Student Enrollment

If the family does not have a birth certificate, but has other government issued verification of age (I-94, passport, court order), the student can start school.

Yes, if the student has attended another school in Washington State. If the student has not attended another school in Washington State, then government issued verification of age must be provided (birth certificate, I-94, passport, court order).

Students should be placed in kindergarten if they are 5 by August 31, or grade 1 if they are 6 by August 31. Students younger than 6 who have completed an approved kindergarten program should be placed into grade 1. If you have questions on what qualifies as an approved kindergarten program, please contact PreK and Elementary Success at 206-631-3190.

Students older than kindergarten or grade 1 should either be placed into the next grade level from the one they were in the previous year (ie, a student who finished grade 4 last year would go into grade 5 this year) or, if the previous grade level can’t be ascertained, the student should be placed into their age-appropriate grade level (ie., a 10 year old by August 31 would go into grade 5). There is some principal discretion allowed, but it is expected that the discretion would be rarely used, and would only be used after consultation with the Instructional Leadership Executive Director. Please see policy 3110 for more details.

Yes, per Highline policy 3120, the student should have a temporary placement until the SPED records have been received. If you have questions on this, please contact the appropriate Inclusive Education assistant director at 206-631-3009.

Yes, per Highline policy 3120, the counselor should work with the student to determine class placement.

The parent/guardian or adult student must provide documentation to verify residence and cannot start school until this has been provided, per Highline procedures 3132P. However there are a few exceptions:

1. The lack of documentation for enrollment may not delay start of school for a student who qualifies for McKinney Vento.
2. If a family does not qualify for McKinney Vento, but does not have proof of residency in their name, they must complete a Verification of Residency form (and required attachments) prior to starting school. If there are concerns about falsification of address, please refer to Highline procedure 3132.

Families must provide a Certificate of Immunization Status form (CIS). Information on the CIS form is used to determine if a student is fully immunized, conditional or exempt. If a student is conditional, they cannot be excluded from school. Per WAC 246-105-020, 246-105-060, parents or guardians have 30 days to get their child vaccinated, show a record of past vaccination, or exempt their child for the missing vaccine upon being notified of their child’s conditional status.

Expulsions are now limited to 90 school days per state law (see Highline procedure 3240) unless the expulsion was for a firearm, or unless the Principal requests the Superintendent to extend the expulsion. Firearm expulsions are a mandatory 1-year expulsion, although the student may request early readmission. If the student has completed the 90-day expulsion, they are eligible to return to school. Long term suspensions do not carry over to the next school year and students are eligible to return to school. In both circumstances reengagement meetings should happen over the summer to ensure students have a plan in place to start the first day of school.

Yes, unless the expulsion was for a firearm. Washington’s school districts are each separate entities, and an expulsion from one district does not automatically apply to all other districts. A district can reject a non-resident application based on an expulsion that exceeds 10 days, but a district cannot refuse to enroll a resident student who has been expelled from a previous district unless the expulsion was for a firearm. A district may, however, determine the best placement for a new student (such as an alternative school), or possibly place reasonable restrictions on the student at the time of enrollment (such as a behavior or a reengagement plan).

Yes, students should be enrolled and may start school even if the ELPA21 screener is not administered right away. The requirement is students must be tested within the first three days of attendance in a Washington State School. Please see the ELPA21 page on the OSPI website for more details. If you have additional questions, contact the Language Learning Department at 206-631-3035.