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Enrollment and Registration

Student Enrollment and Registration

Students who are newcomer immigrants and refugees bring a wealth of assets and strengths to their new Wisconsin school communities, including prior educational experiences, diverse culture and lived experience, emerging multilingualism, and more. These strengths can benefit not only the students themselves, but their peers and communities at large. At the same time, these students and families can also face unique barriers that make enrolling and accessing a school community difficult, including language and culture barriers and a history of trauma. Working in partnership with newcomer students and families, districts can lead with an asset-based and culturally-competent approach, starting with the registration and enrollment process and lasting throughout a child’s academic career, to ensure that all students and families feel welcomed and valued as important members of their school communities.

This chapter summarizes information to assist school districts as they work to welcome, enroll, and embrace children and families immigrating to Wisconsin, including those who are refugees, and reduce potential barriers that might impede student enrollment and registration among these populations.

Principles to Keep Top of Mind: Belonging and Asset Mindset

Questions to Ask

  • Enrollment is likely to be the first contact between a school and a student and their family. Consider how you can center human warmth and make it a welcoming act. How can you welcome them like potential beloved friends and respected partners in education?
  • How can helping someone fill out a form be a more connecting and welcoming experience? Can each touchpoint help build a deeper relationship?
  • What can you do to help students and families feel safe, supported, and secure as you collect necessary information?
  • Do you know how families see their role in their children’s education? Do you know how they want to be involved with the school and what support they may need to play the role they want to play?
  • How are you engaging both students and families in a language they can understand? Does your process allow for effective two-way communication? Do parents and caregivers have the support they need to understand the enrollment and registration process, including any forms or policies that require their express support (e.g. policies related to pictures, vaccinations, technology, parent handbooks, etc.)? Do they have the language support not only to understand what is being communicated to them, but also to communicate back to you?

Engaging Caregivers and Family

All parents and caregivers play a critical role in their child’s education. When enrolling newcomer immigrant and refugee students, it is critically important to engage with parents and caregivers fully and meaningfully from the start, and to take extra steps to not only assist with completing necessary forms, but also in assisting in the understanding of the content and purpose throughout the process.

Caregivers of immigrant and refugee students who may be identified as English learners play the additional role of serving as an anchor for their child as they adapt to a new linguistic and cultural environment. The initial step is in determining the language(s) caregivers feel most comfortable using when communicating. School districts are required, to the extent practicable, to communicate with parents in a language they can understand. “Schools must communicate information to limited English proficient parents in a language they can understand about any program, service, or activity that is called to the attention of parents who are proficient in English. This includes, but is not limited to: registration and enrollment in school and school programs.” (Source: USED/DOJ Fact Sheet: Information for Limited English Proficient (LEP) Parents and Guardians and for Schools and School Districts that Communicate with Them)

Chapter 10 of DPI’s English Learner Policy Handbook provides additional information, guidance, and best practices for districts to consider when serving students and families with English language needs.

Legal Requirements and Considerations during Enrollment and Registration

Legal Requirements

The United States Supreme Court held in Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982) that the Constitution guarantees all children, regardless of immigration status, equal access to a basic public education. The Court held that “denying these children a basic education” would “deny them the ability to live within the structure of our 

civic institutions, and foreclose any realistic possibility that they will contribute in even the smallest way to the progress of our Nation.”
The United States Departments of Education (DOE) and Justice (DOJ) have developed several resource and guidance documents to “assist states and school districts in meeting their legal obligations and to ensure that enrollment policies and practices do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin and do not bar or discourage students’ enrollment based on their or their parents’ actual or perceived immigration status,” including the following:

As part of our state’s commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all children, school districts should take proactive steps to educate parents about their children’s rights during enrollment, including all available means for demonstrating residency and student age.

Determining Residency

Wisconsin’s Constitution entitles a pupil to a free education in the school district in which the pupil resides (regardless of where their parent or guardian resides), except students who have reached the age of twenty-one or who have matriculated from an accredited secondary institution. Based on this principle, a resettled refugee child is a resident of the school district in which the refugee lives and is entitled to enroll in that school district, regardless of the child’s or the families’ immigration status.

Proof of Residency Requirements

There are no specific state laws regarding documentation required to establish proof of residency. Districts are free to set their own policies on such documentation, but must apply these policies equally to all pupils. As noted by USED/DOJ, “A parent must be permitted to establish residency using any of the alternative methods provided for by state or local law. States and districts cannot apply different rules, or apply the same rules differently, to children based on their or their parents’ actual or perceived race, color, national origin, citizenship, immigration status, or other impermissible factor. All students must be treated equally.” (Source: Information on the Rights of All Children to Enroll in School: Questions and Answers for States, School Districts, and Parents).

Districts should review, and update as needed, any local proof of residency requirements that could have the effect of barring or discouraging students who do not have specific documentation from enrolling in or attending school. For example, while a district may accept a parent’s state-issued identification or driver’s license as proof of residency, a school district may not require such documentation to establish residency, nor require it for other purposes where such a requirement would unlawfully bar a student whose parents may be undocumented from enrolling in school. For additional information please visit: Fact Sheet: Information on the Rights of All Children to Enroll in School.

Students who are Homeless

A school district may not deny enrollment to a child who is homeless because they cannot provide the required documents to establish residency. The federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act delineates educational rights and support for children and youth experiencing homelessness, including guaranteeing immediate access to a free, appropriate public education. Under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, children and youth who are homeless must be exempted from proof of residency requirements.

Federal law identifies a number of living arrangements under which inhabitants would qualify for purposes of the Act, such as: children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason; living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations; and living in emergency or transitional shelters.

Under McKinney-Vento, school districts must appoint a local liaison to ensure that children experiencing homelessness have the opportunity to succeed academically, including that:

  • Children and youth eligible under McKinney Vento are identified;
  • They immediately enroll in, and have a full and equal opportunity to succeed in, the schools of the district; and
  • They receive educational services for which they are eligible, and referrals to health care services, dental services, mental health services, and other appropriate services.

Additional information regarding the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is available at www.ed.gov/programs/homeless/guidance.pdf. (Source: Information on the Rights of All Children to Enroll in School: Questions and Answers for States, School Districts, and Parents; 42 U.S.C. § 114341 et seq.).

Unaccompanied Youth

Unaccompanied children residing in a Wisconsin school district do not live with a parent or formal legal guardian. At the time the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) places a child with a sponsor, the sponsor typically will not have legal custody or guardianship. While DHS recommends that the sponsor seek guardianship, sponsors are not required to do so. Therefore, unaccompanied children placed by DHS in the care of a sponsor may face additional challenges in establishing formal residency within a district. For purposes of residency determinations, it is not required that a sponsor establish custody or control through a formal guardianship proceeding. Accordingly, lack of evidence of a formal guardianship proceeding should not delay enrollment of an unaccompanied immigrant child if the sponsor's home is the child's permanent residence and the sponsor has full authority and responsibility with respect to the child's support and custody. (Source: Chapter 12, DPI’s English Learner Policy Handbook)

When encountering students that do not have guardianship, it is important to connect with the district homeless liaison to determine if this student is experiencing homelessness as they may be able to assist. If such a student is not experiencing homelessness, the LEA should check existing policies or procedures to determine who will take educational guardianship or responsibility for that student.

Immigration, Refugee, or Citizenship Status

A school district should not ask about a child’s or family’s citizenship or immigration status in the course of establishing residency within the district. Per DOJ/USED, “Immigration or citizenship status is not relevant to establishing residency in the district, and inquiring about it in the context of establishing residency is unnecessary and may have a chilling or a discouraging effect on student enrollment.” (Source: Information on the Rights of All Children to Enroll in School: Questions and Answers for States, School Districts, and Parents).

Determining a Student’s Age

Similar to proof of residency, district policies may vary on the documents needed to prove a student’s age and a variety of documents are generally accepted. For example, documents could include a religious, hospital, or physician’s certificate showing date of birth; an entry in a family bible; an adoption record; an affidavit from a parent; a birth certificate; and previously verified school records.

While a district may request a birth certificate or affidavit to verify a student’s age, school districts may not prevent or discourage a child from enrolling in or attending school because they lack a birth certificate or have records that indicate a foreign place of birth, such as a foreign birth certificate. Districts should consider reviewing their policies and work proactively to make parents aware of alternative methods to demonstrate a student’s age. For example, a district “should publicize that it will use a foreign birth certificate, baptismal record, or alternative document in the same manner that it will use a United States birth certificate, baptismal record, or alternative document: that is, solely to establish the age of a child.” (Source: Information on the Rights of All Children to Enroll in School: Questions and Answers for States, School Districts, and Parents)

Immunizations and Physical Examination

Wis. Stat. Sec. (120.12(16)(a)(b), requires school boards to develop and implement a plan to encourage compliance with the state immunization program and requires evidence that students have received specific vaccinations. Waivers may be claimed based on personal conviction, religious beliefs or health reasons. Documentation is needed to support such waivers. (See Wis. Admin. Code §§ DHS 144.04, 144.05).

References and Resources: Student Enrollment and Registration

"Access to Education - Rule of Law | United States Courts." https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/ac.... Accessed 3 Jan. 2022.

"Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) Guidance ...." https://dpi.wi.gov/homeless/guidance. Accessed 26 Nov. 2021.

"FACT SHEET: Educational Services for Immigrant Children and ...." https://www.theotx.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/USDE_FAQ_uic_Aug2014.pdf. Accessed 26 Nov. 2021.

WI DPI Modules 2017: Creating Safe and Healthy Environments for Immigrant and Refugee Youth, Module 1, Educational Rights of Immigrant and Refugee Students

WI DPI English Learner Policy Handbook https://dpi.wi.gov/english-learners/el-identification-and-placement

WI DPI Fostering Innovation in Wisconsin Schools: Beyond Credits and Seat Time and Toward Innovative Practices that Lead to College and Career Readiness https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/cal/Fostering%20Innovation%2...

“Welcoming, Registering, and Supporting Newcomer Students: A Toolkit for Educators of Immigrant and Refugee Students in Secondary Schools,” REL Northwest, February 2021: https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/rel/Project/4628

USED/DOJ Resources

Fact Sheet: Information on the Rights of All Children to Enroll in School https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2014/05/08/plyler...

Information on the Rights of All Children to Enroll in School: Questions and Answers for States, School Districts, and Parents https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/qa-201405.pdf

Confronting Discrimination Based on National Origin or Immigration Status https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/confronting-discriminati...

English Learners Dear Colleague Letter, January 2015; https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-el-201501.pdf

Fact Sheet: Information for Limited English Proficient (LEP) Parents and Guardians and for Schools and School Districts that Communicate with Them

Operation Allies Welcome Dear Colleague Letter, January 2022 https://oese.ed.gov/files/2022/01/K-12-Resources-for-Afghan-Evacuees.pdf

Last updated: February 2022