Parents Can Enroll Their Kindergarteners At HCPSS For 2024-2025 Starting March 4

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Starting March 4, parents or guardians are able to enroll their children in kindergarten for the 2024-2025 school year if the child will turn five on or before Sept. 1.

Parents can complete the online registration form and upload the required documents. A meeting will be scheduled with the school to complete the registration process. During this meeting, parents will be asked to verify parental relationships and submit any additional required documentation.

If a child is old enough to attend kindergarten but a parent believes that a delay in school attendance is in the child’s best interest, a parent can exempt the child from mandatory school attendance for one year by completing a kindergarten waiver form that will be available March 1.

Current HCPSS prekindergarten students do not need to be re-registered for kindergarten because they are already enrolled as an HCPSS student.

According to HCPSS, parents/guardians enrolling students in kindergarten for the 2024-2025 school year should follow these steps:

• Review details regarding the enrollment process
• Use our online school locator to determine what school your child will attend
• Gather required documentation
• On March 4, begin the registration process online
• Parents with children already in schools will use their HCPSS Connect login. Directions on resetting passwords or a request for assistance can be found online.
• Parents new to the system will need to create an account. Directions on creating an account and using the online registration can be found on our site. Your child’s school will contact you to schedule a virtual meeting to complete the registration process. During this virtual meeting, you will be asked to verify parental relationships and submit any additional required documentation.
• For eligible families, the online registration process will include the option to register for bus transportation. Eligibility can be verified in the school locator application linked above. After entering your address, a window will appear that will indicate either bus or walk for each school level. Only those addresses that show bus are eligible for transportation service, with the exception of students whose IEP or 504 includes transportation and are eligible regardless of home address.