Public schools are very much like any other school district. However, in Simi Valley parents are allowed to apply to schools of choice. Basically, in the month of Feb. you get an application from a school or schools that you would like to have your child attend that are not their home school. In the month of March they will go through and check their registered enrollment and start placing kids in the school from those applications. Some schools do it as a lottery. There is also the two fundamental schools that have the lottery. They are highly deseriable but they also expect alot from the parents and the kids as far as commitments. You can live anywhere in Simi and apply for pretty much any of the schools. This year the schools that are closed for schools of choice are Wood Ranch Elementary, Simi High, Royal High, and Valley View Middle School. I hope that helps you.