Frequently Asked Questions

A charter school is a public school that operates under contract with a local authorizer such as Atlanta Public Schools. Charter schools are governed by their own independent, non-profit boards with oversight from the authorizer (APS) and the Office of Charter School Compliance. Charter schools have district-wide enrollment zones and are allowed flexibility in their programming in exchange for specific performance goals.

To learn more a particular school, we encourage you to use the APS School Finder tool, visit the school, and talk with family and friends who may have experience with the school.

An Apply APS Charter application only needs to be completed if your student is interested in attending a participating charter school she/he does not currently attend.

No. Charter schools voluntarily choose to participate in the Apply APS Charter platform, and while many are participating, not every APS-approved charter school is participating.  See the list of participating schools, and if you are interested in applying to a school that is not currently participating in Apply APS Charter, you should visit that school’s website for more details about the school’s application process.

If you do not live in Atlanta, you may apply on Apply APS Charter, however, you will need to ensure your student resides within the Atlanta Public School boundaries at the time of registration in order to enroll your student.  Additionally, some charter schools have priority attendance zones which you can find on the APS School Finder tool.

No. If a charter school receives more applications than the number of seats available in a certain grade, by law it must hold a random lottery to determine who receives offers for the available seats and who will be placed on a waiting list for the next school year.

Yes.  Apply APS Charter is available in English, Spanish, French, Chinese (simplified), and Arabic. Additional language assistance is available by calling (404) 802-7580.

No.  If you do not have an email address or internet access or need additional language support, you can contact a participating school to receive assistance in submitting an application.

Starting January 5, 2026, through February 28, 2026, you can apply for the 2026-27 school year to be included in the school’s lottery. 

Yes. You can edit your application at any point before the application deadline.

Yes, however, applications submitted after the deadline will be automatically placed on the school’s waitlist. 

You may apply to as many participating charter schools as you’d like.  We encourage you to learn more about each school before applying to ensure the school is a good fit for your student.

If you have been offered a seat at a charter school, you will need to let the school know by the specified deadline whether you intend to enroll at the school.  You accept the seat through your Apply APS Charter account in SchoolMint. 

If you have been offered a seat at multiple charter schools to which you applied, you may accept only one of the seats.  Once you accept a seat at one charter school, any offers you received to any other charter schools will be automatically declined. If you are on the waitlist for any charter schools, you will still maintain your place on the waitlist even if you accept an offer at another charter school.

Once you accept a seat you have been offered, the charter school will contact you about next steps to register your student at the school.

This means that the charter school to which you have applied has no seats available at this time. If a space becomes available, schools use their waitlists to determine who should next be offered a seat. In that case, the school will notify you directly.

Please visit a school's profile on the APS School Finder to learn about a school's transportation options.

Apply APS Charter only distributes your information to the participating schools to which you choose to apply. Apply APS Charter complies with FERPA and other federal, state, and local data privacy laws and policies. 

Yes.  An external audit of Apply APS Charter is conducted annually to ensure compliance with applicable state and federal laws and regulations.  You can find an archive of external audits of the program here.