Enrollment

New or Returning Students to Montgomery County Public Schools

Each Montgomery County Public School will assist newcomers with integrating into their new school communities and promoting students' academic achievements. Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Regulation JEA-RB, Enrollment of Students, provides that:

All qualified students whose parents/guardians have bona fide residency within a school area must be accepted for enrollment unless exempted from compulsory attendance under Maryland law or denied enrollment because the student is currently expelled or suspended from another school system. Enrollment of students will be considered temporary until such time as the records show there has been no expulsion.

MCPS Regulation JEA-RB requires that “all qualified students will enroll in the school of their attendance area, known as the home school.” For all students new to or reentering MCPS, MCPS Form #560-24: New Student Information must be completed. Under “Other Information” the parent/guardian is asked to notify MCPS if the student has an IEP. The parent/guardian is required to sign and acknowledge the following: “If student has an IEP, I understand that an IEP team must determine student’s placement.”

Proper enrollment is a prerequisite for initiating any evaluations, IEP implementation, service plans, or other special education and related services with MCPS.

  • All students must be enrolled prior to a Child Find or an IEP meeting.

  • A prekindergarten student new to MCPS will be enrolled in the Child Find Unit.

  • School-aged students transferring from another Maryland county or from out of state with an IEP must be enrolled in the student's home school.

  • Students enrolled in private or parochial schools located in Montgomery County will be enrolled through the Private Parochial Schools Unit.

Enrollment of students with disabilities shall not be delayed upon receipt of all necessary enrollment documentation.

Legal Authority

MD Code, Education, § 7-301; COMAR 13A.08.01.01