Elkhart Community Schools announced an online returning student registration process for the 2025–26 school year, with instructions for logging into the PowerSchool parent portal, a May 1 transfer-request deadline for certain transfers, and multiple required consents including release of immunization records to the state registry.

The district’s recorded announcement directed parents and guardians to sign in at the PowerSchool parent page using their username and password; parents who cannot access their account were told to contact their child’s school to reset credentials. The recording said required fields are clearly marked, that parents should carefully review spelling and punctuation on the review-and-submit page, and that an email confirmation and a printable submission confirmation will follow a completed registration.

Why this matters: Completing one registration form per returning student and meeting documentation requirements are prerequisites for transfers, address changes and district services such as transportation. The announcement also explains legal and privacy-related steps that affect military families and health reporting.

Details of the registration process
- One form per student: A returning student registration form must be submitted separately for each student in a household; after submitting one student’s form parents must log back into the parent portal to register additional students.
- Address changes and proof of residency: Parents making an address change must provide proof of residency. The announcement said proof can be uploaded during the online process or brought to the school building if uploading is not possible.
- Transfers: The district is accepting transfer requests for the 2025–26 school year and set a deadline of May 1. The recording said transfer requests “due to sitters” will be accepted only for kindergarten through fifth grade, that acceptance depends on classroom and school capacity, and that students on transfer do not receive district-provided transportation. Parents will be notified of acceptance or denial within 30 days of applying. The announcement also advised that parents must complete either new or returning student registration to request a transfer.
- Transportation: The announcement said parents will be directed to a transportation request page if a child lives in a bus zone. It also stated that transportation is available only to students who live outside established walk zones.

Required information and consents
- Emergency and medical contacts: Parents are asked to list emergency contacts beyond parents or guardians and to provide regular physician and dentist information. The announcement requested that parents indicate physical limitations affecting participation in physical education.
- Health insurance and sharing: Parents are asked whether a child has health insurance and whether they consent to have their information shared with potential insurance providers if uninsured.
- Agreements and electronic signature: The announcement listed multiple agreements that the parent’s electronic signature replaces for paper signatures, and it stated the electronic signature is legally binding and affirms that the information provided is true and complete.
- Student handbook, media/photo consent, internet use and device agreements: The recording directed parents to read the student/parent handbook and asked whether they grant permission for student photos to be used for school and media purposes (including yearbook). It also referenced the network and internet acceptable-use policy, an online resources consent agreement, and an iPad agreement.
- Auto-dialer messages: The district asked parents to grant permission to receive automated phone messages for broad communications about school events.
- CHIRP immunization registry: By selecting the CHIRP permit option parents give permission for Elkhart Community Schools to release a child’s identifying information and immunization data to the Indiana State Department of Health’s Children and Hoosiers Immunization Registry Program (CHIRP), the announcement said.
- Military student data: The announcement said questions about military status are asked under guidance from the Department of Defense and Indiana statute 20-19-3-9.4 to confidentially identify military children and provide data to inform policy and programs affecting that population.

Next steps and confirmation: After submitting the registration form, parents will receive an email confirmation and may print the submission confirmation page for their records. The recorded message closed by thanking parents for completing the returning student registration for 2025–26.

Ending: The announcement emphasized that parents who cannot upload required documents should contact their child’s school for assistance and for account resets if they cannot sign in to PowerSchool.