Lee County Schools Present Enrollment Changes for 2026-2027 Year

Lee County Schools unveiled shifts to student enrollment procedures for the 2026-2027 school year. Adjustments span middle school proximity zones, waiver protocols, and sibling placement guidelines.

Three schools might gain middle school status if the board approves their name shifts. Bayshore would enter proximity zone CC. Hector A. Cafferata Jr. would enter proximity zone AA, supporting new K-8 schools opening in Cape Coral and North Fort Myers. James Stephens gets added too, but won't show up on the middle school choice application since students there receive preplacement in grades 6 and 7.

Island Coast High School is no longer an option for zone E1 because of a bus problem tied to insufficient student count, but it will still be an option for the W3 zone.

Sibling placement rules will be explained during open enrollment windows, with parents needing to link siblings through matching parent names and addresses in the parent portal.

Waitlists operate from April through the last Friday of August. They reopen when the first and second quarters wrap up.

Waiver procedures got reworked. The plan eliminates requirements for the advanced program and magnet program exit waivers. Second-semester transfer requests will also be eliminated. The FOCUS portal now contains instructions on submitting waivers online and timing windows when waivers get processed.