Open Enrollment

Open enrollment gives students the opportunity to apply for enrollment in any school district outside the district in which they reside.

You have three choices for returning the Open Enrollment application to Orono Schools:

• email the Open Enrollment form to enrollment@orono.k12.mn.us.
• fax to 952-449-8399 or
• mail to the Orono Schools District Office, 685 Old Crystal Bay Rd. N., Long Lake, MN 55356

Please download and complete an open enrollment application for each child and then email to the district (enrollment@orono.k12.mn.us).

Applications are due before January 15 for the next fall’s enrollment. The chosen school district will notify families about the acceptance or denial of applications before February 15. Families who are accepted into the chosen school district must confirm their transfer decision by March 1.

Students must attend the chosen school district for one year. If the family wants their child to attend the school district for another year and they remain residents of the school district from which they applied, no further application is necessary. A student who wishes to return to their resident school district should inform school district administrators before January 15 for enrollment the following fall. If a student wants to return before the end of the year, the resident and chosen school districts must approve the transfer.

Application deadlines may change if the resident and chosen school districts agree to a new application date. They may also change if a child has moved to another school district. In that case, the family has until the following December 1 to apply for open enrollment.

School districts may deny incoming applications if the school district does not have adequate space in a grade level, school, program, or the district. For school districts with desegregation plans (Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Duluth), the school district may deny the application if the transfer will put the school district out of compliance with desegregation rules.

State education funds that would have gone to the resident school district follow the student to the chosen school district.

State and federal education funds also follow students with disabilities to their chosen school districts. Any costs, over and above the state and federal funds, needed to educate students with special needs are billed back to resident school districts.

State law stipulates that parents are responsible for transporting their children to and from school, or to a bus stop within the school district. Orono Schools offers out-of-district collector stops located around the district boundaries that families may also use. At this time, the district is not creating additional out-of-district collector stops. 

Map of collector stops

Families of incoming students in grades K-12 are welcome to submit a state Open Enrollment application (one needed per child) to the Orono Schools District Office by January 15 each year. Because the Orono School District continues to be a “demand” school district for open enrollment applicants, the District may limit open enrollment transfers due to space limitations. The District decides when schools and grade levels no longer have space for additional students. The Board of Education and administrative staff have established policies for making open enrollment decisions. These policies include the following:

• Each year, the Board of Education determines the enrollment levels at each grade level. When enrollment in specific grades and/or programs is at or near the recommended enrollment levels, the District will close open enrollment applicants in those grade levels and/or programs.
• The Minnesota Department of Education has established priorities for acceptance of open enrollment students. When there is space available, first priority is given to siblings of enrolled students and children of district employees. Additional spaces are filled by a lottery, if needed.
• Should spaces become available due to changes in enrollment, the Board of Education may reopen a grade level to transfers and will follow the same guidelines and application dates as specified by law.
• Students moving out of the Orono School District boundaries and wishing to remain in the Orono Schools are required to follow the same procedures as all open enrollment applicants. There is no guarantee a spot will remain. However, students currently enrolled in grades 11 or 12 may remain in the Orono Schools regardless of residency.

Please direct your questions to the Business Services office at 952-449-8309 or email enrollment@orono.k12.mn.us.