Frisco ISD is set to create nearly $1.5 million in new revenue through the Access Frisco program for the 2025-26 school year.
Access Frisco is a program through which students outside FISD attendance zones can transfer into FISD campuses that are at or below 90% enrollment capacity. In 2025-26, this included 40 elementary campuses and 12 middle schools.
In 2026-27, FISD will be expanding the Access Frisco program to include six high school campuses: Emerson High School, Frisco High School, Independence High School, Liberty High School, Memorial High School, Panther Creek High School.
To be eligible to apply for the Access Frisco program, students must:
- Be a Texas resident;
- Have regular attendance for the current school year (no more than 10 unexcused absences);
- Not have been placed in ISS, OSS, DAEP, JJAEP, or have been expelled in both the current and previous school year;
- Have made “appropriate academic progress,” including passing most core academic classes and having “satisfactory scores on standardized assessments”
The reason why the Access Frisco program is generating so much revenue for FISD connects back to the formulas that dictate school funding.
Under Texas law, each student receives a basic allotment that previously used to be $6,160 but was recently raised to $6,215 with the passage of House Bill 2 by the 89th Texas Legislature. Based on the weighted average daily attendance (WADA) of students and this basic allotment, Texas school districts receive the amount of funding that they do.
This year, the district saw a total of 183 out-of-district students through the Access Frisco program out of 600 program applicants and 900 open seats.
By allowing more students to transfer into the district, the district can increase this weighted average daily attendance amount and thereby increase the amount of funding that it receives from the state.
However, on the flip side, accepting more students could increase costs for the district, including classroom size, related teacher hiring requirements, and materials such as chairs and desks. Yet as capacities have not been reached for the schools that are part of the Access Frisco program, part of the financial burden stemming from building and maintenance costs can likely be alleviated.
The priority application window for the Access Frisco program for the 2026-27 school year will open on Jan. 12 next year and remain open until Jan. 23. More information can be found here.
