Este artículo está disponible en español.
It can be a full-time job to learn how to navigate the education system. (We should know, we hired a reporter to make sense of it all.) But we’re here to make it easier for you. As you consume this guide, you’ll come across a few terms you’ll need to know. We’ve rounded up their meanings here for you.
Achievement Gap: This refers to the disparity or gap in academic performance between groups of students. It can show up in grades, test scores, dropout rates and more.
Board of Education: Each school district has a board of education. These board members are elected by the community and meet regularly to make decisions for school districts. They approve budgets, contracts and more. Their meetings are open to the public and are great opportunities for parents to raise concerns or provide feedback.
Charter Schools: These are public schools. They are funded by taxpayers, like traditional schools, and are free to attend. Any student can enroll in a charter school depending on how much space the school has for new students.
Unlike traditional schools operated by the school district, these schools have independent boards of directors. That allows them freedom to try new curricula and approaches to education that traditional schools don’t. The quality and programs available at charter schools vary widely.
Though they are managed differently, districts still oversee charter schools. A district must authorize a charter school’s charter, hence the name. Every five years, the district reviews the charter and the school’s performance and then decides whether to re-authorize it. If a district refuses to grant a charter, organizers can appeal to the County Office of Education or the state of California.
To enroll in a charter school, you must apply to each charter school you’d like your child to attend. Each school has its own application deadline. Charter schools are required to pick students through a lottery system.
Choice Window: This refers to a time period when school districts accept applications for students who want to enroll in a school that isn’t their neighborhood school. School districts have choice windows for families who want something different. This doesn’t guarantee that your child will be accepted, though, and each district has different choice window periods (some don’t offer it at all). Visit our map for dates. If you want your child to attend a charter school, or a private school, you must apply directly to that school. This doesn’t apply to a district’s choice window.
Chronic Absenteeism: When a child is absent for at least 10 percent of instructional school days. See if your school has a high chronic absenteeism rate in our school database.
Individualized Education Program (IEP): This is a legal educational plan that outlines your child’s needs and the services the school district needs to provide to help your child. It’s usually reviewed on an annual basis.
Interdistrict Transfers: Interdistrict transfers are for families who want to move their children to a school that falls outside of their district. If you want your child to attend a public school outside of your district, you must complete an Interdistrict Transfer form. You can get this form from the district where you live.
Districts only accept students from outside district boundaries in a few circumstances.
Lottery Priorities: This is how choice windows work in action. The idea is that you rank several schools you’d like your child to attend. If the school has open seats, then your child is entered into a lottery along with others who applied. Those who get chosen are accepted.
Some students get priority in the lottery based on a district’s choice lottery priorities. For example, this may apply if a sibling already attends a school, or a parent teaches at a school.
Magnet Schools: These types of schools are managed by the districts. They offer students specialized curricula. Think dual-language programs or a science and technology academy. They are called magnets because they pull students from outside the neighborhood. You can apply to magnet schools anytime, but your chances of getting in increase if you apply during the district’s choice window.
Neighborhood School: That’s the public school near your home. This is generally the default school for your child. School districts have online search tools to help you find yours or you can call your local school district and ask which one is yours.
Parent Teacher Association (PTA): The PTA is made up of parents, teachers and school staff who meet to advocate for students.
Universal Transitional Kindergarten: Traditionally, students begin kindergarten after they turn 5 years old. For many years, 4-year-olds who were born between September and December could attend transitional kindergarten. This grade is often a mix of both age-appropriate academic material to get kids ready for kindergarten and activities that look more like preschool, though exactly what it looks like can differ from district to district. After that, they would do a normal year of kindergarten before beginning first grade.
In 2022, the state of California decided to change that and allow all 4-year-old kids to participate in transitional kindergarten. This is called Universal Transitional Kindergarten, or UTK. All districts must be able to serve all eligible 4-year-olds by the 2025-2026 school year. But many districts, like San Diego Unified School District, already can accommodate most of them. If space is not available, contact your district to find the nearest school where there is a spot.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill in 2022 that would have made kindergarten mandatory. Students are not required to attend school until the first grade. UTK and traditional kindergarten are optional so districts must decide how many spots to make available based on population projections.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the process for student interdistrict transfers. Interdistrict Transfer forms are provided by a family’s local school district and then reviewed by that district and the district to which families would like to transfer. A previous version of the story incorrectly stated that those forms are provided by the San Diego County Office of Education, though the San Diego County Board of Education does hear appeals when families disagree with a school district’s transfer decision.