Time running out to apply for your school of choice

For parents disappointed their children were not accepted to a magnet program, take heart: 79 Palm Beach County schools still have room for kids who live outside their boundaries.

One week remains for families to apply to these schools for enrollmentnextyear. Morethan 3,000 students have already applied as part of a new state program that allows families to choose any school, even if they live in a different county, as long as the school has open slots.

But there is an important caveat: The chosen school, if it's in Palm Beach County, must be at least 10 percent empty.

Gov. Rick Scott signed a law last year allowing students to attend any public school in the state. But the selected school must have room, the parents must provide their own transportation and the student must not be under an expulsion or suspension order.

Parents have been able to choose schools in Florida for several decades through an assortment of magnet and choice programs in their counties. For most of these programs, students had to be admitted through a lottery or pass an audition. Next year, the schools will have to admit students if they have room no matter what county they come from.

Broward County schools had an open enrollment plan before the law was passed and have about 1,000 out-of-county students. But Broward students are nowfree to apply toPalm Beach County schools, and more than 100 already have, mostly to schools in Boca Raton, said Peter Licata, Palm Beach County’s choice and career programs director.

If too many students apply to a school, there will be a lottery, to be conducted in early May, Licata said. He anticipates about 15 schools will need lotteries, including Addison Mizner Ele-