There are times when charter schools receive more applicants than they can accommodate. To make the enrollment process as fair as possible, charter schools must provide a school lottery as an additional path to enrollment. The good news is that there are several ways to get into your ideal BASIS school even after the lottery ends.
If you’re currently waiting for an offer, you may be wondering what the next steps are. What do I do if my child is selected? What do I do if they’re not chosen?
We’ve outlined all the steps you can take post-lottery to help ensure your child can attend the leading public-school network in the nation.
Why A Lottery?
We’re honored that organizations like U.S. News & World Report consistently rate BASIS as the #1 public school network in the country. Many of our individual schools across the nation also rank highly. For instance, BASIS Tuscon North was recently named the #1 High School in the U.S. for 2025. BASIS San Antonio Shavano was also recently named the #1 Texas Metro Area High School in 2025, making it a popular choice as well. For this reason, our seats tend to fill up fast.
Our enrollment lotteries are the best way to ensure prospective students get an equal chance to experience our robust curriculum.
As long as an application is received during our Open Enrollment period, that student will be included in our lottery. That’s why the Open Enrollment Period is your best time to apply to BASIS. By missing this deadline, you will forfeit your chance to be included in our initial enrollment lottery.
What If My Child Is Selected?
If your child has been selected during the lottery, you will receive an email or text to accept our offer of enrollment. You will be given a 2-week window to accept, so look out for any communications from us regarding lottery results.
What Happens If My Child Isn’t Selected?
If your child is not chosen during our lottery, that doesn’t mean you should give up hope! We’ve provided several ways your child can still receive an award-winning education from our schools.
Many Schools Send Offers Throughout the Year
Based on availability, our enrollment lotteries may provide multiple rounds of offers. We will let you know exactly how many rounds of offers will go out throughout the enrollment period (another good reason to keep an eye out for any emails regarding our lottery!).
Waitlists Offer A Chance At Seats After the Lottery
Any child who is not chosen in our lottery will be placed on a grade-specific waitlist, providing another path to enrollment. If an additional spot opens at your school, you may be contacted based on your child’s placement on our waitlist. After the lottery process, the waitlist is fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Apply To Multiple BASIS Charter Schools
Finally, we encourage all families to apply to other nearby BASIS schools to provide a separate path to get into their school of choice.
Many BASIS Charter Schools with seats available still accept applications throughout the year. Even if you’re currently on a waitlist, there are likely nearby schools with seats available. We encourage parents to apply to ALL nearby BASIS schools to increase their flexibility of choice. Getting accepted to a BASIS school also means your child can start benefiting from our rigorous curriculum and support-based approach.
Once your child is enrolled at BASIS, they always have the option to transfer. Any student who has completed one year at a BASIS school may transfer to any BASIS school in our network at a higher priority than a new student. So, even if your child doesn’t attend their ideal school this year, they still have a chance to enter the following year without having to reapply.
Act now and find a BASIS school near you. Visit our interactive map and find a school in three easy steps!
(Note: The enrollment information in this article applies to our schools in Arizona, Louisiana, and Texas. BASIS Washington, D.C. has unique enrollment policies, as it participates in the My School DC common citywide lottery. For more information, visit MySchoolDC.org)
