Press Releases

03/06/2025

RSCO School Choice Placement Offers Begin for 2025-26 School Year, Late Application Available During Week of March 10

Limited Time for Families to Accept Placement Offers and Apply

 

(Hartford, CT) – The Connecticut State Department of Education’s (CSDE) Regional School Choice Office (RSCO) is pleased to announce that placement notifications for magnet schools will begin for Connecticut families on March 11, 2025, and placements for the Hartford Region Open Choice Program will begin on March 18, 2025. RSCO recently announced offers for the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System’s (CTECS) Hartford Region technical high schools in late February.

In this first round of placements, more than 5,000 students across Connecticut entering pre-kindergarten through grade 12 will receive an offer to a technical school, magnet school, or Open Choice school. Families who receive a placement offer should act quickly, as they have limited time to accept their student’s seat and register with the school.
 

Additional offers for remaining seats will continue for families on waitlists as well as for those who apply during the late application period. Remaining seats are limited, and families interested in applying during the late application period are strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible.
 

As placement offers begin, families can find helpful tools to navigate the process on RSCO’s website, ChooseYourSchool.org. The site features a series of animated videos designed to guide families through key milestones—whether they’ve received an offer or are still waiting and want to understand their options.

 

I got an offer. What happens next? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie_SYAFBPtE

I didn’t get an offer. What happens next? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fpiXoHb-ZM

 

For the 2025-26 school year, RSCO is expanding school choice opportunities with the introduction of RiverTech at Goodwin University, Connecticut’s first magnet technical high school. Currently accepting applications for ninth graders, RiverTech features curricula focused on trade skills, business, entrepreneurship, and technology. Students will gain hands-on trade experience in fields such as machine learning, computer science, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, and more.

 

Through RSCO’s school choice program, Connecticut families with students entering pre-kindergarten through grade 12 can apply to three types of free public schools in the Greater Hartford Region:

Over 40 magnet schools integrating specialized themes into the core curriculum, such as STEM, computer science, visual and performing arts, Montessori, International Baccalaureate (IB), and dual language.

Open Choice public schools in districts outside of their town. This program is primarily for Hartford-resident students to attend schools in surrounding suburban communities.

Three regional technical high schools that specialize in career and technical education.

 

Families with questions or in need of additional support can contact RSCO’s Parent Resource Center (PRC), which is available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. PRC staff provide guidance on school choice options and the application process via phone, email, in-app messaging, and in-person appointments. Translation and interpretation services are also available.

 

RSCO is hosting a School Choice Fair on Saturday, March 22, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (doors close at 12:30 p.m.) at Sport and Medical Sciences Academy in Hartford. This free event will feature representatives from RSCO’s network of choice schools, offering families the opportunity to ask questions about the late application and the waitlist, as well as learn more about available programs.

 

To learn more about school choice and to apply, visit ChooseYourSchool.org. 

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 6, 2025

 

Contact Information:

Matthew Cerrone
CONNECTICUT Education
matthew.cerrone@ct.gov

Twitter: CT State Department of Education Twitter

Facebook: CT State Department of Education Facebook