Enrolling Your Child

Use the school attendance area locator tool or call 651-423-7640 to locate your child’s attendance area school.

Attending a different school in District 196

Transferring from one school to another in District 196 (intradistrict transfer) includes transfers based on:

• Daycare;
• Parents’ intent to change residency;
• A junior or senior wanting to remain in a school once their parents have moved, and
• Parents’ choice of a different school.

Review our Attendance Priorities for Transfer Students for additional information.

Magnet school enrollment follows a different process. Learn more about the magnet schools that are available for elementary, middle and high school students, and the enrollment process for students not living in a magnet school attendance area.

Attending a District 196 school if I live outside of the district

502.2P Attendance Priorities for Transfer Students provides an explanation about the open enrollment process. Open Enrollment Applications to attend a school in different Minnesota School District other than the one you live in are due by January 15 for the following school year.

Attending a District 196 magnet school

We offer many excellent school choices for your child — including five elementary, one middle and two high school magnet programs. A magnet school has a theme-based learning environment. This theme is woven into how most classes are taught and expressed. 

Learn more about magnet school enrollment and applications >

Please note, completing this pre-registration form is not your final step. Click on one of the following two buttons to begin pre-registering your child based on your family's current situation. 

K-12 Pre-Registration Completion Checklist

After completing the online pre-registration your child's school will contact you to set up a time for you to bring the following items into school and complete K-12 registration.* 

1. A birth certificate, passport or other evidence of your child’s age.
2. A copy of your child’s current immunization record, medical exemption or conscientious objection.
3. The completed Minnesota Language Survey.
   • English
   • Spanish
   • Somali
   •  Use search tool at top of page using key works 'Minnesota Language' to find this form in languages other than English.
4. Proof of early childhood screening if your child was not screened in District 196.  If your child has not been through the screening process, please visit our early childhood screening page and call 651-423-7899 to set up an appointment.
5. School year childcare information, if applicable, including name, address and phone number of your childcare provider for transportation purposes.

Other information to complete Pre-registration

• Educational Benefits Program applications (Formerly free and reduced-price lunch; Applications need to be renewed every summer.  Please wait until July if you are enrolling for next fall. For more information, visit District 196 Food and Nutrition Services.)
• Denial of Release of Directory and Yearbook Information form
• Transportation information
• Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook
• Early Childhood Screening

Before- and after-school child care

Community Education offers child care through the YMCA SAC Program. Community Education also offers a variety of adult, child, ECFE and aquatics programs.

Kindergarten eligibility

A child is eligible for kindergarten if he or she will be 5 years old on or before September 1 of the year he or she will begin school.

• Early entrance guidelines are available for parents wishing to enroll students who do not meet the age requirement. Parents may also call 651-423-7739 for more information on early entrance to kindergarten.
• Minnesota requires that all children complete a free screening to detect any health and/or developmental concerns prior to entering kindergarten in a public school. District 196 encourages early childhood screening between three and four years of age. This allows time for a preschool experience or other social/educational opportunities to benefit the child. Please contact Early Childhood Screening at 651-423-7899 for more information.

Learn more about Kindergarten at District 196 >

Sport physical and eligibility 

Have it readily available so we can use it to ensure your child can participate in school activities, or if they need specific accommodations based on their needs, that we can provide them to the best of our ability

• For high school students, fill out the MSHSL Sports Qualifying Physical Examination Clearance Form and Annual Sports Health Questionnaire.
• For middle school students, fill out the MSHSL Sports Qualifying Physical Examination Clearance Form.

Transportation

Busing is provided for students who live 1 mile and farther from school for elementary students and 1.5 miles and farther for middle school and high school students. These service distance criteria also apply to students attending the district’s magnet schools and all non-public school students. Visit the Transportation Department page for more information or call 651-423-7685.