What a great first half it’s been for the 2025-2026 school year! As the second semester has begun, it’s time to start planning ahead for the 2026-2027 school year with our yearly lottery!  

When is IDEA’s Student Lottery? 

IDEA’s lottery date for IDEA Texas, IDEA Florida, and IDEA Ohio is February 21, 2026. Families in our IDEA Midland region interested in IDEA Midland must visit the Midland Independent School District website for more information. 

What is IDEA’s Student Lottery?

Each region (Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and Ohio) has their respective lottery. In it, names will be selected at random, by grade, with spots offered in the order in which the names were selected. When each grade level reaches capacity, the remaining applications will be assigned a spot on the waiting list in random order. Applications that are completed prior to the deadline will be the ones participating in the lottery.   

Note: Current students that will be transferring to a different IDEA campus for the following school year must submit their application prior to their region’s respective lottery day.  

How does the Student Lottery work?

Each lottery will be conducted via STREAM, IDEA’s automated enrollment software system. 

• Random Selection: Applicants in each grade level will be drawn at random. 

• Notification: Once the lottery is complete, parents/guardians will be notified from their preferred method of contact. You can also see their offer status by logging into STREAM after the lottery is complete. 

• Accepting an Offer: In your notification, you will be linked to your STREAM account to accept or decline the offer. When you accept the offer, all other applications for that scholar will be deactivated. (Example: If you applied to IDEA Weslaco and Weslaco Pike, when you accept the offer at IDEA Weslaco, your Weslaco Pike application will be removed from the system. 

• Declining an offer: You must decline your offer in STREAM. This will deactivate the application at that particular campus and award an open a seat to the next scholar on the list.  

• Withdrawal: If after applying, you have decided IDEA is not the right fit for you, please withdrawal your application in your STREAM account.  

We are looking forward to welcoming all our new families that will be joining us this upcoming fall! Our student lottery is the first step in opening doors for your scholar as they embark on their educational journey. When you attend an IDEA campus, you are joining a community that is committed to the academic excellence of all scholars, guiding them toward the path of college and career success. 

Have more questions regarding our lottery process? Visit our Lottery FAQ website or reach out to us at apply@ideapublicschools.org .