Parents have been asking how the kindergarten placement process works; we asked the DOE for details -- and why they advised families to "wait until September" for possible placements at local schools.

Zoned schools fill their seats drawing from the applications they receive before the March 6 deadline, says Andy Jacob of the Department of Education. (This is a change from years past, when schools accepted students on a first-come, first-served basis, or based on pre-K enrollment.) If more children apply than the school has seats, a lottery should be held; some students will receive placement offers, and others will be wait-listed. There is no 'rank' or priority of any kind on wait lists, Jacob says. As seats open over the spring and summer, as families move, opt for other schools or opt out of public schools -- families are notified. "We simply don't have a really solid grasp on seats that are available until September," Jacob said, which is why he advises watchful waiting. (The DOE also doesn't know the total number of kindergarten applications citywide. It's up to individual schools to count the applications they receive.)

All zoned schools reserve some seats for the inevitable September arrivals. The number of seats they save depends on past years' enrollment and prior experience with latecomers. But not every family who moves into a zone can get a seat at their zoned school of choice. Jacob says, "we guarantee a kindergarten seat, but we don't guarantee a seat at your top school."

Some families have received offers from two schools while others have received no offers. Because each school administers its own admissions process, it's possible for a single child to receive more than one offer. Families can ask to be placed on their zoned school's wait list even if they've been offered a seat at another school. According to Jacob, they do not forfeit the wait-list spot if they accept placement at another school.

In a zoned school that has more applications than available seats, capping the number of kindergarten classes the school will have is a last resort, says Jacob, and isn't undertaken casually. The DOE will first ask a zoned school if another class can be opened, or if classes are already filled to the UFT contractual maximum. "There are lots of steps before capping," says Jacob, and a school can't elect to cap its classes independently. "The school has to accept zoned students unless a capping plan is worked out by the DOE," says Jacob. Timing-wise, decisions are made right up to the start of the new school year, which is why the waiting game takes so long. Families whose children applied to but aren't placed at their zoned school are "offered different options nearby," says Jacob. Accepting a seat doesn't mean giving up access; "they have the right to return," he says, if and when seats open up at their zoned school.

"This is nothing new," Jacob said. "It's something we're used to dealing with every year." What's "routine" to the DOE is vitally new to plenty of local families who report frustration and disappointment with the kindergarten admissions process. We'll continue to ask questions, and we look forward to bringing you answers.

_ Update: _ Andy Jacob asked that we clarify two points above: First, regarding wait lists at zoned schools, enrollment priority goes in the order established by DOE on the initial application -- siblings of current students who live in the zone (who are rarely, if ever, wait-listed), students who live in the zone , siblings who live outside of the zone, and, finally, out-of-zone kids. Within those subgroups, applications are not ranked in any particular order. That means that all zoned kids on the wait list are in the same pool, and that, as seats open, applications are randomly selected from that pool (once siblings have been accommodated). So you can't be first, or last, on the wait list, but rather you are part of a group of wait-listed students.

Second, Jacob would like to emphasize that DOE will place all students in kindergarten classes -- although there's no guarantee of a placement at every family's zoned school. He says that in some cases, families may be offered more than one alternative to their zoned school, in an effort to find a good fit between the child, the family, and the school.