Some Jefferson County Public Schools magnet applications are finished when the district form is in. Others are not. The district form is on the Student Assignment page.
The Options and Magnet application is that district form. A second file is anything a school asks you to send on top of it. If a school asks for more and it never arrives, the application is incomplete even when the JCPS form went in on time.
Which magnets stop at the district form?
The Choices PDFs still on the district site are the 2026 to 2027 books, and JCPS has not posted a 2027 to 2028 Choices book. Butler Traditional High School and Louisville Male High School stop there, because they use a lottery, according to that latest book, the 2026 to 2027 High School Choices guide. The same guide says some other magnets may ask for a work sample or test scores, and that an application is incomplete if the requested information never reaches the school. How Butler, Male, Central, and Brown compare is in 4 JCPS Magnets to Consider Before You Automatically Pick Manual.
For elementary magnet programs, the latest Elementary School Choices guide, for 2026 to 2027, says every student who applies during the application period is in a lottery, and that no additional selection criteria or materials are required for elementary magnet program admission. That sentence is about magnet programs. It is not a blanket rule for every magnet school. Brandeis Elementary's profile in the same guide says students are selected by random draw. Brown is the magnet school that still wants its own form at the elementary level.
The middle school Choices guide says some schools with magnet programs will ask for work samples or test scores. It does not name the schools. If a school's Choices profile is silent and its own site posts no criteria, call the school before the November 2 window opens.
What does Manual add to the district form?
Manual adds its own online file, and both pieces are due the same day.
On duPont Manual's admissions site, the district Options and Magnet application and Manual's own file are both due December 18, 2026. The site says those links appear on November 2, 2026. Complete the JCPS application first. Recommendations are due January 5, 2027. Manual emails the form to the address you type. Paper forms and letters are not accepted. Confirm the email with the recommender before you submit. The four magnets with posted score sheets are High School University, Math Science Technology, Journalism and Communication, and Visual Arts. Each of those pages links its own sheet.
What does the YPAS page still show?
A resume, an essay, two recommendations, and an audition. Not a points rubric, and not a 2027 to 2028 label.
Manual's Youth Performing Arts School page is still labeled for 2026 to 2027. The page says it was approved in September 2022. The checklist asks for a performance resume, a one page essay, and two recommendations, and its optional attendance note still cites absences through 2024 to 2025. Those can come from a school teacher, a private instructor, a director, or another community member. The page says audition details are emailed after the application and both recommendations are in. It does not print a points rubric.
The school's own admissions page lists 1517 S. 2nd, Louisville, KY 40208, and the phone 502 485 8355. It did not list audition pieces or a score sheet.
The Choices guide says students must audition. It says selection uses achievement test scores, academic achievement, personal essays, teacher recommendations, performing arts auditions, and an on site writing prompt. The guide attaches no points to that list.
What has Brown posted for the next cycle?
On October 3, 2026, Brown's site still showed only the closed cycle; by October 9 both pages had switched to 2027 to 2028.
Brown's middle and high admissions page, checked October 9, 2026, says admission is criteria based. The Brown School Admissions Form opens November 2 and walks a family through the JCPS magnet application, academic materials if the student was outside JCPS in the current or prior year, and two teacher recommendations. All tasks are due December 18, 2026. Applicants who meet the academic and recommendation criteria are invited to a survey and writing task session.
Brown's elementary admissions page, checked October 9, 2026, says admission is a random draw lottery, but the family still completes the Brown School Admissions Form, which opens November 2, 2026, and must mark Brown as first choice by December 18, 2026. Both pages say JCPS does not provide school bus transportation to Brown.
The site lists brian.garrett@jefferson.kyschools.us and jalisa.meaux@jefferson.kyschools.us for questions. It also prints the Parent Assistance Center at 502 485 6250.
What about Central?
Central's guide names essays, recommendations, grades, and test scores. Central's homepage, checked October 9, 2026, links a Yellowjacket Applicants document that lays out the second file. Finish the JCPS application first. Both the JCPS and Central applications are due December 18, 2026. The applicant answers one of three prompts: how they lead now and can grow, how their three strongest qualities can drive social change, or which of Central's 10 magnet programs they want and how it can help social change. The response is one performance task: an essay of 500 to 700 words written by the applicant, a video of at least 1 to 2 minutes, or a Google Site. It is posted in the Google Classroom for the student's last name, with share settings open to anyone and the student's first and last name on it. Two recommendations come from a teacher, counselor, or principal through a Google form, and a personal profile questionnaire after the uploads is required. Private school applicants, or anyone with upload trouble, can email centralhigh_reginfo@jefferson.kyschools.us. The class codes are in the document. Open the current version from Central's homepage on the day you apply, because the October 9 copy can change. For questions about the prompts or a paper submission, call Central at 502 485 8226.
Which other magnets have not published a second file?
Western High, W.E.B. DuBois Academy, and Dr. Grace James Academy of Excellence do not, in their Choices profiles, say they require an essay, an audition, or a form of their own.
Noe Middle posts evidence and rubric pages, but they do not display the criteria. Call Noe at 502 485 8307.
What do you click on November 2?
Open the district application from the Student Assignment page. If the school is Manual, finish Manual's own file, and confirm the recommender emails for the forms due January 5, 2027. If the school is Brown, complete the Brown School Admissions Form, which opens November 2, by December 18, 2026, and plan your own transportation. If the school is Central, follow the Yellowjacket Applicants document and call 502 485 8226 with questions.
The Office of School Choice number on the Student Assignment page is 502 485 6250. The High School Choices guide lists in person help at 4309 Bishop Lane and at any school.