Come August 2026, some Howard County Public School System students will call a new school home.

The school system is about to embark on a boundary review, also known as redistricting, for 11 schools in Columbia and Ellicott City. The goal is to relieve overcrowded schools, reshuffling students into underpopulated buildings.

All changes in school attendance areas will take effect for the 2026-27 school year.

Enrollment projections show Bryant Woods Elementary will balloon to 137% capacity in 2033 because of ongoing development in the Columbia Town Center area, according to the school system. School system staff also projected that Centennial Lane Elementary will continue to exceed student capacity from now until 2033.

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To rein in the student population at both schools, students could be moved to one of the nearby elementary schools: Running Brook, Longfellow or Swansfield. Clemens Crossing Elementary could also be involved in the reshuffling because it is near Bryant Woods, the school system said.

In addition, the changes might affect how students from those schools feed into their assigned middle and high schools. That could mean changes to attendance zones for Burleigh Manor, Harper’s Choice and Wilde Lake middle schools, and Centennial and Wilde Lake high schools.

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To make the transition as smooth as possible, the school system will hold public input sessions over the next several months.

There are three information sessions this month:

  • April 15 at Wilde Lake Middle School
  • April 24 at Burleigh Manor Middle School
  • April 28 at Swansfield Elementary School

All sessions will be from 6:30-7:30 p.m. School system staff will discuss the scope, timeline and boundary review process. General questions about the process will be answered, but no potential redistricting scenarios will be presented at these sessions.

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An online survey about the process is open through April 30.

The school board is expected to vote on the redistricting plan in November.

The school system has grappled with the challenges of redistricting before. A contentious districtwide redistricting nearly six years ago garnered a lot of community involvement and emotion. Howard parents and community members held protests, flooded public hearings and work sessions, and formed neighborhood groups to make their voices heard.