Schools in Laguna Beach

The public schools

The Laguna Beach Unified School District, known as LBUSD, runs the public schools in Laguna Beach. It teaches transitional kindergarten through twelfth grade in two elementary schools, one middle school and one high school, and it operates a preschool. The district office is at 550 Blumont Street, and the main number is 949-497-7700.

This guide names schools and gives their addresses. It does not rate or rank them.

• El Morro Elementary, 8681 North Coast Highway. Kindergarten through grade 5, with transitional kindergarten. Phone 949-497-7780. Website: ems.lbusd.org.
• Top of the World Elementary, 21601 Treetop Lane. Kindergarten through grade 5, with transitional kindergarten. Phone 949-497-7790. Website: tow.lbusd.org.
• Thurston Middle School, 2100 Park Avenue. Grades 6 through 8. Phone 949-497-7785. Website: tms.lbusd.org.
• Laguna Beach High School, 625 Park Avenue. Phone 949-497-7750. Website: lbhs.lbusd.org.

District programs

The district’s website lists these programs by name. This guide does not evaluate them; read each program’s page on lbusd.org for details.

• Career Technical Education (CTE) pathways. The district says Laguna Beach High School students have 10 pathways on campus, plus more courses through College and Career Advantage, a regional occupational program.
• Dual Enrollment and Early College Credit
• Work-Based Learning
• GATE
• Expanded Learning (ELO-P)
• Summer School/LEAD
• Independent Study / Distance Learning
• International Exchange Program
• Special Education
• Adult Education
• Parent Education

Preschool and transitional kindergarten

Laguna Beach Preschool meets at 8681 North Coast Highway, the same address as El Morro Elementary. It takes children ages 2.9 to 4 by September 1. Priority goes first to district residents, then to the children of district employees. Applicants from outside the district can join if space allows.

The district’s preschool pages cover school readiness, developmental screenings and the Learning Link Program. Questions about the preschool and transitional kindergarten go to the district’s Director of Early Learning.

Transitional kindergarten is for students turning 4 by September 1. Classes meet at both the Top of the World and El Morro sites, and extended-day programs are available. For 2026-27, kindergarten students had to be 5 by September 1, 2026.

How elementary attendance works

The district’s School Boundaries page links two documents: a district boundaries map and a street list. The September 2026 street list tags each Laguna Beach street with a school code, one for each elementary school. It splits some long streets by address range, so the full address decides, not the street name or the neighborhood.

The district boundary reaches past the city limit. The street list has separate sections for Newport Coast and for Aliso Viejo, and it marks a few Newport Coast streets “some, not all.” The city’s permits page describes the same reach: its School District permit serves residents who live outside the city but inside the district, in areas such as Emerald Bay, Newport Coast and Laguna Audubon. See Parking and permits for that permit and Emerald Bay for the community.

If the list does not settle an address, the district tells readers to contact Business Services at 949-497-7700, extension 5212, or development@lbusd.org.

Parents of any student who lives inside the district may apply to enroll that student in any district school, whatever the home address. The elementary offices handle those requests: El Morro at 949-497-7780 and Top of the World at 949-497-7790.

Enrolling a new student

New students enroll online through the district’s Aeries system. The district says the form takes 20 to 30 minutes and needs a valid email address. Enrollment for 2026-27 opened on February 11, 2026, so check the enrollment page for the next opening date.

The district asks for these documents:

1. A Residency Verification Affidavit plus two proofs of residency, such as a mortgage statement, a lease or a utility bill.
2. Proof of age: an official birth certificate, a certified copy, a baptismal certificate, an alternate birth record, a parent or guardian affidavit, or a current passport.
3. Immunization records.
4. An oral health assessment for a student’s first year of transitional kindergarten or kindergarten, or of first grade for a student not enrolled in either before.
5. Three emergency contacts and information on the prior school or schools of the last two years.

The enrollment page also links grade-level placement guidelines, oral health assessment forms in English and Spanish, a Record of Prior Programs and Services form, an Acceptable Use Agreement and housing and residency forms. Each campus takes enrollment questions by email: enrolllbhs@lbusd.org for the high school, enrolltms@lbusd.org for Thurston, enrollems@lbusd.org for El Morro and enrolltow@lbusd.org for Top of the World.

The district checks residency again each year before school starts. A student needs a valid address inside the district boundary, and enrollment is not complete until every required document is in.

Transfers between districts

LBUSD accepts interdistrict transfer agreements for the following school year from March 1 through May 15. A student who lives elsewhere needs the home district to issue the form. LBUSD generally denies incoming requests. It names two exceptions: a student whose parent is a full-time, permanent LBUSD employee, and a student who attended Laguna Beach High School through eleventh grade, moved out of the district and wants to finish twelfth grade there.

The district says it approves most requests from its own students who want to attend elsewhere. The receiving district makes the final decision. Agreements last one year, and a student on an agreement in grade 10 may continue through grades 11 and 12. If LBUSD denies an incoming request, a parent can appeal to the County Board of Education within 30 calendar days of the final denial. Transfer forms go to the district’s Instructional Services Office at 550 Blumont Street.

Private schools and the art college

Anneliese Schools runs three campuses. The South Laguna Campus, in South Laguna Beach, teaches nursery, preschool, pre-K or transitional kindergarten, and kindergarten. The Willowbrook Campus, in Laguna Beach Canyon, teaches nursery through sixth grade. The Manzanita Campus, in central Laguna Beach, teaches pre-K or transitional kindergarten through second grade, and the school lists it as closed for renovations for 2026-27. The administrative office is at 20062 Laguna Canyon Road.

Laguna College of Art and Design sits at 2222 Laguna Canyon Road. It is an art and design college that offers Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts programs.

California requires private schools that offer elementary or secondary instruction to file an annual affidavit with the state Department of Education, and the department publishes a private school directory. The state says that a school’s listing there does not mean it has evaluated, approved or endorsed that school. This guide names only the private schools whose own websites confirm a Laguna Beach location.

Dates to know

• February. New-student enrollment for 2026-27 opened on February 11, 2026.
• March 1 to May 15. LBUSD accepts interdistrict transfer agreements for the following school year.
• September 1. This is the birthdate cutoff for transitional kindergarten (turning 4), for Laguna Beach Preschool (ages 2.9 to 4) and, for 2026-27, for kindergarten (age 5).

Libraries and learning outside school

The Laguna Beach Library, an OC Public Libraries branch, is at 363 Glenneyre Street. The county lists hours of 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The city’s Lot 23 sits at the same address and serves library patrons when it is not open to the public. See Parking and permits for the lot hours.

Questions to ask before you choose a home

1. Call district Business Services and ask which elementary school a specific address uses. Do this for each home you are considering, because boundaries follow addresses.
2. Confirm the birthdate cutoff for transitional kindergarten or kindergarten for the year you plan to enroll.
3. Ask the district how an intradistrict transfer works if you want a different elementary school.
4. Ask the school office about its own programs, and read the school’s website at the addresses above.

When you move, add school enrollment to your moving checklist and your first 30 days list. For the costs that come with a home, see Cost of living.