DELAWARE - The Delaware School Choice Enrollment application for the 2026/2027 school year is now open.
The applications opened on Monday, Nov. 3rd, 2025, and close on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026.
The school choice program in Delaware allows for Delawarean families to apply to enroll their children in any Delaware public traditional school district, charter school or vocational-technical school, regardless of their address, according to the Delaware Department of Education.
To participate in DE school choice, the DDOE says the child must be first enrolled in their school of residence, which is the school assigned based on home address.
Then, after research into which school is the best fit for the child/family, the family can fill out the application form, either online or on paper to the receiving local education agency or the DDOE.
According to schoolchoiceDE.org, the following schools are open to apply for DE school choice in Kent or Sussex Counties:
- The Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence in Georgetown
- Georgetown Middle
- John M. Clayton Elementary in Frankford
- Phillip C. Showell Elementary in Selbyville
- Southern DE School of the Arts in Selbyville
- Sussex Central Middle School in Georgetown
- Benjamin Banneker Elementary in Milford
- Mispillion Elementary in Milford
- POLYTECH High School in Woodside
- Positive Outcomes Charter School in Camden
- Seaford High
- Seaford Middle
- Clayton Elementary
- Clayton Intermediate
- John B Moore Intermediate in Smyrna
- North Smyrna Elementary
- Smyrna Elementary
- Smyrna High School
- Smyrna Middle School
- Sunnyside Elementary in Smyrna
- Sussex Technical in Georgetown
- Woodbridge Early Childhood Education Center in Greenwood
- Woodbridge High School in Greenwood
- Woodbridge Middle School in Bridgeville
To see the full list of schools available to apply for DE school choice, visit schoolchoicede.org. Some schools are near or at capacity, making waitlisting likely, but families can still choose to apply for those schools as well.
The standard DE school choice application allows for families to list three school choices in priority order. If applicable, families must also list any siblings who are attending or plan to attend any of the requested school options. The application comes in English or Spanish.
DDOE says families can submit applications to multiple schools, but if multiple schools give confirmation for the child to attend, families must choose one by March 20, 2026.
Families who apply for DE school choice by the deadline will be notified of invitation status by Feb. 27, 2026, according to DDOE.
If the Jan. 14, 2026, deadline passes and the school choice application is sent in late, the application will only be considered if there is good cause. Good cause, defined by Delaware state code, means a change in the child's residence, a change in a child's parent's marital status, a change caused by a guardianship proceeding, the placement of a child in foster car, adoption, a child's participation in a foreign exchange program, a reported, recorded, and substantiated instance of bullying against a child, or a child's participation in a substance abuse or mental health inpatient or day treatment program.