A Message from the Department of Teaching and Learning

Dear families,

This message is our annual notification of how to make a school transfer request within Bellingham Public Schools.

Transfer requests for the 2026-27 school year open Feb. 15, 2026, for all new and renewal school transfer requests.

If your child is attending their school on a transfer, you must fill out the transfer request form each year if you wish for your child to continue at their current school for the next year.  Please keep in mind that even year-over-year requests can be denied.

Families who submit an transfer request between Feb. 15 and March 1 will be notified of a decision by the end of March. Receiving transfer requests during this priority time period allows us to equitably plan for staffing at our schools.

Transfer requests received after March 1 may not be notified of a decision until right before or even up to the fifth day of the start of the school year, based on enrollment, staffing and other factors.

There are two types of transfer requests:

·        Attendance area transfer: If you reside within the boundary of Bellingham Public Schools and request a transfer from your attendance area school to a different school, please follow the steps on our transfer webpage for an attendance area transfer.

·        Non-resident / choice transfer: If you reside outside of the boundary of Bellingham Public Schools and request a transfer from your school district into our school district (non-resident transfer), please follow the steps on the transfer webpage for non-resident transfers.

When making a request for next year, please make sure you select “2026-27 school year” in the electronic form. We may not be able to process requests unless the correct school year is selected.

Please read our transfer webpage closely if you are considering a transfer request. For more information about transfers, please see our transfer webpage, district policy 3131 and procedure 3131P and policy 3141.