NYC charter school applications: Here’s what you need to know for 2026-27 school year

It’s not too early to start thinking about the next school year. If you’re a parent considering enrolling your children in New York City charter schools, now is the time to start considering applying for admission.

The city’s charter schools are accepting applications through April 1 for the 2025-26 school year. Through the NYC Charter Schools website, nyccharterschools.schoolmint.net, you can apply to multiple charter schools in their neighborhood and find available virtual open house dates and times through the NYC virtual visits calendar .

NYC’s charter school website is easy for anyone to navigate, and applicants can apply in 10 different languages.

If you scroll down slightly on the home page, you will see four different options: Find a school, apply, parent info, and virtual school.

The Find a School section on schools.nyccharterschools.org will lead you to a page with a searchable map showing the 420 campuses serving 150,500 students across the five boroughs. Here, you can see a school list as well as options to refine your search by neighborhood, community school district (CSD), borough, and grade level.

Need to know the basics of charter schools? The FAQ section of the New York City Charter Schools Center website provides answers to frequently asked questions such as “What makes charter schools different from traditional district schools?” and “What are the benefits of enrolling my child in a charter school?” It also contains tips for applying.

The city’s charter schools are accepting applications through April 1 for the 2025-26 school year. Through the NYC Charter Schools website, nyccharterschools.schoolmint.net, you can apply to multiple charter schools in their neighborhood and find available virtual open house dates and times through the NYC virtual visits calendar.Photo via Getty Images

The Virtual Schools section will open up a calendar containing the dates and times in which you can visit any school of interest. They have dates available all the way up to April. If you click on a school, a page will pop up that shows you what grade levels the school contains, where the school is located, what time the virtual event will be held, and a Zoom link you can use to join the meeting. There is also an option to add this event to your calendar, which will remind you of the event closer to the date of by sending you a notification.

To apply, you can visit nyccharterschools.schoolmint.net. This will take you to the login page, where you can create an account and start the application process.

Once you create an account, the online application form will ask you to create your profile in three steps.

The first step will ask you for parent/guardian information such as your address, relationship to the student, etc. The second step will ask you for information regarding the student, such as their name, date of birth, etc. The final step asks you to choose preferred schools, fill out an application, and confirm said application.

Applications must be submitted by the midnight April 1 deadline. After you have completed your application, you may log in to make changes to your family profile if needed or add school selections. Some charter schools may continue to accept applications after April 1. In that case, a parent or guardian is advised to contact the school directly to find exact dates.

If there are more student applications than seats available at a given school, charter schools are required to hold lotteries to randomly select students for admission. Those students who aren’t selected in the lottery process will be placed on the school’s waitlist and may be offered admission if a seat becomes available in the future.

Each charter school runs its own lottery and enrollment process. Families should expect to hear back from schools after the application deadline.

For more information, visit schools.nyccharterschools.org.

Read More: https://www.amny.com/education/