In Tucson Unified School District, all students have a home school for grades K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 that is defined by attendance area boundaries. The attendance options provide consistent treatment for student enrollment and choices for parents and students in all TUSD schools. The options follow these guidelines:
- There are no overlapping school boundaries; every student has one school for each grade level (K-5, 6-8, and 9-12) to which he/she is guaranteed enrollment:
- A student's K-5 home school may be in a K-5 school or a K-8 school.
- The boundaries of K-8 schools define the attendance area for students in grades K-5; students in grades K-5 residing in the attendance area may enroll in the K-8 school as neighborhood students.
- The boundaries of middle schools define the school attendance areas for all students in grades 6, 7, and 8.
- K-8 school boundaries do not define the attendance area for grades 6, 7, and 8; students in grades 6, 7, and 8 staying in a K-8 school are enrolled as open-enrollment students.
- Any student that is properly enrolled at a school may continue to the highest grade at the school without an application. Thus, students who are enrolled in 5th grade at a TUSD K-8 school may continue to 6th grade at that K-8 school. They will be classified as open enrollment students but they do not need to file an application for open enrollment.
- Students who wish to enter a TUSD K-8 school in grades 6, 7, or 8 may apply to attend that school through open enrollment and will be placed on a space available basis.