• Is there a deadline to enroll my child in school?

We encourage new kindergarten families to please enroll your child by June 1 for the following school year.  That way, school staff will be ready for your student and keep you informed over the summer.  Other students entering PPS should register as soon as possible.  Portland Public Schools has no deadline to enroll. 

• I want to enroll my child during the summer, but the school is closed. What are my options?

Online Enrollment is available year round, and will put your student’s registration in a queue for review by school staff when they return from summer break, a few weeks before school starts. Enrollment & Transfer staff are available to help with registration all summer long, including accepting paper registrations. Please email enrollment-office@pps.net for more information.

• Do I have to register my child every year?

No, you only have to register your student once. After that, as long as your student is active, they will automatically roll over to the next grade without you needing to do anything. Every year, just before school starts, you’ll be sent a Verification Form to confirm your student’s information.

• Do I have to request my student’s records from the previous school?

As long as your student’s previous school was in the United States, Portland Public Schools will submit the records request for you. If your student is coming from out of the country, you will either need to provide or request records from the previous school yourself.

• How old does my child need to be to enroll in Kindergarten?

To start Kindergarten your child must be 5 years old on or before September 1st. If your student is 6 and has not previously attended kindergarten, work with school staff to determine if they should enroll as a Kindergartener or a 1st grader

• Can I enroll my child in KG if they turn 5 after September 1st?

If your child turns 5 between September 2nd and October 1st you may request Early Entry to Kindergarten by the dates shown here. If your child turns 5 after October 1st, you will have to wait until next year to enroll. Approved Early Entry students will not be able to enroll online due to the system’s minimum age requirement.

• Can my child skip Kindergarten?

Kindergarten is not required in Oregon. If you choose to keep your child out of school until they are six, they may enroll directly into 1st grade. If you feel your five year old is advanced enough to skip Kindergarten and enroll in 1st grade, you would still need to enroll them in Kindergarten and then work with your school administrators and the Talented & Gifted department. The process is called Whole Grade Acceleration.

• I recently moved and cannot provide 2 pieces of proof of address. Can I still enroll my child in the new neighborhood school?

If you cannot provide proof of residency due to a recent move or change in family situation, a temporary Declaration of Residency may be issued allowing a student to attend school for 10 school days while you obtain the necessary documents. If you cannot provide proof because you do not currently have fixed, regular or adequate housing, the school or the Enrollment & Transfer Center will refer you to a McKinney-Vento representative.

• We are temporarily residing in an apartment until we can complete the purchase or construction of our new home. Can I enroll my child in the neighborhood school assigned to the new home address?

If you can provide documentation that you will be residing in the new home within 45 calendar days of enrollment, you can enroll at the school for that address. Otherwise you will need to enroll in the assigned school for your current address until you can provide the necessary documents.

• We reside in a Dual Assignment zone. What does that mean?

Students in the Jefferson High School attendance area have a unique choice between Jefferson Middle College for Advanced Studies and a comprehensive high school, based upon their home address. Because you have to select your school prior to enrollment, online enrollment is not open to new students who live in a dual assignment area. 

Depending on where you reside, when your student is ready to start high school you may have the choice between Jefferson and Grant, Jefferson and Madison, or Jefferson and Roosevelt. Once you’ve notified the Enrollment & Transfer Center of your choice, most students can enroll at the new school. Eleventh and twelfth graders who select Jefferson will need to work with Jefferson administration to determine if they are on track to graduate with the middle college program before enrolling. 

• My family lives out of state. I would like to enroll my child in PPS because I work in Portland and transportation will not be a problem. Is this possible?

Unfortunately school funding does not cross state lines. In order for a student from out of state to enroll in an Oregon public school, they will have to pay tuition. Tuition is equal to the amount of state funding the district receives for a student, and therefore varies year to year. Please contact Enrollment & Transfer if you are interested in finding out more about tuition agreements.

Transfers and Special Circumstances

• Can I keep my child in the same grade next year?

Initial enrollment is based on the student’s grade history (i.e., if they were a third grader last year, they will enroll as a fourth grader this year). Once the student is enrolled you can work with school administrators and staff to determine if repeating a grade (called retention) is in the student’s best interest. 

• I submitted a transfer request to another PPS school. Should I keep my child at home until there is a decision on the transfer request?

• Transfer decisions generally take between one and three weeks to process.  Students do better when they attend school regularly, and should remain at their current school until a decision is made on the transfer request.  
• If you are new to PPS you can complete an online registration while waiting for your transfer results.  If your transfer is approved, your neighborhood and transfer school secretaries will work together to move your records to the new school.  If your transfer is denied, you have the right to enroll at your neighborhood school.

• My student is bilingual. How can I enroll them in an immersion program?

At the Kindergarten level, Dual Language immersion programs enroll through a lottery held the spring before school starts. At higher grades, or after the lottery closes, you can request entry to an Immersion program through the petition process. Acceptance is based on space in the program and native speakers of the immersion language have enrollment priority.

• I am not the parent of the student I am registering. Can I enroll the student?

Only a parent or legal guardian with proper documentation can automatically enroll a student in school. If you are helping a parent or guardian register, they need to be present and able to sign registration forms in order for the student to enroll. If the parent or guardian is not regularly present in the child’s life and you are acting as a supervising adult, please contact your school or Enrollment & Transfer for more information about the supervision agreement process. 

• I am a student under the age of 18 and I am living on my own. How can I enroll in school?

Please reach out to the school assigned to the address you are currently staying, and explain your situation.  They will help you enroll and work with the McKinney-Vento team for additional support available to unaccompanied youth. You can also contact the McKinney-Vento team directly at 503-916-5770.

• Can I enroll my child if they completed the 12th grade in a different country?

Unfortunately, no. School Board policy states: “[A Student] between the ages of 7 and 18 years and have not completed the 12th grade are required to regularly tend a public school full time.” If someone has completed 12th grade or an equivalent program, they may not enroll in regular classes. They can be enrolled for continuing services such as special education, but not to a regular program at a neighborhood school. 

• Does PPS sponsor visas for international students? If so, who should I contact?

PPS does not sponsor Visas for international students. If a student residing outside of the country would like to attend school for a foreign exchange experience, the family will need to contact one of the foreign exchange programs in their country that are approved to place students in PPS. Go to www.pps.net/Page/1029 for the approved PPS Foreign Exchange Program list.

• I want my child to study at home. What is the process?

Questions about distance learning should be directed to the school at the time of enrollment. Parents seeking to homeschool must register the student through MESD (Multnomah Education Service District). Eligible students may receive special education services even if they are home schooled. For more information, go to www.multnomahesd.org/homeschool. 

• I want to enroll my child in one class in PPS while homeschooling the rest of the time. Is this possible?

Part-time enrollment is allowed at PPS neighborhood schools so long as the school principal agrees to the request.  Requests can be denied due to space availability, disruption of school schedules and routines, or lack of resources to adequately support part-time students. 

Part-time students enrolled in schools that receive state funding must pay tuition for PPS classes. Please contact Enrollment & Transfer for more information about tuition agreements.

For issues with online registration, please email support@pps.net

• How do I enroll a student somewhere other than our neighborhood school?

PPS offers a petition process for students who wish to attend a school outside their neighborhood. PPS also holds a lottery every February/March for the following school year for schools/programs accessed via lottery. Further information is available on the Lottery and Transfers page. If you have an approved transfer, you can enroll online with your neighborhood school, and the registration will be automatically rolled over to the transfer school.

• Can I access the Online Registration system from my smartphone or tablet?

Online Registration is currently best accessed from a desktop/laptop computer.

• Can I start my Online Registration now and finish it later?

Applications can be saved and reopened at a later time. You can pick up where you left off by logging in with the same username and password. 

• Once my online application is submitted can I go back and make changes?

No. In order to make changes to a submitted application, you will have to notify the school. The office staff can then make the changes for you.  Once your registration or verification has been accepted, then you can log in again and re-submit to make additional changes throughout the year.