School Lottery Engagement

In January 2026, the CBE launched an online survey to gather input and feedback from education directors, system principals, principals, Area office administrators, school front office staff, and public information staff. The goal was to help inform how future lottery priority zones will be defined, as well as identify possible improvements to lottery communications for the 2027–28 school year and beyond.

Click here to read the full survey results.

What We’re Considering
The perspectives gathered through this engagement are an important part of the decision-making process. Several additional factors also need to be weighed, including:

• Consistency and sustainability
  Can the solution be applied consistently across schools and maintained over time?

• Proximity and walkability
  Does the solution thoughtfully prioritize students who live closest to the school within a reasonable walking distance?

• System and transportation efficiency
  Does the solution support cost control and operational feasibility?

Timeline & Next Steps
Before the decision is communicated, we are taking the time to build out materials to ensure the changes are shared along with clear, easy‑to‑understand information. That includes completing the future lottery priority zone maps, aligning lottery communications and processes, and developing resources to help answer questions from both staff and families.

Further conversations are also underway to address staff workload during the lottery period. The timing of when schools receive their lottery resources and the possibility of shortening the response window for all lottery offers (e.g., making it less than 10 business days) are part of those discussions.

Engagement feedback made it clear that staff want to see and understand the details before any public announcement is made. In response to that feedback, the final decision will be shared in October – before it is communicated publicly in November 2026. Prior to sharing information with families, CBE staff will receive updated materials and be provided with supports to understand the changes. The updated materials will include maps and supporting resources to ensure consistent and accurate communication.

When Changes Will Take Effect
Updates to the lottery priority zones will apply to the 2027–28 lottery, which will take place in February 2027.

If you have questions, please email dialogue@cbe.ab.ca.

Background
Historically, the CBE has aligned the lottery priority zones with the ‘walk zones’ used to determine eligibility for yellow school bus transportation. This approach prioritizes students who live closest to the school.

Provincial legislation changed how transportation eligibility is calculated. Driving distance is now used instead of walking distance. Depending on the grade configuration, some schools may have multiple walk zones. Walk zones defined under this model differ significantly from the 2024–25 walk zone maps.

This change to the walk zone, if adopted for the lottery priority zone, would impact which families are prioritized in the school lottery. For example, some students who live within a short walking distance of a school (via pedestrian pathways) may no longer fall within the highest priority zones under the new transportation eligibility criteria.

This engagement is part of the CBE’s work to review its approach to defining lottery priority zones and ensure the framework is fair, transparent, sustainable, and clearly understood by families.