Enrollment

We enroll all children who meet the age, residency, and public health requirements established by New York State law. We also enroll students who are considered homeless, following the standards and procedures of federal and state law.

Conditional Enrollment and Attendance

When a child’s parent, or a person in parental relation to a child, requests enrollment of the child in our school district, we enroll the child on a conditional basis, and the child is expected to begin attendance the next day or as soon as necessary arrangements can be made. Enrollment is considered conditional pending our review of documentation presented by the child’s parent, or the person in parental relation to the child. The child shall continue to be conditionally enrolled, and expected to attend school pending a complete review of documentation, as well as the duration of any review of an unfavorable decision.

Process and Documentation for Enrollment Review

The determination regarding the student’s eligibility for continued enrollment, including the student’s residency status is made by the Superintendent of Schools. The required documentation should be provided to the appropriate building principal.

For purposes of processing an enrollment request, the District does not request a Social Security card or number, and does not request any information about the immigration status of the child or the adult requesting the student’s enrollment.

Residency

The District seeks documentation to verify that the child to be enrolled resides with the parent or person in parental relation, and that the parent or person in parental relation maintains a physical presence in the District that qualifies as a residence.

To establish that the child resides with the parent or person in parental relation, the District requests that the adult sign an affidavit that the child lawfully resides with them. In the case of a person in parental relation, the affidavit must also state that the adult has total and permanent custody and control of the child, and explain how they obtained that custody and control.

To establish that the adult maintains a residence in the District, the District first requests this documentation:

If these forms of documentation are not available, the District will accept for review other forms of documentation of residency, including but not limited to:

Non-Resident Enrollment

As a general rule, the district does not accept enrollment of out of district students. When a student moves out of the district mid-year, non-resident families who wish to enroll their children in the Herkimer School District shall submit a written admission request to the Superintendent, who shall determine whether or not admission will be granted in accordance with District policy. Permission must be obtained on an ANNUAL basis for non-resident students to continue to attend Herkimer Central Schools.

Continued attendance in our school district will be strictly governed by the practices and policies of the school district. In addition, it should also be understood that as a non-resident student, the student and the parents must assume the responsibility for daily transportation to and from school.

Age of Child

A child will be enrolled if the child will be age 5 before Dec. 1 of the school year for which the student seeks to enroll, and will be enrolled through the school year in which the child either completes high school graduation requirements or reaches age 21.

If there is available a certified transcript of a birth certificate or record of baptism, including a certified transcript of a foreign birth certificate or certificate of baptism, no other form of evidence will be accepted to establish the child’s age.

If a certified transcript of a birth certificate or record of baptism is not available, the District will request a passport, including a foreign passport, to establish the child’s age.

If neither a certified transcript of a birth certificate or record of baptism, or a passport, is available, the District will consider other documentation, including but not limited to the types in this list, provided that those documents have been in existence for two (2) years or more:

Where documents are presented that originate in a foreign country, the District may request verification of the documents from an appropriate foreign government of agency, consistent with the requirements of FERPA concerning the confidentiality of education records.

Public Health Requirements

The District requires proof of immunization, as required by Section 2164(7) of the New York State Public Health Law, before a student may attend school. Those requirements can also be reviewed in Board Policy #7511, Immunization of Students. The District will also exclude an enrolled student from attending school when the student has a communicable or infectious disease that imposes a significant risk of infection of others, as required by Section 906 of the New York State Education Law.

Determination Regarding Continued Enrollment

In the usual case, a determination of whether the child is entitled to continue attendance in the District will be made by the Superintendent of Schools within three (3) business days of the child’s initial enrollment. This time period may be extended where additional documentation is required, or verification is required. Each parent or person in parental relation who seeks to enroll a child will be provided a reasonable opportunity to submit available information. A written notification of the determination will be provided to the parent or person in parental relation who requested the enrollment.

If the determination has been made by a school official other than the Board or its designee, the parent or person in parental relation will be notified of the procedure for obtaining a review of that determination within the District.

When the Board or its designee determines that a child is not entitled to attend school in the District because the child is not a resident of the District, the written notice of that determination will be provided to the parent or person in parental relation within two (2) business days of the determination, and it will include this information:

McKenny-Vento Homeless Liaison /

Foster Child Point of Contact

(315) 866-2230 ext. 1001

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