Students who do not have a bona fide residence in Baltimore City are welcome to apply for enrollment in any of our schools. Please note that Baltimore City residents have priority in school placement. Non-resident students can only be placed after all city residents have enrolled. This applies to all City Schools, including charters and schools with entrance criteria.
How to Enroll
5th and 8th graders participate in the Choice Process and have a different enrollment process than all other grades. Please refer to the steps outlined below.
Families of students not in the 5th or 8th grade who want to enroll should visit our Enrollment Office with original copies of all required documentation.
5th & 8th Grade Enrollment
Submit an application through the Student Enrollment Management System (SEMS): www.baltimorecityschools.org/page/SEMS
All required documentation and waivers will be uploaded through SEMS.
If your child is placed, you will receive an email with the following steps to set up tuition payment.
For any questions or status updates, please contact our Enrollment Office.
Tuition
If you're accepted into a City School as a nonresident, you will need to pay tuition. The amount is determined by the Board of School Commissioners and is currently set at $10,000/year for each nonresident student.
Payment can be made in full or through a monthly payment plan and must be accompanied by a payment authorization form. (For questions, contact the Finance Office.)
You can request a tuition waiver if:
Your household has suffered from undue hardship (financial or otherwise) or
The student’s parent or legal guardian is a City Schools employee.
If your request for a waiver is approved, you'll need to reapply for the next school year. You can apply for a waiver at any point in the school year.
For additional questions about residency and tuition waivers, please contact our Enrollment Office via email at enrollment@bcps.k12.md.us or via phone at 410-396-8600.
City Schools' Staff
If you're a City Schools' staff member who lives outside of Baltimore City, dependent child tuition waivers are available as a benefit of employment. Please note that contractual and temporary employees are not eligible.
The first step to enrolling your child in City Schools is to request a copy of the waiver by emailing the Enrollment Office. Once you have received the waiver, you will bring it to our Enrollment Office with all other required documentation to enroll your child, or the form will be uploaded to the Student Enrollment Management System (SEMS) if your student is participating in 5th or 8th-grade choice.
While tuition waiver requests can be submitted throughout the year, employees should submit the request as early as possible.