School Choice starts for Polk County Public Schools

Polk County Public Schools will soon begin accepting school choice applications for the upcoming 2025-26 school year.

This is an opportunity for families to apply for their students to attend a variety of PCPS programs, including:

• Magnet/choice schools
• Career academies (middle and high school)
• International Baccalaureate and Cambridge (high school)

Families must submit their applications online via Parent Portal during the application window from Jan. 13 to Feb. 21. All applications are chosen based on a lottery system (with the exception of high school IB/Cambridge, which have academic requirements).

PCPS is hosting a series of School Choice Showcases to give families a chance to explore their school options. Each showcase will highlight the options available at PCPS schools in the surrounding community. The showcases will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the following locations:

• Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025 – Lake Eva Event Center – Hosted by the City of Haines City
• Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 – Lakeland Square Mall – Hosted by Lakeland Square Mall
• Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025 – AdventHealth Fieldhouse – Hosted by the City of Winter Haven
• Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025 – Bartow Civic Center – Hosted by the City of Bartow

For more information about PCPS magnet/choice schools, please call 863-534-0631 ext. 788. For questions about career academies, please call 863-519-8438 ext. 819. High school IB and Cambridge questions should be directed to 863-534-0631 ext. 794.

Please see PCPS School Options page for more info.

Additional details:

• Transportation is provided for magnet school students, but not for career academy students attending a school outside of their zone.
• The application window is only for magnet schools, career academies and high school programs such as IB and Cambridge. In April we will begin taking applications for Controlled Open Enrollment (COE), which allows you to apply to any school (excluding magnet schools) that still has seats open for next year. We’ll have more info once COE begins.
• Registration for Head Start and VPK is not part of the current window. You’ll be able to apply online for Head Start/VPK in the spring. More details will be provided as we get closer.
• If you’re new to the area or have a child who will be starting school next year, you don’t need to do anything special to attend your zoned school. Just follow the instructions here to enroll your student.
• School choice and COE applications are selected via lottery system. If your child is already enrolled in a magnet school/career academy you don’t need to reapply every year — they can remain at that school until it’s time to move on to middle or high school.
• If you’re new to PCPS, you can create a Parent Portal account and add a student who is not yet enrolled in our schools. However, this option will NOT be available until after the school choice application period begins.