Open Enrollment Compliance Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated.
Avela standardizes seat reporting, applications, lotteries, and data sharing so districts can meet state requirements and manage choice at scale.
Open Enrollment Comes in Multiple Flavors
With charters, magnets, ESAs, and declining birth rates reshaping the landscape, more states are now expanding enrollment policies to include inter-and intra-district transfer policies.For district leaders, this creates new operational demands: transparent seat reporting, consistent timelines, compliant lotteries, accurate data sharing, and a smoother experience for families.
Inter-District Transfers
Also known as non-resident or out-of-district transfers. Allows students to attend a public school outside their home district. These policies let families cross district boundaries and can shift enrollment, funding, and capacity between systems.
Intra-District Transfers
Also known as zone exceptions or boundary overrides. Lets students enroll in a different school within their home district. These policies give families flexibility across attendance zones while keeping students inside the same local education agency.
Common Problems Facing Districts
Families have more options, but school districts need have to manage those options fairly, transparently, and at scale.
Families are confused about school options.
Without a clear school finder, families depend on PDFs, flyers, and word-of-mouth.
Lotteries are manual and hard to explain.
Spreadsheets and ad-hoc processes make it difficult to prove that your school choice lottery is fair and policy-compliant.
Applications are fragmented across programs.
Magnet programs, transfers, and special programs each use different paper or online forms and deadlines.
Enrollment doesn’t end when a seat is offered.
Confirmations, document collection, SIS updates, and waitlist backfilling keep staff stuck in manual work.
Avela was built specifically to solve these open enrollment and student choice problems for K–12 school districts.
We’re Here to Help.
Avela’s software and services help districts stay compliant, reduce administrative burden, and confidently assign students. Our solutions give districts the tools they need to manage open enrollment without chaos.
Avela Explore
Help Families Understand Their Options
Avela Explore is a school finder and choice navigator where families can:
View rich school profiles (programs, services, languages, grades, transportation, and more).
Search and filter by location, program type, grade level, special services, and other criteria.
Bookmark or compare schools they’re interested in before they apply.
See open-seat visibility in real-time.
Compare details like transportation routes, schedules, and program offerings.
Instead of a maze of PDFs and flyers, Explore gives families one clear, mobile-friendly place to understand every open enrollment opportunity in your district.
Avela Apply & Enroll
A Single Place For Every Application & Registration Form
Avela’s Apply & Enroll modules offer:
Family application and registration in multiple languages.
A mobile-first experience that works on any device.
An admin portal to review applications, manage eligibility rules, and route approvals.
Tools to communicate with families via email or SMS, send reminders, and keep everyone informed.
Avela Match
Run Policy-Compliant Lotteries and Student Assignments
Avela Match allows districts to:
Encode local priority rules and enrollment policies directly into the system.
Run student assignments with algorithms based on Nobel Prize–winning research in school choice and matching.
Produce consistent, auditable, strategy-proof assignments.
With Avela Match, your open enrollment lottery system is both technically sound and easy to explain to families, boards, and regulators.
Avela Advisory Services
Our white-glove, complete open enrollment service package enables districts to easily and seamlessly maintain compliance with local laws and regulations. We will:
Make it Simple to Apply
We set up a simple and clear application form for families that is mobile-friendly, multilingual, and incorporates all the questions needed to capture eligibility and preferences.
Make Your Data Transparent and Auditable
You’ll have access to a clear reporting dashboard containing key indicators (e.g., number of applications and offers by school and grade) for internal monitoring and external audits.
Gather and Publicize Capacities
Using a handful of data inputs provided by you, we can calculate and update your capacities in accordance with state law and publicize them to families. We will review, clean, and prepare the data, flagging any anomalies or inconsistencies early on for your team’s review.
Run Your Lottery
We incorporate families’ application choices, capacities, and any priorities and run your lottery. You can provide final sign-off on the results (if desired), and then families will automatically receive offers through the Avela platform and can easily accept/decline.
Ensure You Remain Compliant
You and an Avela customer success representative will review your state-specific compliance checklist to ensure alignment with all policy requirements (e.g., translations, lottery preferences).
Set You Up For Success
Our Customer Success team has been in your shoes as enrollment leaders, so we know what matters most: clear steps, hands-on support, and a partner you can trust. Learn more about our process here.
Why Districts Choose Avela for Open Enrollment and School Choice
What’s good for families is good for administrators—better communication and transparency lead to smoother processes, happier families, and stronger outcomes for schools.
Purpose-Built For School Choice and Open Enrollment
Designed for magnet and theme schools, intra-district transfers and student choice policies, district-wide open enrollment and common applications, ESA/voucher programs and community-based seats
Grounded in MIT and Nobel Prize-Winning Research
Built on award-winning research in market design and school choice, with a focus on well-documented, transparent, and equitable assignments that families and regulators can trust.
Accessible , Family Friendly User Experience
An emphasis on equity and accessibility at every step: mobile-first design, support for 100+ languages, and a centralized process with simple document uploads so families don’t have to visit multiple offices or track multiple websites.
One Source of Truth for Open Enrollment and School Choice Data
Instead of juggling multiple vendors, Avela offers a single, integrated suite that results in fewer integration headaches and IT tickets, a consistent, branded experience for families, and cleaner data for state reporting, equity analysis, and strategic planning
School Choice Policy Expertise and Practical Guidance
Open enrollment is a policy and change management project, not just a software implementation. Avela’s implementation team is a proven partner on policy design, communication, and rollout.
Flexible Integration Options With Student Information Systems
Integrate seamlessly with student information systems through CSV, API, or custom solutions, ensuring security, compliance, and compatibility with your existing tech stack.
FAQ: School District Open Enrollment & Student Choice
What is open enrollment in a school district?
Open enrollment is a policy that allows students to attend schools outside of their assigned neighborhood or zoned school. Families can choose among district schools (and sometimes cross-district options), and districts must manage applications, priorities, and lotteries for oversubscribed schools.
How does Avela support school district open enrollment?
Avela provides a unified platform—Explore, Apply, Match, and Enroll—that supports the entire process: school discovery, applications, policy-based lotteries, waitlists, and final enrollment. Districts get transparent, research-backed tools to run student choice and open enrollment efficiently.
Can Avela handle magnet programs and intra-district transfers?
Yes. Avela is built for magnet and theme schools, intra-district transfers, district-wide school choice, and other program-based enrollment models. All of these can live in a single common application and lottery system.
Is Avela compatible with our SIS and state reporting requirements?
Avela integrates with student information systems and state reporting through CSV, APIs, and custom connections, helping districts keep open enrollment data accurate and consistent.
How does Avela promote equity in student choice?
Avela’s mobile-first, multilingual design, along with centralized communication and clear school information, lowers barriers for families who might otherwise be left out of open enrollment. The matching engine focuses on fair, transparent, strategy-proof assignments that support equity goals.
