About BUSD: How School Assignment Works

last updated: May 20, 2024

The Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) assigns new K-8 students to schools based on the "zone" they live in. There are 3 zones in Berkeley -- roughly three parallel strips stretching from the hills to the bay. BUSD created these zones in order to balance schools socio-economically by including both affluent families who generally live in the hills, and middle-class and working-class families in the "flats". In each zone, there are 3-5 elementary schools and one middle school. To find out which zone you live in, look for the District Map on the BUSD website (note the map is frequently updated). For BPN reviews of each zone, see BUSD Zones on this website.

For elementary school (K-5) you may request your top three choices in your zone, but ultimately, BUSD decides which school you are assigned to, based on the census tract you live in (income, education level, etc.). Once your child is assigned to a school, you may request to be waitlisted at another school in your zone, but there is no guarantee, and placement from the waiting list often takes place after the beginning of the new school year.  There is very little chance of attending a school outside your zone except in rare cases where your desired zone is under-enrolled. See parent discussions about this. 

For middle school (6-8) your child will be assigned to the middle school in your zone. 

For high school (9-12),  all students attend Berkeley High School.  

BUSD also operates a home study program for all grade levels Berkeley Independent Study and an alternative high school Berkeley Technology Academy. There are no charter schools in Berkeley.

Out-of-district transfers: Many Berkeley schools are over-enrolled so officially, BUSD accepts few transfers from other school districts. Unofficially, it is said that as many as 12% of BUSD students are from outside the district.  However, this has changed since Covid, so check with BUSD enrollment for current status.

See Also: Berkeley Unified School District webpage ... BUSD: Enrollment & School Choice

Parent Q&A

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Welcome to Berkeley! You will be able to enroll your child into BUSD only after you have officially moved and have a Berkeley address. You will not be in the first round of elementary school assignments, or perhaps even the second round. Even current residents in the first round don't necessarily get spots at their nearest school-- the district does not assign schools by proximity. You rank your choices within your elementary school zone, and they assign you wherever there is room. If you are really set on your nearest school, you can try putting your child on a waitlist if they get assigned elsewhere, but sometimes it is in the first couple weeks of school that the waitlist moves. All of the schools are good though. Best wishes!

For Berkeley, school sign ups begin in January and there are I think monthly sign up dates. Just because you are living close to a school does not mean that you are in the correct zone for that school. You might want to check a zone map when you are looking at houses. I live a block and a half from a school that is outside of my zone. Berkeley has recently redone the zones and some people are not happy about it. I'm not sure how they are handling transfers in actuality, but they indicated that they would be pretty strict about it and offer buses instead.

For BUSD, you don't really get to choose. You rank your schools in your zone and then it's a lottery. BUSD assigns schools in the spring, so you'll miss it. You just have to wait to move to Berkeley and then apply with your local address. If there's room in a school in your zone, they'll place you there. It's possible you'll get a school outside your zone, but BUSD buses kids who are at least a mile from the school. You can get on waiting lists, but they don't really move and most people just stick with what they've been assigned. That said, all Berkeley elementary schools are pretty equal due to this lottery system. I'm in the northwest zone and all 4 elementary schools are amazing. It gets a little dicey in middle school and the high school is one big zoo.