All Sonoran Schools are public schools, sponsored by the Arizona State Board of Charter Schools. Sonoran Schools admits all students on a space-available basis, does not charge tuition to Arizona residents, and does not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, national origin, gender, income level, disabling condition, proficiency in the English language, athletic ability, or any other status or characteristic prohibited by state or federal law.

Re-enrolling students and their siblings (if any) are given first priority for the seats available for the following year. Pursuant to A.R.S. §15-184, the School will also give enrollment preference to the sibling(s) of students selected through the lottery; the children and grandchildren of faculty, staff, or governing board members of any Sonoran school; siblings of current students at another Sonoran school; and students who attended another Sonoran school the previous school year.

Sonoran Schools enrolls year-round during each school year, assuming that space is available at the desired school and applicable grade level. Sonoran Schools also holds Open Enrollment for prospective students for the next school year at a specified time each year.

A waiting list will be created once all available slots at a specific school and grade level have been filled (and the lotteries, if needed, have already taken place). A student’s placement on the waiting list will be based on the date/time of receipt of a complete application.

Open Enrollment is the period prior to the start of the next school year when any parent/guardian can submit an application for their child for the upcoming school year. The Open Enrollment period for the 2023-2024 school year is October 17th, 2022 through January 6th, 2023. This does not mean that we do not accept applications after that period. It just means that any applications we receive after that period will be processed on a first-come, first served basis and will be placed behind applications received during Open Enrollment.

At the conclusion of the Open Enrollment period, an electronic, random selection lottery shall be held for available seats in any grade level where the number of openings available for the next school year is less than the number of applications received for that grade level during the Open Enrollment period, taking into consideration the enrollment priorities allowed by Arizona law and implemented by the School. The students selected by lottery will be notified by email, phone or mail. The 2023-2024 lottery will be held on January 11th, 2023.

Incoming Kindergartners must be 5 years old by September 1st of the year that they are attending kindergarten. As allowed by state law, we conditionally accept children with late birthdays (Sept. 1-Dec. 31 ONLY), based on a child’s readiness to attend school. In order to assist the School with determining whether early enrollment into kindergarten is in the child’s best interests, Sonoran Schools requires Kindergarten Readiness Testing. Sonoran Schools utilizes the Brigance© Early Childhood Screen III (Brigance A. H., 2013) to assist in predicting the success of a student seeking early entrance to kindergarten. The determination regarding whether early enrollment is in a child’s best interests shall be within the School’s sole discretion.

All Kindergarten Readiness Testing for late birthdays is scheduled once a completed application is submitted. The School will charge a non-refundable $40 assessment fee, due prior to the assessment, for testing early entrance readiness. The assessment will take up to one hour to complete.

1st graders must be 6 years old by September 1st of the year that they are attending 1st grade. As allowed by state law, we conditionally accept children with late birthdays (Sept. 1-Dec. 31 ONLY), based on the child’s readiness to attend school and whether early admission is in the child’s best interests. In making that determination, which shall be within the School’s sole discretion, the School shall consult with the parents, child, teachers, and school administration.

All Sonoran Schools require students to wear uniforms.