The Pre-K lottery application for the 2024-2025 school year will be available from February 1, 2024 at 9:00a.m through March 1, 2024 at 11:59p.m. The lottery drawing will be held on March 15, 2024. Lottery results must be verified before they can be released. The verification process can take a few days, however, all applicants will be informed of the results via email and on their parent dashboard found within the enrollment system after this process is complete. After the lottery drawing takes place on March 15th, our application will reopen on March 25, 2024 and remaining seats will then be filled on a first-come first-serve basis. If a seat becomes available and you are next in line to receive a seat, you will be contacted by phone.

Program Requirements

  • Child must turn four years old by September 1, 2024.
  • Child must live within the Atlanta Public Schools' attendance zone
  • All APS employees are eligible to apply
  • If you are the parent of twins, triplets, etc., you are required to submit one application per child. Before the lottery drawing takes place, each application will be linked to ensure that they are placed at the same site
  • Applicants must have a valid email address to apply

Lottery Application Process

Applicants can access our online lottery application by visiting www.enrollearlyatl.com from February 1-March 1, 2024. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO COMPLETE THE APPLICATION BEFORE FEBRUARY 1ST. Doing so, will cause you to submit an application to the wrong school year and your application will not be included in the lottery. It will take approximately 30 minutes to complete the application. You will be asked to submit copies of key documents before your application is considered complete and can be submitted. Required documents are listed below. Failure to submit the correct documentation will result in your application being marked ineligible for lottery participation. If you are unable to complete the application in one sitting, you can save your information and return later, but must submit by March 1st at 11:59 p.m. Lottery applications will NOT be accepted after March 1st at 11:59 p.m. for any reason.

When completing the application, applicants will be allowed to select a maximum of three different Pre-K sites and should list them in order of preference. Selecting three sites is optional. If you are only interested in one or two sites, leave the other site selection fields blank. Although not mandatory, we strongly encourage you to select your child's zoned school as your first choice. Acceptance into your zoned school creates an easy transition to kindergarten. In addition, school bus transportation services will only be offered to your child if they are accepted into their zoned school and live more than 1 mile away from the school. If you apply after the lottery drawing has taken place, you will only be allowed to apply to one site.

Once the lottery results have been verified, each applicant will receive an email informing them of the results. If your child is not accepted, he or she will be placed on the waiting list for your first choice only.



Required Documents

  1. Certified Birth Certificate or Passport (your child must be four years old on or before September 1st)

  2. Proof of Legal Guardianship (if applicable) (Only needed if your name is not on the child's birth certificate)

  3. Parent/Guardian Identification - Valid state or government-issued photo ID, a Georgia Driver’s license; or a valid U.S. passport ID

  4. Proof of Georgia Residency - Most recent mortgage statement/Deed OR current lease/rental agreement in your name, AND Georgia Power bill in your name or Georgia Power Letter of Residency (CLICK HERE to access)(all other bills will not be accepted).

    *If you are living with someone and you do not have proof of residency in your name, you must submit the following:
    1. A signed and notarized Affidavit of Residency AND a lease/mortgage statement in the name of the homeowner/lease holder.
    2. A current Georgia Power Bill or Georgia Power Letter of Residency
    3. Three (3) pieces of mail in the name of the child’s parent/guardian showing the address on the lease. For a copy of the affidavit of residency form, CLICK HERE.

  5. Child’s Social Security Card OR DECAL Waiver - If a waiver is needed, CLICK HERE to download.

  6. Proof of Income - Income includes: 2023 Wages(W2) or 1040 tax return, 2024 SSI/TANF/SNAP Award or determination letter(must show monthly payment) Income MUST be provided for both parents/guardians if more than one parent/guardian lives in the household. **If you did not work in 2023, do not receive public benefits, and will not file taxes, a 'Zero Income Declaration' Form will be available for download in the application process.

  7. Child’s Health Insurance Card - Medicaid, Peach Care, Peach State, or private insurance card

  8. Immunization Certificate (DPH FORM 3231) - Must be current and remain current throughout the school year

  9. Vision, Hearing, and Dental Screening Certificate (DPH FORM 3300) - Must have all 4 sections completed, documents with "Unable to screen" checked do not count towards this requirement.


If you have questions, please contact the Office of Early Learning at 404-802-3640, prekinfo@atlantapublicschools.us or follow us on Twitter at APS_ OEL.


What will my child learn in Pre-K?

Pre-kindergarten addresses all GELDS but places heavy emphasis on the social and emotional development, letter and sound recognition, phonological awareness, language development, retelling story events and details, numbers and quantities and problem solving.