Design Tech Enrollment
2026/2027
Registration & Enrollment Process
Thank you for your interest in Design Tech High School. Our school offers an innovative and engaging high school experience, solid college preparation, and an environment that fosters self-efficacy, kindness, and teamwork.
As a Charter School, Design Tech High School’s enrollment is determined via an annual lottery. The random drawing takes place once a year, typically in February. Below are the enrollment instructions for new students.
For all enrollment questions, please email enroll@dtechhs.org or call (650) 830-3995.
Important!
2025-2026 Lottery Registration Is Closed.
Families who are still interested in joining the waitlist can complete this form.
Re-Enrollment ➔
For information about re-enrollment for current students, please click here
Enrollment Calendar ➔
Please review our 26-27 Enrollment Calendar here
Student Information ➔
Lottery Zoom Meeting, February 25, 2026
Lottery Registration Information
Design Tech High School accepts registrations for enrollment in grades 9-12
Please note that grades 10-12 are enrolled as space permits each year
The registration and enrollment process is described below. Pay close attention to the address verification requirements and deadlines
Priority is given to students whose parents/guardians prove residence in the Sequoia and San Mateo Union High School districts
Students outside those districts are placed on a waitlist that is only accessed if the school fails to enroll priority students from the waitlist.
Siblings of d.tech Students
All siblings of current or past d.tech students who wish to attend Design Tech High School receive a Lottery Priority. However, they must register for the school lottery to receive the priority. Please follow the steps on the Enroll page to register your student for the lottery. The 2026-2027 Enrollment Calendar can be found here.
Siblings registered for the lottery will be emailed admissions offers during the evening of the lottery draw. Follow the instructions in the offer email to accept/decline. You must accept the offer by the noted deadline in order to secure your student’s seat. If the offer is not accepted by the deadline, the spot will be released to the next person on the waitlist.
Please follow our 4 Step Enrollment Process:
Step 1: Register for the Lottery
Registration opens October 17, 2025
Registration closes Monday, February 9, 2026 at 10:00 PM
All prospective students (including siblings) must register to be included in the lottery
Step 2: Address Verification
Prospective students and families must be current California residents.
Enrollment priority is extended to students who prove residency in the Sequoia Union High School District, and the San Mateo Union High School District. From November each year, residents of those districts can complete address verification. (see below for links to the Districts). Priority is not a guarantee of an offer to enroll, but it is to the student’s advantage to have it if eligible.
Those living outside the San Mateo and Sequoia Union High School Districts are placed on a separate waitlist.
d.tech applicants will need to complete the Address Verification (Online Registration) with their home school district by February 13, 2026. The district will provide a confirmation page once the address has been verified through the online registration process (OLR). This confirmation page will need to be sent to our enrollment office.
Please note the enrollment deadlines for each district are different. You must submit your online registration/address verification to the district BEFORE the dates listed below. There are no exceptions if you miss the deadline. D.tech must receive a copy of your approved verification prior to OUR 2/13/26 deadline.
Sequoia District: 2/1/2026
San Mateo District: 2/9/2026
Districts can take several weeks to process the online registrations/address verification so please allow yourself enough time to meet our February submission deadline.
Residents who are not verified by the d.tech lottery registration deadline are added to the out-of-district lottery waitlist.
Address verification (Online Registration) for prospective 9th graders in the Sequoia and San Mateo UHS districts must be completed even if an older sibling is already enrolled in that district.
Address Verification - San Mateo Union High School District - 650 N. Delaware Street, San Mateo, CA 94401 Tel. (650) 558-2299
Address Verification (OLR)- Sequoia Union High School District - 480 James Ave, Redwood City, CA 94062 Tel. (650) 369-1411 ext. 22209
Step 3: Lottery by Zoom
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Families who registered for the lottery will be contacted via email with details of the February lottery. Offers are emailed the same evening to the parent/guardian listed on the registration.
If a family declines an offer of enrollment, the school will make an offer to the first person on the waitlist until the school is fully enrolled. Offers are still possible in the days and/or weeks after the lottery has run.
It is impossible to predict when a seat may open.
The majority of families wait for lottery results to be emailed or texted to them in the privacy of their home although the lottery is public.
Prospective families will have the opportunity to sign up for a school visit in February.
Lottery Priorities
In accordance with Education Code section 47605(d), the following lottery priorities shall be included within the DESIGN TECH charter:
Lottery priority in the case of a public random drawing shall be given to the following students in the following order:
PRIORITY 1 – Children of Design Tech employees.
PRIORITY 2 – Children of Design Tech founding team members as identified in the initial charter.
PRIORITY 3 – Siblings of students that currently attend Design Tech, and siblings of pupils who graduated from Design Tech, not to exceed ten such pupils.
PRIORITY 4 – Children who reside within Sequoia Unified High School District or San Mateo Unified High School District boundaries. The drawing for this category of applicants shall be a separate drawing such that only applicants residing within the boundaries of the two school districts will be included. Children that qualify for FRL programs within those school districts will receive a preference of 2:1. A copy of the guidelines for eligibility for the federal National School Lunch Program (“FRL”) shall be attached to the registration for admission to DESIGN TECH. Applicants shall be asked to verify whether their household is eligible for the FRL Program by checking a box marked “Yes” or “No.” No other information will be requested. However, the registration will state that DESIGN TECH reserves the right to confirm eligibility in the event that the student accepts an offer of enrollment.
PRIORITY 5 – All other children, provided they are California residents. Students that reside outside of Sequoia Unified High School District or San Mateo Unified High School District boundaries will be placed on a separate lottery list.
What Happens to Students Already on the Waitlist From Last Year?
The waitlist does not carry over from year to year. New registrations are necessary. Students who were on the waitlist for grade 9 during the previous enrollment season are invited to submit a new lottery registration for grade 10.
Offers for grade 10-12 are based on attrition, which may or may not be known by the time the lottery runs. Attrition can occur when school reopens in the fall. While there are relatively few spots, there are also fewer students on the grade 10-12 waitlist.
Step 4: Student Shadow Visits
We are excited to offer a shadow visit to those who have registered for the lottery. Those that have completed Step 1 will receive an invitation via email.
Shadows will run from January 27 through February 6, 2026. During the shadow, students will have the opportunity to:
Visit classrooms
Participate in a design challenge
Learn about our school from current dtech students
Visit the upper and lower Design Realize Garages (our two maker spaces)
Although this event is for students only, parents are invited to stay for the first 30 minutes to meet our School Director and learn a little more about d.tech.
A Word of Caution
Enrollment steps not completed by the registration deadline will result in the seat being lost to a waitlisted student.
Once declined, an offer can not be reinstated.
Students may not enroll in d.tech and another school to prolong the decision window without forfeiting their d.tech spot.
By law, a student CANNOT be enrolled in two schools simultaneously. If an offer is accepted from d.tech, you must notify your home school that your child will be attending d.tech to ensure they are not enrolled in two schools. If you accept d.tech’s offer and decide to go to a different school, you MUST inform d.tech so that your student can be withdrawn BEFORE enrolling in the other school..