Chicago parents are filling out applications to send their kids to some of Chicago’s elite public schools, but it’s still not clear what criteria the district will use to admit students.

Tony Hartman said he and has wife have toured at least seven selective-enrollment schools for their 4-and-a-half year-old daughter.

“It’s just challenging to get into the right school,” Hartman said.

Last year a federal judge lifted a desegregation decree that put the district in somewhat of a bind: figuring out how to maintain diversity at these schools without using race as a factor. The district put in place a temporary policy, and a blue ribbon committee was created to help Chicago Public Schools improve its admissions policy.

But as the Hartmans check out schools, CPS still hasn’t said how it will decide which students get in this time around. Hartman said he’s concerned about his daughter’s chances.

“We’re limited, and we’d be forced to look at private schools in the suburbs, which is what we were trying to avoid when we moved to Chicago in the first place,” he said.

CPS spokeswoman Monique Bond says the district could unveil its admissions policy at November’s Chicago Board of Education meeting.