On Jan. 23, district trustees approved changes to a policy that affects the GCISD student transfer process for residents and nonresidents.

In previous years, families interested in applying for a transfer were admitted based on the order in which the application was received and if they met specific criteria for the transfer.

Beginning with the 2017-18 school year, families that reside in GCISD boundaries or live in the cities of Grapevine or Colleyville, but are zoned for another school district, may apply for the new transfer lottery.

“By moving to a lottery system, we are making the process more equitable for families that wish to have their student transfer to another campus,” Deputy Superintendent Rick Westfall said. “Our goal with this adjustment to the transfer process is to create a system that simplifies the process for our families and removes the ambiguity from the transfer process.”

From March 20-April 21, families may submit their transfer application for the lottery. Although the district will accept all transfer applications, students will only be granted transfers to campuses and grade levels that can accept more students without going over capacity. The lottery will be livestreamed the week of April 24.