school in Georgia. 

School options

• Transfers open up access to other public schools within a student’s school district. 
• Transfers don’t apply to public schools outside a student’s assigned district. They also don’t apply to non-public schools. 
• A student who transfers to another public school may continue to attend that school until they’ve completed all grades at the school.

Cost to families

• School systems can’t charge tuition for students transferring within their district. 
• Transportation is the parents’ or guardians’ responsibility. 

Five application guidelines to follow:

1. Contact your local school system to see which schools accept transfers and in which grades.

2. Check your school system’s website by July 1. Each system is required to notify parents annually about which schools have space available. State law requires school systems to post this information by July 1, but it’s often available earlier, so consider checking the website as early as April or May.

3. Access the transfer application on your district’s website, at the district office, or at your local school and complete the application (note: some school systems require parents to do this in person at the district office).

4. Application periods can be as short as one to two weeks. For many districts, this application window opens in June or July. In other areas, it can open as early as January. Get in touch with your district or check its website early and often so you don’t miss any deadlines.

5. The school system will notify parents about whether their transfer request was accepted or denied. If more students apply than space is available, school systems will make decisions on a first-come, first-served basis or through a random lottery. 

Georgia lawmakers could expand opportunities in the public school system by removing all restrictions on open enrollment and allowing both inter-district and intra-district transfers. 

Parents with children in schools across the country are widely in favor of reforms like this. Polling from June 2025 by EdChoice-Morning Consult showed that 78% of parents nationwide—regardless of their political affiliation—support open enrollment.

To set up a successful transfer program, Georgia could look to many other states’ examples. In 2025, the Reason Foundation reported that policymakers in 24 states introduced at least 54 bills that focused on open enrollment, providing more evidence of the strong interest in these policies.