Admissions & Lottery Process
Admissions, Lottery (Public Random Drawing) and Withdrawal Process
The O’Farrell Charter School (OCS) is open to all students who meet the minimum age requirements and reside within the boundaries of the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) and other local districts.
The open enrollment period for the 2025-2026 academic year will begin December 1, 2024, and end December 31, 2024. Parents/guardians interested in having their children attend OCS in 2025-2026 must submit a separate online Lottery Application for each child. No paper application is available.
The online application for the next school year 2025-2026 can be accessed here:
NEXT School Year 2025-2026 Application
The online application for the current school year 2024-2025 can be accessed here:
CURRENT School Year 2024-2025 Application
If the number of new students who wish to attend OCS exceeds available spots, admission will be determined by a lottery (random computer draw) with preference given to children of OCS staff, siblings of currently enrolled OCS students, currently enrolled Ingenuity students, and children who reside within the boundaries of SDUSD. The lottery will occur within 30 calendar days of the last day of the open enrollment period. The lottery will take place at OCS at 6130 Skyline Drive, San Diego, California 92114.
A community member who is not employed by OCS and does not have children enrolled at OCS will be selected to conduct the lottery. A unique identification number may be assigned to each child's name so that the waiting list can be displayed. During the lottery, the Charter School will announce the number of openings available at each grade level. The lottery shall continue until all of the identification numbers are drawn. The identification numbers drawn after open spaces are filled will be placed on a waiting list in the order drawn.
As space becomes available, the parent listed on the Lottery Application will be contacted in the order of the waiting list. The parent will be given 24 hours to indicate an intention to enroll. If the parent fails to respond or is no longer interested, the parent of the next child on the waiting list will be contacted. The waiting list is terminated annually.
Parents are encouraged to volunteer at OCS. However, OCS does not require parental volunteer hours as a criterion for admission or continued enrollment.
Final offers of admission will be granted upon completion of an in-person registration meeting and submission of all necessary documents, including the child's immunization records.
California Education Code (EC) Section 47605(e)(4) allows a parent or guardian to submit a complaint to the charter school authorizer when a charter school discourages a pupil's enrollment, requires records before enrollment, or encourages a pupil to disenroll. Please identify the basis for this complaint on the form below, with specific facts, which support your complaint.