School lottery FAQ
Common questions from districts and families about running and entering a fair, verifiable school enrollment lottery.
How does Sorteo make sure the draw is actually random and fair?
Each draw takes its randomness from drand, a public beacon that publishes a fresh, unpredictable value every few seconds. Sorteo pins the round before the draw, publishes a fingerprint (an “input commitment”) of the exact entries beforehand, and then publishes a transcript anyone can re-check — so fairness is something you can verify, not just trust.
Do families need to create an account?
No. Families apply, accept, or decline entirely through links — there is no account or password to manage. The forms and emails are available in English and Spanish.
Can we give priority to siblings or staff children?
Yes. You define priority rules — for example, a sibling already enrolled or a staff member’s child — when you set up the lottery, and the draw honors them within the random order.
What happens to families who don’t get a seat?
They go on the waitlist for the schools they ranked. When a seat opens up — a decline or an expired offer — it is automatically offered to the next family in line, and every move is recorded.
How do families find out their result?
Each applicant gets a receipt with a private entry code and a link to the public results page, where they look up their own line by that code. Offers also go out by email in the family’s language.
Is family information shown publicly?
No. The public results page is anonymized — entries appear by a non-identifying code, not by name. A family recognizes only their own code, from their receipt.
Can the results be audited later?
Yes. Every draw publishes a downloadable transcript that ties the inputs, the public beacon value, and each seat assignment together, so the result can be re-verified at any time.
Is there anything to install?
No. Sorteo runs in the browser — there is no software to install for the district or for families.