Changes to COSA Process Coming This Year

The MCPS 2025-2026 Change of School Assignment (COSA) transfer season opens on Monday, Feb. 3, and closes on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. The COSA process allows families to submit a request for their children to transfer out of their assigned home school.

Students are expected to attend the school within the established attendance area in which they reside (home school) or assigned based on their Individualized Education Program (IEP). Students may apply for a COSA 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.

Important changes for the upcoming COSA transfer process:

•         Requests submitted after April 1, 2025, will not be considered unless there was a recent move or an emergency event that could not have been foreseen prior to April 1.
•         All COSA requests will now be submitted online through ParentVue in Synergy. Parents who need support on how to use ParentVue to complete an online COSA request will be encouraged to reach out to a staff member at their child’s assigned school.
•         Detailed information related to the COSA process can be found in the 2025-2026 COSA information booklet, which will be available at the end of January. Hard copies will be sent to schools.

For questions, call the Division of Pupil Personnel and Attendance Services at 240-740-5620.