In December 2014, the Austin ISD board of trustees adopted a policy allowing for out-of-district transfers, resulting in 1,434 students joining AISD from outside of the school district's boundaries. In honor of National School Choice Week, on Jan. 24 transfer students will join Superintendent Paul Cruz at the We Choose AISD event to explain which programs drew them to the district.

High school student representatives will speak about the variety of curriculum options offered to students in AISD, ranging from band and theater to entrepreneurship and robotics.

Cruz explained at a Dec. 20 board of trustees meeting that out-of-district transfers help improve enrollment at campuses and offset the impact of recapture, a state law that requires districts considered property-rich, such as AISD, to send money each year to the state for distribution to property-poor school districts.

Applications for out-of-district transfers for the 2017-18 school year will be accepted starting Feb. 1. Based on enrollment projections, some campuses are frozen to transfers for the upcoming school year.