Student Registration

Student Registration Process

The registration process for students entering our district, in accordance with New York State Education Department (NYSED) guidelines and District Policy, involves several key steps.

• Parents or guardians are required to complete a registration form,
• Provide essential information such as the:
  • student's proof of age/birth and parental relationship
    
  • residency documentation,
    
  • immunization records,
    
  • medical examination

In order to facilitate the registration process, we encourage families/guardians to:

• Schedule an appointment to meet with our school office staff, or
• Drop off the packet at the school by asking the security guard to give the packet to the main office
• If you have any questions and ensure a smooth transition for the student into our schools, please contact the schools. Below is the information for the individual schools.

Please contact the school’s main office at each building/school to assist you in setting up a convenient time for your visit. Please be mindful of the Visitors to School Guidelines

False Information Notification

Any person or persons, who willfully provide false information regarding residence, may be subject to criminal penalties. Making a false statement regarding residence or entitlement to a tuition free education from the district is punishable as a Class A Misdemeanor. In addition, if it is determined that a registrant's child resides outside of the district, the district may take legal action to collect tuition charges. Such tuition charges may exceed $15,880 for general education non-resident students and/or $59,874 per student for non-resident special education students, per year if the student is not legally entitled to receive a tuition-free education from the district. The district reserves the right to investigate any student's residency by any legal means available, including but not limited to public records, site visits and other lawful methods of investigation.

Which School Will My Child Attend?

According to district policy 5110, boundaries for attendance areas shall be as follows:

• FOREST ROAD - All children living south of Sunrise Highway to the southern boundary of
  Valley Stream 30
  
• CLEAR STREAM AVENUE - All children living north of Sunrise Highway to the southern
  section of Merrick Road within the boundaries of Valley Stream 30
  
• SHAW AVENUE - All children living north of Merrick Road to the boundary of Valley Stream 30

If you want to identity what school building in Valley Stream #30 your address is zoned for, please check:

• School Address Listing
  

Click here to verify your home is part of the Valley Stream District #30.

Are There Forms I Am Required to Complete?

Yes, families/guardians are expected to fill out the registration packet by downloading the packet in their preferred language, see below. In addition, we encourage families/guardians to contact their schools and schedule an appointment to meet with our school office staff to address any questions and ensure a smooth transition for the student into our schools.

According to New York State Education Law 3202(1) “A person over five and under twenty-one years of age who has not received a high school diploma is entitled to attend the public schools maintained in the district in which such person resides without the payment of tuition.”

Residence in this context means permanent domicile, as distinguished from a temporary abode. While a person may have many residences, he or she may have only one domicile.

For more information on residency and proof of residency requirements, please review the registration packet.

Does the District Offer Universal Pre-Kindergarten?

Yes, Valley Stream District 30 receives New York State administered grant funds to operate a State-funded Universal Prekindergarten Program (UPK). Your child must be 4 years old by December 1st ).

*Based upon the number of registrants, we may need to hold a lottery, as space is limited*

Universal Pre-Kindergarten/ Kindergarten Enrollment Flyer in English
Universal Pre-Kindergarten/ Kindergarten Enrollment Flyer in Spanish
Universal Pre-Kindergarten/ Kindergarten Enrollment Flyer in Urdu

What Age must my Child be to Begin Kindergarten?

According to district policy 5140:

1. A child who reaches their fifth birthday on or before December 1st of the year of matriculation is entitled to attend school and may be admitted to kindergarten. Use the chronological age calculator to determine if your child meets the age requirement. The calculator will require you to enter your child’s date of birth and then you must enter December 1 with the year your child will begin Kindergarten: Click here for the chronological age calculator.
   
2. Proof of age must be presented in the form of a birth certificate, baptismal certificate, or passport.

A child who has regularly attended and satisfactorily completed a year's work in a kindergarten which is duly registered with the State Education Department will be enrolled in the first grade.

I Have a Child With an Individual Education Plan (IEP), What Do I Do?

• You first must register and follow the entire registration process.
  
• Provide a copy of your child’s IEP when registering.
  
• Once you completed the entire process, the Special Services Department will contact you and start the process to provide services to your child.

Do I have to Complete The Home Language Questionnaire (HLQ)?

Yes, in order to provide your child with the best possible education, we need to determine how well he/she/they understands, speaks, reads and writes in English, as well as prior school and personal history. Please complete the sections on the form. Your assistance in answering these questions is greatly appreciated. If you need assistance with completing this form, please contact the school’s main office at each school to assist you in having one of our qualified staff to complete the form to determine if a language other than English is spoken at home.

Please note that a "qualified staff" can be:

• An English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher who is fluent in the home language of the student and families/guardians, OR
• A qualified interpreter/translator of the language or mode of communication the student and families/guardian best understands OR
• A New York State certified teacher who has been trained in cultural responsiveness, language development, and the needs of ELLs and who is proficient in the home language of the student or families/guardian or uses a qualified interpreter/translator of the language or mode of communication the student or families/guardian best understands. Click here to view the certification process.

My Family Is Going Away For More Than Eighteen (18) School Days, Do I Need to Re-Register My Child?

Yes, according to New York State Department of Education, “At any time during the school year and notwithstanding any prior determination to the contrary at the time of the child’s initial enrollment or re-entry into the public schools of the district, the board of education or its designee may determine, in accordance with paragraph (6) of this subdivision, that a child is not a district resident entitled to attend the schools of the district [emphasis supplied].”

In the event your child will be absent in excess of eighteen (18) consecutive days, you will be required to update your residency information:

• Immediately set up a meeting with the building principals to discuss the long-term absence
  
• Complete the form which provides the dates of the long term absence, which results in your child no longer being considered a district resident.
  
• Upon return, families/guardians are required to complete the re-entry registration process.

If my Child is Absent From School What Am I Required to Do?

• POLICY 5100 - Student Attendance
• Immediately set up a meeting with the building principals to discuss the long-term absence
• Complete the form which provides the dates of the long term absence, which results in your child no longer being considered a district resident.
• Upon return, families/guardians are required to complete the re-entry registration process.

What Days Are School In Session?

To review the student attendance calendar, please click on the link below to see the days the school is in session. 

• Student Attendance Calendar

What Do I Do If I Know That A Student Does Not Live In Valley Stream #30 Boundaries? 

One of the responsibilities of Valley Stream District 30 is school student registrations. We are responsible to the Board of Education and the Valley  Stream District #30 taxpayers to ensure only current residents of our district attend our schools. Non-residents who fraudulently attend Valley Stream District #30 schools reduce the number of resources available to the Valley  Stream District #30 children. In order to attend Valley Stream District 30 a family must actually be residing in a home located in Valley  Stream District #30. If not, the tuition rate established by New York State Education Department, for non-resident general education students is $15,129 per student and $61,319 per student for non-resident special education students.

If you have information that a student does not reside in Valley Stream District #30 please complete the anonymous residency verification online form. Please click here to submit a residency verification request online.

Non-Residency Reporting Form

I Have Moved Can My Child(ren) Still Attend Their School?

Students in Grades K-5 whose families have moved out of Valley Stream District 30 may continue to attend district schools for no more than two (2) weeks after moving out of the district.

Note, if your child is in grade 6 then the following applies:

• Before February 1s: If a student in the 6th grade and their siblings, who also attend schools within the district move out of the district boundaries before February 1st of that school year, they may still be allowed to attend schools within the district after their legal residency within the district has ended only if approved by the Board of Education. The Board will determine the terms of this arrangement.
  
• After February 1st: If a student in the 6th grade and their siblings, who also attend schools within the district, move out of the district boundaries after February 1st of that school year, the student may remain enrolled in their current 6th grade class until the end of the school year. Similarly, any siblings attending schools within the district may continue in their respective classes until the final day of that school year.

Can My Child(ren) Attend Valley Stream District 30 Schools If I Have a Family Member That Lives in North Valley Stream?

The Board of Education affirms that its primary responsibility is to provide the best possible educational opportunities for the children who are legal district residents and who are of legal age to attend school. However, a non-resident student may be admitted to district schools upon payment to the district of the Board-adopted NYSED established tuition charge, if and only if, in the judgment of the Superintendent of Schools:

• there is sufficient space to accommodate the non-resident student;
  
• no increase in the size of faculty or staff will be necessary to accommodate them;
  
• the non-resident student meets the district's criteria for admission; and
  
• the admission of such non-resident student(s) is and continues during the enrollment period to be in the best interests of the district.

Where Can I Find the District's Policies on Student Registration?

To learn more about student registration policies, click in the links provided below.

• POLICY 5110 - School Attendance Areas
  
• POLICY 5140 - Entrance Age
  
• POLICY 5100 - Student Attendance
  
• POLICY 5151 - Homeless Children
  
• POLICY 5152 - Admission of Non-Resident Students
  
• POLICY 5162 - Student Dismissal Precautions
  
• POLICY 1741 - Home-School Students
  
• POLICY 4327 - Homebound Instructions

The Board of Education is responsible for identifying, enrolling, and providing equal education opportunities to homeless children in the district. This includes those living in shelters, temporary accommodations, or shared housing