The 2025-2026 Magnet school lottery will be open from January 6th through February 21st.
Choosing a magnet school for your child is an exciting journey. Here’s how to enroll your child in a magnet school of your choice:
CRCSD students who live within a magnet school’s attendance zone can automatically enroll in that school. These students do not need to enter the lottery to attend the magnet school in their neighborhood.
If a CRCSD student lives outside a magnet school’s attendance zone and wants to enroll, they must enter the magnet school lottery. Students from other districts must both apply for open enrollment and enter the magnet school lottery to be considered. Keep in mind that submitting open enrollment paperwork does not require you to attend a school in the Cedar Rapids Community School District.
Questions? Please contact Jillian Schulte
Lottery application process
We strongly encourage you to research and visit the magnet schools you’re interested in. Once you’ve determined which schools best meet your child’s needs, you’ll select your first-choice magnet school. You can also choose a second magnet school (for elementary and middle schools) and a third choice (for elementary schools). Please only select the schools you would like your child to be considered for.
While we make every effort to place students based on their preferences, this may not always be possible due to high demand at some schools. Remember, students who live within a magnet school’s designated attendance zone are guaranteed a spot at that school.
The lottery is a computer-generated, randomized process for selecting students who live outside of the school’s resident zone. Students in the resident zone do not need to enter the lottery to enroll.
All students are eligible to apply for the magnet school lottery and must complete the online lottery form to be considered.
Magnet school lottery placements
Pending the availability of seats, the following placements will apply when the lottery is processed.
Sibling legacy priority
Sibling legacy placement is given to applicants who have a sibling who attends a magnet school at the time of enrollment in August 2025.
Magnet pathway priority
A priority is given to elementary magnet school students applying to a middle magnet school and preschool and AK Priority is given to elementary magnet school students applying to middle magnet schools, as well as preschool and AK students currently attending a magnet school, to help them continue their magnet learning experience.
Applicant priority
Lottery students are placed based on their applicant placement in the lottery. Each application is given a random placement after the lottery is processed.
Sibling priority
The magnet school lottery is designed for families, with priority given to siblings of students already placed at a magnet school. Siblings who live at the same address and share at least one biological or legal parent are given priority to attend the same magnet school as their sibling if there is space available in their grade level. However, while sibling priority placement is offered, there is no guarantee that siblings will be placed together.
Lottery results
Lottery results will be communicated the week of March 2025. An email notification will go to the email address provided in the lottery application. Families will have 72 hours to accept their student’s lottery offer.
If a seat is declined, students in the waitlist applicant pool will be placed in the remaining open seats.
| Important 2025-26 Lottery Dates | New dates soon |
|---|---|
| Magnet school lottery opens | January 6, 2025 |
| Magnet school lottery closes | February 21, 2025 |
| Magnet lottery & family notifications | February 24-28, 2025 |