Students who live in the boundaries of other school districts may request transfer into PPS schools, and students who live in the PPS district may ask for permission to attend schools in other districts. There are state laws that govern the inter-district transfer process. Generally, transfer decisions are made in the spring for the following school year.

Twelve things to know about Inter-district Transfers

1. Students who move during the school year to a home located in a different school district may automatically remain in their current school through the end of the year. However, they do need to receive both a release from their new resident district and approval from their current district in order for the transfer to extend to the next school year.
2. Students who wish to transfer to a different district for the first time must also receive permission from both districts.
3. Transfer priorities and deadlines vary between districts.  We encourage you to apply as soon as possible in both districts to avoid missing deadlines. See the list of inter-district contacts below.
4. Foster students and families experiencing homelessness may be exempt from inter-district transfer rules. Call PPS or your resident district to learn more.
5. PPS prioritizes students who have recently moved across district lines, and/or have siblings already enrolled in their requested district. Review current Resolution for the latest PPS Board approved priorities and timelines.
6. If both districts agree to the transfer, your child may enroll in your requested school next year. 
7. If either district does not agree to the transfer, your child will have to attend school in your resident district or pay tuition to attend your requested school.
8. Releases out of a district are always good through 12th grade.
9. Transfers into PPS remain in effect through the highest grade of the approved school. For example, if a child is given permission to attend a K-5 school beginning in 1st grade, the family does not have to ask again to remain in that school, but does need to make a new request to attend a PPS school for 6th grade.
10. Transfers can be revoked if a student does not meet attendance or behavior standards.
11. Families always have the right to return to their home school in their resident district.

Inter-district transfer laws are complex and have changed considerably over the past several years. Feel free to call the Enrollment and Transfer Center at any time to learn how current rules apply to your particular circumstance.

PPS Inter-district transfer policy

PPS Inter-district Transfer Administrative Directive

If you live outside of the PPS district boundary, you must receive permission from both districts prior to the start of the next school year in order to have your child attend a Portland Public School. 

The Board of Directors for Portland Public Schools voted on April 8, 2025 to allow an unlimited number of students to transfer into PPS if they apply by September 15, 2025 and meet at least one of the following priorities:

i. Students who had a legal change of residence out of the PPS boundary during the past year will be allowed to remain enrolled at their current PPS schools.

ii. Students who have siblings already enrolled in PPS will be accepted, so long as space is available at the requested schools.

iii. Students who have reached the highest grade of their current PPS schools and wish to continue at the next school level (such as elementary to middle school or middle to high school), so long as space is available at the requested schools.

Additionally, up to 100 students who do not qualify for any of the above priorities will be admitted to PPS, so long as space is available at the requested schools.

If you live in the PPS district boundary but wish to have your child attend school in a different district, you must receive permission from both districts. 

The Portland Public School Board votes yearly to allow resident students who meet the specific qualifications to be released to other districts, so long as they apply by September 15 of the school year.  Typical criteria might be:

• Students who had a legal change of residence into the PPS boundary during the past year will be released from PPS in order to remain enrolled in their current districts.
• Students not yet enrolled in a different district will be released from PPS if they have siblings enrolled in their requested districts during the 2024-25 school year who will remain enrolled during 2025-26.

Resident students must also receive permission from their requested district before the start of the 2025-2026 for the release to be valid.  Releases to other districts remain in effect through 12th grade.

Students who do not meet the criteria above will not be released from PPS through the standard inter-district process. Click the following link to learn about state rules for emergency/hardship transfers: https://www.pps.net/cms/lib/OR01913224/Centricity/domain/182/transfer/interdistrict transfer/Interdistrict_Emergency-Hardship_Transfers.pdf

Oregon sponsors online charter schools available to residents free of charge.  Therefore, PPS does not release students to online charter schools operated by other districts unless there is evidence of a specific emergency or hardship that can only be resolved by that specific online charter school.  

For a list of Oregon Virtual Charters, go to https://www.oregon.gov/ode/learning-options/schooltypes/charter/Pages/Charter-Schools.aspx