Enrolling your Children in an U.S. Public School 

Schooling, like many other things in the US, varies from state to state, and things are not “one size fits all” when enrolling your children in school.

For the most part, every state’s public school begins with kindergarten at the age of five. Prior to kindergarten, there is preschool, but preschool is privately operated and therefore not free.

In most school districts, there are three levels of education, broken up by grades. 

• Elementary school -- kindergarten to 5th grade
• Middle school -- 6th grade to 8th grade, and 
• High School -- 9th grade to 12th grade 

It is required to enroll your children in school, and in most states it is mandatory until they graduate. Every local school district is different. In some smaller communities, there may be just one school for each level of education (elementary, middle, and high). However, in larger cities, you might find there are multiple elementary schools and middle schools in the district and one high school that they feed into. Regardless of community make up, where your children will attend school is based on where you live. 

What you need to enroll your child in school:

Each school district will have specific documents to submit for a student to enroll, but most will require:

1. Application, which you can receive by visiting the school’s website or office
2. Child’s proof of Identity and age (e.g. passport, visa, or green card)
3. Proof of residency, specifically a document that has both your name and your address on it, such as a bill, drivers license, tax return, or lease
4. Records of vaccinations and immunizations that your school requires 
5. Any required registration and emergency forms 

Typically, showing up to the school in your district and visiting the front desk to ask for help in enrolling your child in their school is the easiest way to get it done!

Below is a search tool for finding your school district:

https://www.greatschools.org/school-district-boundaries-map/Links to an external site.

More Resources for School:

School for Children

Additional Resources, by state:

• Arizona: https://www.azed.govLinks to an external site.
• Kansas: School District MapLinks to an external site.
• Louisiana: https://www.louisianabelieves.com/schools/public-schoolsLinks to an external site.
• North Dakota: https://www.nd.gov/dpi/districtsschoolsLinks to an external site.
• Pennsylvania: https://www.education.pa.gov/Schools/Pages/Public-Schools.aspxLinks to an external site.
• South Carolina: https://ed.sc.gov/how-do-i/public-schools/Links to an external site.
• Texas: https://www.mytexaspublicschool.org/the-school-system.aspxLinks to an external site.
• Wyoming: https://edu.wyoming.gov/Links to an external site.