Bus transportation eligibility depends on:

• Your home address - must be in the school's transportation zone
• Designated transportation eligibility area(s) for each school
• Magnet program acceptance (additional zones for magnet students)
• Grade level - Pre-K students do not receive bus transportation

Accepted alternate addresses (grandparent homes, licensed childcare facilities) must also fall within the eligible transportation zone for the assigned campus.

Before applying, verify transportation at: explore.garlandisd.net.
Enter your address to see:

• Your zoned schools
• Transportation eligibility areas
• Distance from schools

Transportation maps also available at:

• Individual campus offices
• Harris Hill Administration Building
• Manuel & Maria Valle Student Services Center

• For elementary programs that are at multiple schools (Academy, Montessori, MST), the district is divided into zones. You can check your address at www.explore.garlandisd.net  to see your elementary-zoned schools. You may receive transportation to your zoned magnet campus based on your current home address if residing within the designated transportation zone for the campus of attendance.
• For middle and high school programs (except ECHS), you may receive transportation to your zoned magnet campus based on your current home address if residing within the designated transportation zone for the campus of attendance.
• For students in the high school ECHS program, transportation may only be given to students who live within the ECHS transportation area of their home campus.

The lottery determines placement for each applicant by considering the following factors:

• the schools/magnet programs selected
• the way the applicant ranked their school preferences in the application
• the number of seats available at each school/magnet program for that grade
• the applicant’s test scores for any magnet programs selected
• the applicant’s priority level for that school/program

Applicants are considered in order of priority group and random lottery number. The system assigns one offer (Single Best Offer) to the highest-ranked school where the student qualifies and a seat is available.

If the applicant is not matched to their first choice, the system keeps them on the waitlist of the family’s higher-ranked schools.

For Non-Magnet Schools:

• Siblings of current students
• Proximity – how close the student lives to the chosen school

For Magnet Programs:

• Siblings of students currently enrolled in, or offered a seat at, the same magnet program (must meet magnet qualification criteria).
• Children of employees who work at the same campus as the desired magnet program (must meet magnet qualification criteria).

Note: The Academy for Excellence magnet program does not offer sibling or employee priority.

Each applicant can select up to six (6) schools or programs and must rank them in order of preference.

• The lottery gives one offer only, based on your child’s highest-ranked eligible choice with open seats.
• If your child receives an offer for a lower-ranked school, they remain on the waitlist for any higher-ranked schools.
• Applicants are not placed on waitlists for schools ranked below their offered school.

• Waitlists are new every year. They do not carry over from one school year to the next.
• Waitlists are created automatically when the lottery is conducted.
• After all applications are sorted by the lottery’s priority rules and random numbers, applicants at the top receive offers for available seats.

When you're placed on waitlists:

• If you receive an offer to your highest-ranked school, you will NOT be placed on a waitlist for your other school choices.
• If you do NOT receive an offer to your highest-ranked school, you WILL be placed on the waitlist for your higher-ranked schools.

If your child receives an offer for their highest-ranked school, they will not be placed on any waitlists.

If your child receives an offer for a lower-ranked school, they will stay on the waitlist for the schools ranked higher.

Example:
Jose applies to three schools and gets an offer for his #2 choice.

• He stays on the waitlist for his #1 choice.
• He is not waitlisted for his #3 choice.

• Waitlist offers usually begin 2–3 weeks after the lottery has been processed.
• Offers may continue through spring, summer, and the first weeks of the new school year, as long as seats remain open.
• You’ll receive a notification when a seat becomes available, including your child’s name, the school or program, and the deadline to respond.
• You can check your child’s waitlist status in your Avela Apply account.