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As a special committee inches closer to making recommendations on new school zones, Richmond Public Schools wants to shake up how open enrollment is done.

Superintendent Jason Kamras’ administration recommended this week to the Richmond School Board that, starting next year, the school system have a weighted lottery for its open enrollment students, helping students from low-income families get into schools that aren’t in their neighborhood zones.

The idea is one that has been discussed frequently throughout a rezoning process that has proved controversial with school leaders unsure of how to best diversify the city’s schools.

“It’s a way to promote equity,” Kamras said Monday, when the proposal was made official for the first time. “If you think of inequity as the deck being stacked against some kids, if we can flip that and stack it in their favor, I think that’s a good thing to do.”

Richmond’s current open enrollment process is unweighted, giving every family in the city the same opportunity to transfer out of their zoned school and into another if there’s space. About 1,000 families currently use the system, which does not include Franklin Military Academy or the International Baccalaureate program.