Residency Verification
Only students who are Elmwood Park residents may attend District 401 schools, except as provided in Section 7:60 of the Board of Education's District Policy Manual or in Illinois law.
A student's residence is the same as the person who has legal custody of the student.
Parents/legal custodians must provide documentary proof of residency every year, regardless of how many years they have lived in Elmwood Park.
► New Students
Residency documents for 2020-21 new students enrolling in grades PK-12 must be provided at the time of enrollment.
► Returning Students
Residency documents for 2020-21 returning students enrolling in grades PK-12 are due Monday, July 20, 2020.
The first day of school for 2020-21 is Monday, Aug. 31, 2020. Students will be unenrolled if residency has not been approved.
This means students must be Elmwood Park residents effective Monday, Aug. 31, 2020.
The District's residency requirement and related procedures are governed by Section 7:60 of the Board of Education's District Policy Manual.
Families must submit District 401's Proof of Residency Form. This form can be obtained here, and it requires three supporting documents. See the form for details.
A student's proof of residency must be supplied to District 401, or the student will be not be scheduled for classes. This requirement applies to all students, new and returning.
If your student is new to the District during the school year, bring your residency documents to your home school:
► Students in grades 9-12 attend Elmwood Park High School.
► Students in grades 6-8 attend Elm Middle School.
► Students in grades K-5 south of the tracks attend Elmwood Elementary School.
► Students in grades K-5 north of the tracks attend John Mills Elementary School.
► Students in preschool (PK3 & PK4) attend John Mills Elementary School.
If your child is a returning student, proof of residency must be sent to the District 401 Registrar's Office, which is located at Elmwood Park High School.
Please mail your proof-of-residency documents to:
Kim Kaminski, Registrar
Elmwood Park High School
8201 W. Fullerton Ave.
Elmwood Park, IL 60707
As an alternative to mailing, you may fax your documents to this number:
► 708-452-0732
Or you may scan your documents and email them to the Registrar's Office at this address:
Any homeless child shall be immediately admitted, even if the child or child's parent/guardian is unable to produce records normally required to establish residency.
If you have questions about enrolling a homeless child in District 401, please use the following contact information:
Dr. Kari Smith
Assistant Superintendent for Student Services
708-583-5836
smithk@epcusd401.org
For more information, please see our Enrollment If Homeless page.
Section 6:140 of the Board of Education's District Policy Manual governs District 401's enrollment of homeless children.
A student whose family moves out District 401 during the school year will be permitted to attend school for the remainder of the year without payment of tuition.
When a student's change of residence is due to the military service obligation of the student's legal custodian, the student's residence is deemed to be unchanged for the duration of the custodian's military service obligation if the student's custodian has made a written request. District 401, however, is not responsible for the student's transportation to or from school.
Non-resident students may attend a District 401 school without payment of tuition pursuant to one of the following:
- A written agreement with an adjacent school district to provide for tuition-free attendance by a student of that district, provided both the District 401 Superintendent or designee and the adjacent district determine that the student's health and safety will be served by such attendance.
- A written agreement with cultural exchange organizations and institutions supported by charity to provide for tuition-free attendance by foreign exchange students and non-resident pupils of charitable institutions.
- An intergovernmental agreement.
- An Illinois law, a federal law or a court order mandating the acceptance of a non-resident student.
The District has several options that can confirm or disprove residency:
- The District subscribes to a special database that has access to public records.
- The District may also use a private investigations company to assist.
If District 401 determines that a non-resident student is attending a District school and is not covered by a permitted exception, the person who enrolled the student will be notified of the non-resident tuition amount that is due, and the District will immediately begin proceedings to ban the student from future attendance.
The notice shall be given by certified mail, return receipt requested.
The person who enrolled the student may challenge this determination and request a hearing as provided by the Illinois School Code (105 ILCS 5/10-20.12b).
In Illinois, it is a Class C misdemeanor to knowingly enroll or attempt to enroll a child in the wrong school district, or to knowingly or willfully present false information regarding the residency of a child for enrollment purposes. See 105 ILCS 5/10-20.12b(e)-(f).
In addition, as noted above in the section titled "If Non-Residency Is Proven," the person who enrolled the student will be billed for each day of non-resident tuition.
Additional information about District 401's rules, requirements and procedures concerning residency can be found in Section 7:60 of the Board of Education's District Policy Manual.