It’s Magnet Time Again!
by Tanya Anton | GoMamaGuide.com
It’s time.
The site is LIVE. The 2014-15 Magnet/eChoices brochure is now available and the application window has officially opened. Apply online now!
Beginning today, Tuesday, October 1, 2013 through the deadline Friday, November 15, 2013 at 5p, LAUSD residents may apply to the Magnet Program or Permits With Transportation (PWT) program for next year.
Visit echoices.lausd.net. It’s ONLINE. 24/7. It’s easy. It’s fast. It’s paperless.
Highlights for 2014:
– No longer accepting late applications. But you can make changes to your online app up until the final Nov 15 deadline. You’ve got 6 weeks to do this folks. Don’t be late. Do this now, get those apps in on time!
– NO NCLB PSC Program! No Option B Magnet/PSC Program Combo!
Due to LAUSD’s NCLB waiver being approved by the US Dept of Ed in August 2013, the NCLB PSC option for students enrolled in PI (Program Improvement) schools is no longer available and will be phased out for current PSC students. (Don’t know what I’m talking about? Don’t worry. It’s not available anymore.)
– Notification letters will go out by the end of March and will be sent via email if applied online.
– Students MAY be contacted with an opening up until the 4th week of school. (This DOES happen. The late notification. It happened to us this year.) Waitlist points will finalize after then. *Students may also be called during the first 2 weeks of the spring semester. (I don’t personally know anyone who got this call, but beware, it’s in the fine print.)
The Basic Highlights: (Covered in much more detail in my Guidebooks)
– Must be an LAUSD resident to be eligible. Falsified applications will be disqualified and removed from the program.
– Can select UP TO 3 MAGNET Choices. Points will only attach to your 1st choice. 2nd and 3rd choices will be entered with 0 points. If you aren’t selected in any of your choices during the initial automated lottery, you are placed back on the waitlist of your 1st choice.
– You are not required to select 3 choices. If accepted to ANY magnet program at any point and turn it down, you will lose ALL accumulated waitlist points.
– Only submit ONE application per child. (Check with other parent to make sure you didn’t both apply.) Must be applying for the correct grade for 2014. State Law governs age eligibility: 5 by Sept 1st for K, 6 by Sept 1st for 1st.
– Student info (address, telephone, grade) MUST MATCH info at child’s current LAUSD school. (Think robo-call info.) It is the parent’s responsibility to complete the application correctly or it will be rejected.
– Twins are treated as individuals with separate apps. There is a space to enter sibling info on each app. If only one gets in, sibling points will apply the following year.
– If currently attending a Magnet and wish to stay there…DO NOTHING! If you apply elsewhere and are selected into another magnet, you will be dropped from your current magnet program. (This has happened to people I know trying to collect points while attending a magnet program. No, No, NO! That’s what Matriculation points are for.)
– If NOT currently in a Magnet and would like to be for next year, apply now. Apply every year until you get in. Waitlist points only go back 3 consecutive years.
– Gifted/High Ability and Highly Gifted applicants must provide verification AHEAD of the Nov 15 deadline. See: echoices.lausd.net/Magnet/GiftedCriteria
– To find more detailed info about each Magnet program, click on the 7 digit school code. To find out which Magnet programs are near you, use my School Finder maps.
If this seems overwhelming or you want to discuss strategy, please contact me for a consultation. I’m happy to help. Magnets are just one of many public school options.
– Tanya Anton | gomama@mac.com
GoMamaGuide 
I think you have a typo in the age eligibility section. 5 by Sept 1 for K. 6 by Sept 1 for first. Correct?
Yes, thanks for catching that Jane. I just fixed it above.
Oh, and just to be clear, there are no TK (Transitional Kindergarten) programs in the magnet system. Those are held at your neighborhood LAUSD schools. For magnets, the age requirement is strictly outlined by state law as listed above.
If your child is on the waitlist for a gifted/high ability magnet, do they still need to provide verification again if applying to that same magnet again this year?
Hi Imogene,
If your child is has already met the eligibility requirements within LAUSD, you do not need to re-verify her or resubmit verification records. Upon receipt of your application, the District will automatically check the applicant’s school records, so she should be good to go!
First time applicants, however, would have to prove their gifted eligibility, as would those students coming from out of District, a charter, or a private school.