Registration
Welcome to Dickenson County Public Schools! We are pleased that you will be joining our community of learners.
Children who reach the age of 5 by September 30 of the start of a new school year may enroll as a kindergarten student in Dickenson County Public Schools. Students with birthdays after September 30 must wait until the following school year to attend public school in Virginia.
An individual who resides within the school division and is beyond school age (who has not reached his or her 5th birthday on or before September 30 of the school year or who has reached his or her 20th birthday on or before August 1st of the school year) may, at the discretion of the School Board, be admitted into the division schools.
For students transferring from other school divisions, records will be forwarded to Dickenson County Public Schools in a timely manner. Once records are received, placement and class schedules can be set.
If you have questions about the enrollment process, please call the main office of your child's new school or call 276-926-4643 for information.
In order to enroll a child in Dickenson County Public Schools, state law requires a parent or guardian of a child to provide certain information to Dickenson County Public Schools. The required information is listed below:
Certified Birth Certificate
Except as provided in § 22.1-3.1 of the Code of Virginia, no student shall be admitted for the first time to any public school in any school division in Virginia unless the person enrolling the student shall present, upon admission, a certified copy of the student's birth record. A photocopy of the child's birth certificate will not meet this requirement. If a certified copy of the child's birth certificate cannot be obtained, the person enrolling the child must submit a sworn statement setting forth the child's age and explaining the inability to present a certified copy.
If birth certificate is not available, you must complete an Affidavit - Absence of Certified Birth Certificate Form.
A certified copy of a birth record for a person born in Virginia may be obtained from the Virginia Department of Health, Division of Vital Records and Health Statistics. See here for information about obtaining a certified copy of a birth record.
Residency
Section 22.1-3 of the Code provides that the public schools in each school division “shall be free to each person of school age who resides within the school division.” Section 22.1-1 of the Code defines a person of school age as “a person who will have reached his fifth birthday on or before September 30 of the school year and who has not reached twenty years of age on or before August 1 of the school year.” For the purposes of enrollment, the local school division determines whether a student meets the residency requirements in accordance with § 22.1-3 of the Code, which state that a person of school age shall be deemed to reside in a school division under the following circumstances:
● The student is living with a natural parent or a parent by legal adoption.
● The student has a parent in the military and is living with a noncustodial parent or other person standing in loco parentis, not solely for school purposes, pursuant to a Special Power of Attorney executed by the custodial parent.
● The student’s parents are deceased, and the student is living in loco parentis with a person who resides in that locality.
● The student is living in the locality, not solely for school purposes, as an emancipated minor.
● The student is experiencing homelessness as described in § 22.1-3(A)(7).
● The student is living with another person who resides in the school division, not solely for school purposes, and that individual: (a) is the court-appointed guardian, or has legal custody, of the person; or (b) is acting in loco parentis pursuant to placement of the person for adoption by a person or entity authorized to do so under § 63.2-1200; or (c) is an adult relative providing temporary kinship care as defined in § 63.2-100 when the student’s parents are unable to care for him or her.
The school division may require one or both of the parents and the adult relative providing kinship care to submit certain documents and verifications in order to enroll the child. In addition, a school division may also require the parent or adult relative to obtain written verification from the department of social services where the parent or parents live and/or where the kinship care provider lives, to show that the kinship care arrangement serves a legitimate purpose that is in the best interest of the child and is not solely for purposes of school enrollment.
For the purpose of establishing residency, a person is deemed a resident of the school division when any or all of the building in which they reside is taxable by the locality in which the school division is located. Any student who resides on property that is located in one or more school divisions who is registered for enrollment in a school division prior to July 1, 2019, and any sibling of such student, shall continue to be deemed to reside in the enrolled school division.
Please see § 22.1-3 of the Code for more information regarding residency
Students with a Parent or Parents in the Military
Virginia is a member of the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children (Compact). The purpose of the Compact is to streamline the transfer of children of military families into Virginia public schools. Specifically, the Compact addresses the following: (1) records and enrollment (Article IV), which contains provisions regarding record transfers, immunizations, and school entrance age; (2) placement and attendance (Article V), which contains provisions regarding course and program placement and special education services; (3) eligibility (Article VI), which addresses documentation requirements for enrollment; and (4) graduation (Article VII), which addresses how receiving school divisions will facilitate the on-time graduation of military transfer students. (§ 22.1-360 Code of Virginia)
A student is deemed a resident of Dickenson County and cannot be denied admission or charged tuition if the student is living with a noncustodial parent or other person standing in loco parentis, not solely for school purposes, pursuant to a Special Power of Attorney executed under Title 10, United States Code, § 1044b, by the custodial parent. (§ 22.1-3) Such students may continue to attend school in the school division they attended while residing with the custodial parent without paying tuition or they may attend school in the school division in which the noncustodial parent or other person standing in loco parentis resides without paying tuition. (§ 22.1-360)
Homeless Students
Dickenson County Public Schools will immediately enroll homeless students and coordinate the provision of services to these students with our local social services agency and other agencies and programs providing services to such students, and with other school divisions. In addition, Dickenson County Public schools will not exclude from school attendance those homeless children who do not provide the requisite health or immunization information required of other students. Schools will immediately refer the student to the school division liaison required to assist the student in obtaining the necessary physical examination or proof of completion of immunizations. For more information regarding the enrollment of homeless students, please see § 22.1-3 and visit Project Hope - Virginia.
Immunizations
Pursuant to § 22.1-271.2 of the Code, no student shall be admitted by a school if his parent does not submit documentary proof of immunization to the admitting official unless, at the time of admission, the student is exempted from immunization pursuant to subsection C, or the student is a homeless child or youth as defined in § 22.1-3. If a student does not have documentary proof of immunization, the school shall notify the student or his parent: (i) that it has no documentary proof of immunization for the student; (ii) that it may not admit the student without proof unless the student is exempted pursuant to subsection C, including any homeless child or youth as defined in § 22.1-3; (iii) that the student may be immunized and receive certification by a licensed physician, licensed nurse practitioner, registered nurse, or an employee of a local health department; and (iv) how to contact the local health department to learn where and when it performs these services. Documentation indicating that the child has received the required immunizations must be provided.
Any child whose immunizations are incomplete may be admitted conditionally if the parent or guardian provides documentation, at the time of enrollment, that the child has received at least one dose of the required immunizations and has a written schedule for completing the remaining doses within 90 days. If the student requires more than two doses of hepatitis B vaccine, the conditional enrollment period shall be 180 calendar days.
Please review the Virginia Department of Health’s School and Day Care Minimum Immunization Requirements webpage for a list of the required immunizations.
Street Address
Documentation of the street address or route number of the child's residence must be provided. If no street address or route number exists for the child's residence, a post office box number must be provided. (Section 22.1-4.1 of the Code of Virginia)
School Health Form
Students admitted for the first time to any Dickenson County Public Schools are required to provide a comprehensive physical examination, signed by a licensed physician or nurse practitioner or licensed physician assistant, and performed within twelve months of the initial enrollment date. (Section 22.1-70 of the Code of Virginia)
For students transferring into Dickenson County Public Schools, a copy of a physical examination in their cumulative record which meets the above requirements will be accepted.
Child's Social Security Number
Dickenson County Public Schools does not require any student to provide a social security number in order to enroll.
Expulsion Statement
Parents/guardians must provide a sworn statement or affirmation about whether the child has been expelled from attending a private school or another public school in Virginia or a school in another state for an offense involving weapons, alcohol or drugs, or for willful infliction of injury to another person when enrolling. (Section 22.1-3.2 of the Code of Virginia)
In addition, the parent must provide a sworn statement or affirmation indicating whether the student has been found guilty of or adjudicated delinquent for any offense listed in subsection G of Section 16.1-260 or any substantially similar offense under the laws of any state, the District of Columbia, or the United States or its territories.
• Affirmation Form
Kinship Care Admission
A person of school age is deemed to reside in the school division when the parents of such person are unable to care for the person and the person is living, not solely for school purposes, with another person who resides in the school division and is an adult relative providing temporary kinship care as that term is defined in Va. Code Section 63.2-100. Both parents and the relative providing kinship care must submit signed, notarized affidavits:
(a) explaining why the parents are unable to care for the person,
(b) detailing the kinship care arrangement, and
(c) agreeing that the kinship care provider or a parent will notify the school within 30 days of when the kinship care arrangement ends.
The parent must also provide a power of attorney authorizing the adult relative to make educational decisions regarding the person.
"Kinship care" means the full-time care, nurturing, and protection of children by relatives.
Transfer Students
Section 22.1-253.13:4 of the Code of Virginia (Standard 4 of the Standards of Quality) requires the Dickenson County School Board to make provisions for students who transfer between public secondary schools and from nonpublic schools or from home instruction as outlined in the Regulations Establishing Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia (SOA). The SOA provides:
…Students transferring in grades K-8 from Virginia public schools or nonpublic schools accredited by one of the approved accrediting constituent members of the Virginia Council for Private Education shall be given recognition for all grade-level work completed. The academic record of students transferring from all other schools shall be evaluated to determine appropriate grade placement in accordance with policies adopted by the local school board…. (8VAC20-131-60.A)
…A secondary school shall accept credits toward graduation received from Virginia nonpublic schools accredited by one of the approved accrediting constituent members of the Virginia Council for Private Education (VCPE)…. (8VAC20-131-60.D)