KATY, Texas – Where a family lives has traditionally determined where their children attend public school. But as Texas parents gain more education options, that model is changing.
For the first time, Katy ISD is launching Limited Open Enrollment, allowing some high school students who live outside the district to attend its schools. The move is one of several new initiatives the district is introducing as public school systems across Texas confront stagnant or declining enrollment.
Katy ISD Deputy Superintendent Leslie Haack described it as “one of several new initiatives we’re doing to kind of counter address the stagnant enrollment across Texas.”
At the same time, families have more choices about where and how their children are educated, including traditional public schools, charter schools, private schools and homeschooling. Texas’ new Education Freedom Accounts are adding another option for families seeking alternatives to traditional public schools.
“Parents have options for their children,” Haack said. “And as a result of that, I think as a school district in Katy ISD, we need to be responsive to that.”
How far will Katy ISD’s open enrollment reach? Katy ISD is casting a wide geographic net. The axis point for the district’s Limited Open Enrollment plan is the intersection of the Katy Freeway and Highway 99. High school students within a 75-mile radius will be eligible for limited open enrollment.That extends the district’s potential reach as far as the Bryan-College Station area and Huntsville to the north, Galveston to the south, Bay City and almost to Edna to the southwest. Students attending public, charter or private schools, as well as homeschooled students, will have an opportunity to enroll.
Katy ISD’s 10 high schools can each accept up to 100 transfer students, capping the program at 1,000 students districtwide.
The initiative comes as the growing number of education options raises a larger question: Are public school systems increasingly competing for students?
Katy ISD leaders say they don’t view it that way.
“I wouldn’t necessarily call it a competition,” Haack said. “I think it’s a framework that we’re working on because the limited open enrollment is just one of several things we’re doing to keep our kids in Katy ISD, keep our families in Katy ISD, to let them know we have lots of opportunities for them, that we are diversifying too.”
Haack said Katy ISD continues to view other public school districts as partners rather than competitors.
“Not a competition,” she said. “We look at our fellow public school districts as our partners and we wanna be collaborative with them.”
Still, the district acknowledges that the education landscape is changing and that school systems must respond to families who have more choices than they did in the past.
Students accepted through Limited Open Enrollment will have access to Katy ISD programs once enrolled, although UIL rules and transfer requirements will still apply.
“We do comply with all UIL regulations and guidance and there’s some things there that have to be met whether you are any type of transfer student,” Haack said. “But once they are enrolled, yes, they have access to all the programs.”
For Katy ISD, Limited Open Enrollment is part of a broader strategy: adapt to an era of greater school choice while maintaining the district’s appeal to students and families.
“I think as a school district in Katy ISD, we need to be responsive to that and always evaluating the landscape and making the necessary changes that we need to do, improvements that we need do to make sure that we’re attracting students and families to Katy ISD so we can keep this district a destination district and as successful as it is,” Haack said.
Under the Limited Open Enrollment plan, each of Katy ISD’s 10 high schools can accept up to 100 transfer students, for a districtwide maximum of 1,000. District leaders say Limited Open Enrollment is just one of several new initiatives aimed at giving families more options as public education in Texas continues to change.
The student and their family would be fully responsible for transportation to the school. The district will use what is known as the Extended Attendance Zone. Based on which district the student would transfer from -- families can select a Katy ISD high school that is more geographically accessible to the student.