This month, the Mercer Island School District will accept open enrollment for its elementary students for the 2016-17 school year.

Superintendent Dr. Gary Plano said under board policy 3131, families may request assignment to an elementary school outside of their neighborhood school.

“If we have space, we will assign them to the school of their preference, with parents providing transportation,” Plano told school board members on April 7. “If we have more students than we have space, the policy says that we would have a lottery.”

The open enrollment period extends through April 30. Transfer forms are available online at www.mercerislandschools.org. Families with more than one child are asked to complete a separate form for each child. They will be notified within 45 days as to the status of their request.

The school district is closed to new non-resident enrollment applicants for 2016-17, which the superintendent announced last month, due to inadequate space, facilities and staff.

The district does allow certain non-resident students to apply for non-resident status, and accepts non-resident students’ applications if those students and their school-age siblings were previously enrolled under district policy prior to June 30, 2013.