Katy ISD launches limited open enrollment for high school students

Katy ISD opened a limited high school enrollment path on June 25 for high school students who live in neighboring counties, but only at designated campuses with available space. The district said the Fall 2026 program is not districtwide and is tied to each student’s extended attendance zone, which means families cannot simply choose any Katy high school.

That narrow setup matters because the district said the program is limited by campus capacity. KHOU’s reporting on the same announcement underscored that space is tight and families must meet specific requirements, making the new option a controlled opening rather than a broad open-enrollment shift.

Accepted students could gain access to Advanced Placement coursework, Career and Technical Education, dual-credit classes, nationally recognized fine arts programs, UIL athletics and extracurricular activities, virtual learning opportunities, and flexible school-day pathways. Superintendent Ken Gregorski said families have long chosen Katy ISD for its academics, student support and extracurriculars, and the district framed the new option as a way to extend those offerings to more students while still managing growth.

Katy ISD also described itself in the announcement as the No. 1-rated school district in the Houston area, a claim that helps explain why even a limited number of seats is likely to draw attention across Harris County and beyond. Under the district’s normal enrollment process, school assignment is determined by residential boundary through the SARA attendance zone tool, and new student registration runs through PowerSchool Enrollment, so the limited open enrollment program sits alongside the district’s standard boundary-based system rather than replacing it.

The timing is notable as Katy ISD continues to grow. The district said in 2022 that it had surpassed 90,000 students and projected enrollment at roughly 108,000 by 2030. That growth has put pressure on campuses, staffing and planning across the district, while families in Harris County, Fort Bend County and Waller County keep watching for academic programs, safety, commute times and seat availability.

For parents in Katy and nearby border communities, the practical question is whether opening seats to students from neighboring counties will make access tighter at the campuses current residents already rely on. The district’s limited approach suggests Katy ISD wants to widen its reach without opening the floodgates, but the competition for those few seats is now part of the enrollment picture.