What is Open Enrollment and how is it different than regular enrollment?
Regular enrollment is attending the local school you are assigned to based on your home address. This is also referred to as attending your default school or home school. Schools must ensure there is enough classroom space for these students (A.R.S. § 15-816.01).
Open Enrollment allows parents to apply for admission to any public school in the state as long as there is classroom space available.
What types of Open Enrollment are there?
Open enrollment allows students who live:
-Within the Patagonia school district to go to a different school outside their home attendance boundaries.
Parents choose to open enroll their child in another school or school district for many reasons such as unique program offerings, teaching philosophy, extracurricular activities, or a closer proximity to work. Regardless of the reason, open enrollment is an option for parents if there is space.
Available Space
Below is the amount of space available at each school within the Patagonia School Districts (A.R.S. § 15-816.01). This was last updated 04/09/2024 and is updated at least every 12 weeks (A.R.S. § 15-816.01).
| School or Program | Available Space | Limited Space | No Space |
| Patagonia Union High School | Yes | ||
| Patagonia Elementary School | Yes |
To view the available space at schools outside of the Patagonia school district, please contact the school district that interests you.
What if there isn’t enough space?
If you are denied enrollment because there is not enough space, you will be placed on waiting list. As space becomes available, the school district will select students for enrollment using an equitable selection process such as a lottery (A.R.S. § 15-816.01).
Open Enrollment Criteria
Each school district develops its own open enrollment policies that comply with state and federal law. That includes criteria to evaluate open enrollment eligibility and priority.
Instructions for how parents apply for open enrollment
Contact Joy Quiroga at (520) 394-3000
Schools with available space accept students throughout the school year (A.R.S. § 15-816.01)
Other Open Enrollment Policies
There is no cost to enroll.
The school may provide transportation to open-enrollment students. The school does provide transportation up to 30 miles each way to students with disabilities whose IEP specifies that transportation is necessary to fulfill the program.
The school also gives enrollment preference to students of employees and siblings of other enrolled students.