This story is part of WTOP鈥檚 2026聽Back to School coverage.
Nearly 1,700 Fairfax County, Virginia, students will attend a different school this fall as a result of the district’s first comprehensive boundary review in decades.
The plan approved by the Fairfax County School Board in January called for 1,697 students to be reassigned to schools other than those they attended during the 2025-26 school year.
Some affected students could opt to remain at their previous school, depending on the grade they’re entering this academic year, according to the school division’s FAQ page.
The boundary changes followed more than a year of public involvement and revisions to the original proposal. The Northern Virginia school system shaped the review with help from the K-12 firm Thru Consulting.
“When we look at boundaries, in some cases, as neighborhoods turn over or new housing is built, or some neighborhoods, students are aging out, we end up with disparate enrollment patterns, which affect class size, often with neighboring schools,” Superintendent Michelle Reid told WTOP.
“Our real goal is to make sure that every classroom has a reasonable class size, and that each school is maximally utilized in terms of space,” Reid said.
The approved plan primarily impacts elementary school students and fewer students than Reid’s initial proposal.
In reviewing attendance boundaries, Fairfax County Public Schools considered enrollment, building capacity, proximity, transportation and access to programming. The review also sought to address “attendance islands” and “split feeders.”
Attendance islands are sections of neighborhoods assigned to a different school than most surrounding students. A split feeder occurs when an elementary or middle school sends students to more than one middle or high school.
The approved plan eliminates or reduces five attendance islands and 15 split feeders.
鈥淥ur boundary work, we want to be strategic,鈥� Reid said. 鈥淭he opportunity to review divisionwide boundaries every five years will really help us stay current with the shifting enrollment patterns of the county.鈥�
According to state data, Fairfax County Public Schools enrolled 2,878 fewer students last school year than during the 2022-23 school year.
The division’s most recent comprehensive boundary review was its first in about 40 years. Before that, school boundaries would see minor tweaks after conversations with school board members or the superintendent.
One boundary change addresses overcrowding at Coates Elementary by reassigning some students to other schools. Another, affecting 201 students at McLean High School, eliminates a split feeder and attendance island and reduces the school’s capacity from 109% to 100%.
The changes drew some opposition.
School Board member Ryan McElveen voted against the proposal in January, saying the step is “reshaping communities, determining friendships that may last a lifetime, connections that will sustain them through joy and hardships alike.”
While the comprehensive review cycle is scheduled to happen every five years, Reid has previously said some neighborhoods could be reviewed sooner. Recommendations for those areas are expected by January, and some other sites have been identified for future review.
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