- Los Angeles Unified School District
- Magnet Priority Points
LAUSD Magnets
How are students selected?
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The on-time student selection process for magnet programs is based on the Magnet Priority Point System and the Court-Ordered reduction of the Harms of Racial Isolation. Once the application is submitted, the information is verified by the District’s Information Technology Division (ITD) and students are assigned points based on 5 criteria (see Magnet Priority Point System below). The sum of these points is utilized in the fair and computerized selection process. See Magnet Application Guidelines for late application process.
It is the Parents’/Guardians’ responsibility to verify the student’s address, grade and ethnicity with the current Los Angeles Unified school of attendance prior to the application deadline.
Magnet priority points are only applicable to the magnet program. There are no points given for submitting an invalid (residing outside the district, applying to an incorrect grade level, etc.) or late application. Students who apply for the same grade twice will not earn waiting list points for the previous year.Selection Process
- You may apply to three different magnet programs. However, you may apply to a single program, the second and third choices are optional.
- The Magnet Priority Points are used for the applicant’s first and optional second or third choice.
- If not selected to their first choice, the applicant will be considered for their second and/or third choice.
- If selected to any one of their choices, the applicant will not be on the waiting list for the other choice(s).
- If not selected into a magnet program, the applicant will be placed on the waiting list for their first choice only.
- Applicants currently attending a magnet program and selected into another magnet program will automatically be dropped from their current magnet program.
Next Steps:
- After you have accepted your selection, please contact the school for enrollment procedures.
- Students not enrolled and attending by the end of the first week of school will be declined from the magnet program.
Magnet Priority Point System
- 12 Points - MATRICULATION
- Applicants who have completed the highest grade level in a magnet program and apply to continue in another magnet program at the next level, receive 12 matriculation points. These points do not carry over and are assigned for one year only, at the time of matriculation.
- 4-12 Points - WAITING LIST
- Applicants who remained on a valid on-time magnet waiting list receive 4 points for the following year. Applicants may accumulate waiting list points for the prior three consecutive years for a maximum of 12 points. If an applicant on a waiting list declines magnet placement, ALL waiting list points are removed. New waiting lists points are established each year. Applicants will NOT be assigned both Matriculation and Waiting List Points at the same time.
- 4 Points - PREDOMINANTLY HISPANIC, BLACK, ASIAN AND OTHER NON-ANGLO (PHBAO) SCHOOLS
- Applicants, whose 2024-2025 resident Los Angeles Unified school is designated as PHBAO by the District, receive 4 points. Points are not cumulative; they are assigned yearly.
- 4 Points - OVERCROWDED
- Applicants, whose 2023-2024 resident Los Angeles Unified school is designated as overcrowded points by District criteria receive 4 points. Points are not cumulative; they are assigned yearly.
- 3 Points - SIBLING
- If an applicant is applying to the same magnet school/program in which a brother or sister will be continuing, he/she receives 3 points. Points are assigned if the sibling is attending the applicant’s 1st choice school. Siblings must be associated in the same parent’s Apply account and reside at the same address at the time of application, which points must be reflected in the District’s computer system. Each and every student must have an application on file, including twins, triplets, etc. It is the parent’s responsibility to verify that the siblings have the same address on file in the District’s computer system at the current Los Angeles Unified school of attendance by the application deadline.
Magnet Priority Points Calculator
Total Points: 0
Find your residential school here*Please note that this calculator is for estimation purposes only. Your final points determination will be provided to you in December.
Magnet Application Guidelines
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- Do not submit a new application, if your child is currently enrolled in a magnet program and wishes to continue at the same school. Applicants currently enrolled in a magnet program who apply and are selected for another magnet program will automatically be dropped from their current magnet, whether they accept or decline.
- Applicants MUST be residents of Los Angeles Unified at the time of application and while participating in the magnet programs. Post office boxes are not accepted.
- Students selected to programs that have a uniform policy tied directly to their instructional program (CTE, Fire, Police, Medical, etc.). agree to abide by the policy.
- Magnet school list contains basic information about magnet programs to assist you in making a selection for your child. Although you have the option to select up to three different magnet programs, it is not mandatory for you to do so. Please see Selection Process for information on how the selection process handles the second or third choice(s) before you list an optional school on your application.
- Each magnet program’s openings are determined by the need to maintain a racially balanced enrollment and by available space.
- Magnet Programs are Court-Ordered programs that require parents to select ONE federally identified ethnicity/race category on the application. Select the option next to the ethnicity or race that best describes the child for which you are applying. You may fill in the "Multi-ethnic" response to indicate the applicant is identified as more than one ethnicity/race but your application WILL NOT be processed unless you choose one of the federally identified ethnicity/ race categories.
- Should an applicant leave the magnet program before completing the culminating grade, no matriculation points will be assigned.
- Students on a waiting list may be contacted regarding an open seat through the first month of school. If an applicant declines magnet placement, ALL waiting list points are removed.
- Applicants who still wish to apply to a magnet school or center after the November 17, 2023, deadline may submit a late application. The late application will only allow for a single choice and will open February 1, 2024. Available seats for late applicants will be open after all of the students on the waiting list have been offered placement at the selected school site. Each magnet’s openings are determined by the need to maintain a racially balanced enrollment and by available space. Filling out a late application does not guarantee student placement and magnet priority points are not assigned.
- The earliest grade level offered at a magnet is kindergarten. However, most magnet schools offer a non-magnet UTK program as part of their residential kindergarten program. The following magnet schools do NOT offer UTK: 32nd St., Academy for Enriched Sciences, Arroyo Seco, Community, Mid-City, Lake Balboa, Melrose, Open, Point Fermin, South Shores, Vintage, and Westside.
- Full school elementary magnets with residential kindergarten give priority to students residing in the attendance boundary. Students currently enrolled in kindergarten have priority admission to 1st grade. Please see Magnet School list to locate full school elementary magnets with residential kindergarten.
- Residential magnet schools accept applications throughout the school year. A residential magnet school gives priority to students residing within its attendance boundary. All other eligible Los Angeles Unified applicants will be selected provided space is available.
- The International Baccalaureate Programme Organization (IBO) offers three levels of international education that span the primary, middle and secondary school years. Authorization to become an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School is an intensive process that typically takes two or more years and includes site visits by an IB team. A regular process of evaluation is undertaken by schools that have been authorized.