Frisco ISD, which is one of the fastest growing school districts in the country, is currently responsible for the education of over 63,000 students, per the district website. The district generally caps attendance at 760 for elementary schools, 1,000 for middle schools, and 2,100 for high schools.
School attendance zone changes are routine for Frisco ISD, although three years have passed since the last time the district implemented zoning changes. Frisco ISD Assistant Director of Communications Meghan Cone said in an email “zone changes were an annual occurrence due to fast growth” prior to 2017, when the district was opening a new school nearly every year for 20 years.
The proposed rezoning plans primarily affect Frisco students who reside east of Custer Road, staff said to the board in a presentation. If approved, students in ninth and 10th grades who live east of Custer will attend Emerson High School when the new high school opens next fall, staff said.
The adjustments to attendance zones will affect some students at the following schools: Centennial High School and Heritage High School, which risk surpassing the University Interscholastic League cutoff for 5A schools; Liscano Elementary and Nichols Elementary, which exceeded FISD capacity last school year, and some students at Hosp Elementary and Norris Elementary.
Each fall, the school board reviews attendance zones to determine whether changes are necessary for the upcoming school year, per the district website.
High school number 12, which has yet to be named, will spur the same conversation about rezoning one year from now, in preparation of the school’s opening in fall 2022, Cone said in an email.
Families who reside in the shifting attendance boundaries are set to receive a notification email from the district on Nov. 10. Frisco ISD residents will be provided with an opportunity to comment on the upcoming attendance boundary changes during a special school board meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 1.
The board’s final meeting regarding school attendance zones is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 14.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify plans for changing the attendance zones are still tentative and that a presentation regarding this changes was provided to trustees at the Nov. 9 meeting.
