School Choice

The School Choice program allows parents to send their children to schools in communities other than the city or town they reside. Tuition is paid by the sending district to the receiving district. Districts may elect not to enroll school choice students if no space is available.

The Beverly Public Schools has elected to participate in school choice for a number of years. Each year, the School Committee sets the number of openings it will make available at each grade level, pending their enrollment numbers. The School Committee has voted to accept 10 students in Kindergarten through Grade 6, 15 students in Grades 7 and 8, and 20 students’ Grades 9 through 12.

Below is the Beverly Public Schools’ School Choice Policy. If you are interested in applying for School Choice please click on the link on the right, download and complete the application. The application may be mailed to or dropped off at the Beverly Public Schools, Superintendent’s Office, 70 Balch Street, Beverly, MA 01915. 

SCHOOL CHOICE

It is the policy of the Beverly Public Schools to admit non-resident students under the terms and
conditions of the Inter-district School Choice Law (M.G.L. 76-12) and under the following local conditions:

1. That by May 1 of every school year, the administration will determine the number of spaces in each school available to choice students. 

2. That by June 1 of every school year, if consideration is being given to withdraw from the provisions of the choice law, a public meeting will be held to review this decision.  

3. That the selection of non-resident students for admission be in the form of a random drawing when the number of requests exceeds the number of available spaces.  There will be two random drawings for this purpose. The first will take place during the last week of the current school year but no later than July 1st. The second will be conducted during the week immediately preceding the opening of the next school year and will be based on the possibility of unexpected additional openings.   

4. Any student who is accepted for admission under the provisions of this policy is entitled to remain in the District until graduation from high school except if there is a lack of funding of the program. 

5. The School Committee affirms its position that it shall not discriminate in the admission of any child on the basis of race*, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, active military/veteran status, marital status, familial status, pregnancy, or pregnancy-related condition, homelessness, ancestry, ethnic background, national origin, or any other category protected by state or federal law, athletic performance, academic performance, or proficiency in the English language. 

6. Transportation for school choice students shall be the sole responsibility of the parent/guardian/caregivers.

DATES Adopted: May 10, 2023, Effective: May 10, 2023

Adopted: May 10, 2023, Effective July 1, 2023

Revised: March 12, 2025