Cupertino Union School District: Can My Child Switch Schools?
One window a year, closing November 30 at 4:00 pm, no exceptions. Which grades actually have openings, why the waitlist order matters more than the deadline, and the two mistakes that cost families their place.
Cupertino Union runs one window a year in which a family can ask for a school it was not assigned. For the 2026-27 year, that window opened on June 8, 2026, and closes at 4:00 p.m. on November 30, 2026. The district's own words: no exceptions.
Three things decide what to do with the window. The window is for the school year already running, so read the openings for the grade your child is in now. A neighborhood-school move needs your grade on the district's openings list, and grades 6-8 have no sites this cycle. An alternative school is a waitlist ordered by when you apply, so the real deadline is not November 30; it is as soon as you are sure.
Check your grade first
For a neighborhood-school move, the district publishes which grades have openings, and at which sites. The current list for 2026-27:
- Transitional Kindergarten (TK), the public school year before kindergarten: Collins, Montclaire, Stevens Creek
- Kindergarten: Nimitz
- 1st grade: De Vargas, Eaton, Nimitz, Sedgwick, Stevens Creek, West Valley
- 2nd grade: Nimitz, West Valley
- 3rd grade: De Vargas
- 4th grade: De Vargas, Eaton, Montclaire, Nimitz, Sedgwick
- 5th grade: Collins, Eaton, Garden Gate, Stevens Creek
- 6th-8th grade: no sites available
This list changes. It moved between our two checks this window. Check the district's openings page for the list in force before you apply.
Dilworth, Lincoln, and Stocklmeir are designated large schools this year. Families there get priority for non-impacted schools (schools that are not overfull), though priority does not guarantee enrollment. The district's page does not say how the priority is applied; ask the Student Assignment office.
Alternative schools: the waitlist is the order
The alternative schools open in this window are CLIP (the Cupertino Language Immersion Program at Muir Elementary, grades K-5, teaching in both Mandarin and English), Faria (K-5), McAuliffe (TK-8), and Murdock-Portal (K-5).
Applying does not enter your child in a drawing. It adds your child to that school's existing waitlist, in the order submissions are received. A family that applied in June sits ahead of a family that applies in November. If an alternative school is your real goal, apply as soon as you are sure.
How to apply
Applications go through the ParentVUE portal, with separate forms for neighborhood and alternative schools. Two details cost families their place:
- New to CUSD? Register first. The Open Enrollment application will not open until you do.
- Changing your choice is not a second application. Email the Student Assignment office (romero_eric@cusdk8.org) to be removed from the old waitlist first. Skip that step and the new application is declined.
If you live outside the district
Open Enrollment is a within-district window, and inter-district transfers into CUSD are effectively closed. The district says it does not anticipate approving any except the narrow cases under Board Policy 5117, such as requests from CUSD employees. Outside requests are only reviewed starting in May, for the following year. For most families, that door is shut; moving into the district is what actually works.
What this window does not decide
Switching schools does not change your child's math placement. Placement runs through the district's own process; see our Cupertino math placement guide.
If math is the reason you are eyeing a different school, it is worth knowing exactly where your child stands before you spend the one window the year gives you.
Is math the reason you want a different school?
A free Cuemath MathFit evaluation: one hour with a specialist, and a written picture of exactly where your child stands.
Book a Free EvaluationFor students in Grades K to 12.
FAQs
Which school year does this window apply to?
The one already running. The district heads its openings list "for the 2026-2027 school year": an application now is for a seat this year, in your child's current grade. A move for fall 2027 needs the next cycle's window, which should open around early June 2027.
Can my middle schooler switch schools this cycle?
Only through McAuliffe (TK-8), the one alternative school that runs past 5th grade; applying there puts your child on its existing waitlist. The neighborhood-school list shows no openings for grades 6-8 this cycle, so that waitlist is the only door.
Is Cupertino open enrollment a lottery?
No, not in this cycle. On the district's page, alternative-school applications join the school's existing waitlist in the order received. Parent forums still describe a lottery, but the word does not appear on the district's live open enrollment page, which we checked in September 2026. For neighborhood-school requests, the page does not say how applications are ranked.
Who is actually getting offers right now?
Only TK applicants at McAuliffe and kindergarten applicants at Faria, McAuliffe, CLIP at Muir, and Murdock-Portal, per the district page's own results summary. All other applicants, grades 1-8, can log into ParentVUE and see their waitlist number.
Why would an application be denied?
Missing a mandatory tour or meeting; that is the one reason the district's results section names. Ask the school you are applying to whether it requires one, and treat the tour as part of the application, not an optional extra.
Does switching schools change my child's math placement?
No. School choice and math placement are separate processes. Placement runs through the district's own criteria and dates, which we cover in our Cupertino math placement guide.
