Student Transfer Application Season Begins February 1

The Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) 2024-2025 Change of School Assignment (COSA) transfer season opens on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. The COSA process allows families to submit a request for their children to transfer out of their assigned home school. All COSA request applications must be submitted no later than Tuesday, April 2, 2024.

New for the 2024-2025 COSA transfer process: 

• COSA request applications now can be submitted online instead of the traditional paper form. When an application is submitted online, a “receipt” email notification will be sent to the parent/guardian submitting the request shortly after the administrative team of the student’s assigned home school receives the application. If the request is successfully completed online, a paper form submission is not necessary. The link to the online COSA request form can be found on the Student Transfers website. 

MCPS students are expected to attend the school within the established attendance area in which they reside (home school) or according to their Individualized Education Program (IEP). Students may apply for a COSA from the home school or the school of assignment through the IEP process based on the following criteria:

• Unique Hardship:  When an extenuating circumstance(s) related to a student’s specific physical, mental or emotional well-being or their family’s individual or personal situation could be mitigated by a change of school assignment.

• Family Move: When a family moves within Montgomery County and wishes to continue attending their current school, they may request a COSA without demonstrating a unique hardship. Such requests may be considered for the remainder of the current school year only, with the exception that students in Grade 11 or 12 may be granted a COSA to stay through high school graduation.

• Siblings: When a student seeks to attend the school where a sibling will be enrolled in the regular/general school program, or a special education program, during the year the student wants to enroll.

• When a sibling attends a magnet, language immersion or other application program at the elementary level, a COSA may be approved to the regular school program for other siblings on a case-by-case basis. Such approval requires consideration of available classroom space, grade-level enrollment, staffing allocations or other factors that impact the schools involved. 

The sibling exemption does not apply if the sibling is in Pre-K or if a boundary change has occurred.

The transfer process begins in the assigned home school. Applications can be found online or in the Change of School Assignment (COSA) Information Booklet, which also  provides useful information on the COSA process. Exempt countywide programs that do not fall under the transfer guidelines are listed in the booklet. Booklets can be obtained from the student’s home school. Visit the student transfers website to learn more.

For information about assignments for students residing in the Northeast, Downcounty or Middle School Magnet Consortium areas, please contact the Division of Consortia Choice and Application Program Services (DCCAPS) at 240-740-2540 or visit the DCCAPS website. 

For more information about the transfer process, parents/guardians are encouraged to contact the principal at their home school. Non-English speaking students and parents/guardians who require assistance can call ASK MCPS at 240-740-3000.