Student Services

The Indiana Department of Education has sent guidance to all school corporations that in order to claim a student for funding, proof of Indiana residency must be a component of the student’s educational record. The documents provided as verification must contain the student’s current address. Elkhart Community Schools requires two of the following documents to complete enrollment:

• Current utility bill
• Current telephone bill
• Bank statement
• Mortgage, rental, or lease statement
• Medical bill
• Any other information that provides a verifiable address

Note: Please remove personal information from the document other than the parent/guardian NAME and the verifiable ADDRESS.

Students residing within or outside Elkhart Community Schools' boundaries are eligible to request a transfer to attend any ECS school. However, transfer requests will only be accepted during the designated transfer window, which runs from April 1 to May 1.

There are two types of transfers:

• In-district transfers are required when a student wants to attend an ECS school that is not their designated home school.
• Out-of-district transfers apply when a student resides outside of ECS boundaries and wants to attend an ECS school.

To request a transfer, contact the Student Services Department at 574-262-5540.

Transfer requests are subject to approval and are contingent on the student maintaining satisfactory attendance and behavior. This includes a 95% attendance rate, no more than 10 tardies, and compliance with the Rules for a Safe Learning Community and Good School Order.

Elkhart Community Schools welcomes foreign exchange students (J-1 visa) and foreign students (F-1 visa). These students enrich the learning environment by sharing their countries and cultures.

Foreign Exchange Students (J-1 Visa):

Exchange agencies handle placement by matching students with host families. ECS is not involved in host family selection. Once a student is placed, the agency contacts the Director of Student Services. Each high school may host up to six exchange students per year. Students must attend for the full school year, arrive before school begins, and stay through the end of the year. They must be proficient in reading and writing English and have the potential to become proficient in speaking English. They must also be enrolled in an English and a social studies class each semester.

Graduation is possible with principal consent and if all Indiana and ECS requirements are met. ECS aims for diversity in participating students and agencies, which must be certified by the U.S. Department of State.

Foreign Students (F-1 Visa):

Only SEVP-approved schools may enroll F-1 students. Elkhart High School East and West are among the few in the region with this designation. F-1 students are typically sponsored by relatives in ECS boundaries. The Director of Student Services issues the I-20 form needed to apply for the visa. Students must pay full tuition in advance (refundable only if denied or canceled) and may only attend one year. Upon arrival or transfer, F-1 students must report in person to the Director of Student Services.

Students in grades below 9 are not eligible for either visa type.

Comprehensive counseling services are available at both high schools and all three middle schools. Counselors support students with academic planning, post-secondary goals, career counseling, personal concerns, and crisis intervention. They also serve as liaisons between home and school.

Full-time nursing services are available in all ECS schools. Nurses support students by addressing health needs during the school day, administering medications, conducting screenings (vision, dental, etc.), enforcing immunization laws, offering supplemental health education, and delivering required training for staff. John McClure, RN, is the district’s Health Services Coordinator.

Health Services

Homebound services are available for students who cannot attend school for at least 20 consecutive school days due to medical reasons. Requests must be submitted using the Homebound Services Request form and completed by a district supervisor or administrator and the student’s attending physician.

Elementary students may receive up to 20 hours of homebound instruction per month. Secondary students are eligible for up to 20 hours per course, per month. Activity-based classes (e.g., PE, choir, labs) are not available through this program.

Contact Student Services at 574-262-5547 for more information.

Indiana recognizes home schools as nonpublic, non-accredited educational options. Parents must provide an education equivalent to public school (minimum 180 days/year). Families may register with ECS or directly with the Indiana Department of Education.

With ECS approval, home school students may take curricular classes, but not extracurriculars. Requests must go through the Director of Student Services at 574-262-5540.

When a home-schooled student enrolls in ECS, grade placement and credit decisions are made based on available documentation, assessments, and review by staff. Advance notice is strongly encouraged.

Legal settlement laws determine which school district a student may attend. It typically defaults to the parent’s legal residence, but there are exceptions involving guardianship, custody, abandonment, third-party support, or emancipation.

Some circumstances require completion of state forms (Forms 1, 2, or 3), available through Student Services. These must be notarized and completed at:

J.C. Rice Educational Services Center
2720 California Road, Elkhart, IN 46514
Phone: 574-262-5540

If you're unsure about a student's legal settlement, please contact the department directly.

Each ECS building has a dedicated social worker, with additional full-time support for special education transition. Social workers provide counseling, assist families in need, support attendance, and help families access community resources and school-based services.

Current student records are held at the student’s school. Records for students who have left ECS are maintained at the Student Services Department (grades K–8) or the high school (grades 9–12) for up to five years after graduation or withdrawal.

Requesting a high school transcript: Students should select “Elkhart High School” when ordering, even if they attended Elkhart Memorial or Elkhart Central.

Additional Questions?

• For current high school students or recent graduates (within 5 years): 574-262-5600
• For graduates over 5 years ago or current elementary students: 574-262-5540

Effective July 1, 2023, the Indiana General Assembly passed legislation requiring the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) and local education agencies to provide notice to parents of their rights as it relates to student surveys.

HEA 1447 Mandates

1. Requires schools to obtain parental consent before certain personal analysis, evaluations, or surveys may be administered to a student;
2. Requires schools to post a copy of certain analyses, evaluations, and surveys to the school’s website;
3. Gives parents of students enrolled in the schools the right to review and inspect all materials related to certain personal analyses, evaluations, and surveys;
4. Restricts the manner in which the responses or results derived from certain personal analyses, evaluations, and surveys may be recorded, collected, or maintained; and
5. Requires qualified schools to include specific provisions in their contracts with third-party vendors that provide certain personal analyses, surveys, or evaluations.

Personal Analyses, Evaluations, or Surveys

Personal analyses, evaluations, and surveys that reveal, identify, collect, maintain, or attempt to affect a student’s attitudes, habits, traits, opinions, beliefs, or feelings.

Notice of Consent Required

In accordance with IC 20-26-21-4(a), this portion of the guidance does not apply to personal analyses, evaluations, or surveys for which consent is already required under IC 20-30-5-17(b).

Initial Request for Consent – At least 31 days before a school may administer a personal analysis, evaluation, or survey, the school must provide the parent or the student with a written request for consent for administration of the personal analysis, evaluation, or survey that:

• Accurately summarizes the contents and nature of the personal analysis, evaluation, or survey that will be provided to the student;
• Informs the parent or the student (adult) that the parent or the student has a right to review and inspect all materials related to the personal analysis, evaluation, or survey; and
• Includes the reasons that the qualified school is administering the personal analysis, evaluation, or survey.

Second Request for Consent – If the parent or the student (adult) does not respond to the initial written request for consent for administration within 21 days of receiving the request, the qualified school must provide a second written request that the parent or student indicate whether they:

• Consent to the administration of the personal analysis, evaluation, or survey; or
• Decline the administration of the personal analysis, evaluation, or survey.

If the parent or the student (adult) fails to respond to the second written request for consent within 10 days of receiving the request, the qualified school may administer the personal analysis, evaluation, or survey to the student.

Public Posting Required

The school or LEA must post a copy on their public website of any personal analyses, evaluations, or surveys the school intends to administer that reveals, identifies, collects, maintains, or attempts to affect a student’s attitudes, habits, traits, opinions, beliefs, or feelings.

1. Notify the media department prior to the 31-day consent notice period of the need to post the survey, a description of the survey, the reason for giving the survey to students, and the grievance procedure.

Grievance Procedures

Per IC 20-26-21, parents may file a grievance (formal written complaint) expressing their concern or objection to the administration of the survey to their student in violation of IC 20-26-21.

Please send a written document including the following:

1. The survey, evaluation, or personal analysis that is the subject of the grievance.
2. The reason for the objection.
3. What resolution the parent/guardian would like to see.

ECS administration has ten (10) days to respond to the grievance.

High Ability Survey

High Ability Survey

Employability Skills Survey / Cuestionario de Habilidades y Competencias para la Empleabilidad

The week of May 19, Elkhart Community Schools will be administering the Employability Skills Survey to all students in grades 3-11. This survey will collect information on student’s attitudes and beliefs regarding Employability Skills including; decision making, regulation, self-management, and initiative. This survey does collect individual student information such as name and answers to the survey questions.

The purpose of this survey is to obtain information regarding how a student rates themselves in the areas of decision making, regulation, self-management, and initiative.

If you wish to have your student participate or do not want your student to participate in this survey, please complete this consent form.

La semana del 19 de mayo, las Escuelas de la Comunidad de Elkhart realizará el Cuestionario de Habilidades y Competencias para la Empleabilidad a todos los estudiantes del 3° al 11° grado. Este cuestionario reunirá información sobre las actitudes y creencias de los estudiantes con respecto a las Habilidades y Competencias para la Empleabilidad que incluyen: la toma de decisiones, la autorregulación, la autogestión y la iniciativa. Este cuestionario reúne información individual del estudiante, como el nombre y las respuestas a las preguntas del cuestionario.

El propósito de este cuestionario es obtener información sobre cómo un estudiante se califica a sí mismo en las áreas de la toma de decisiones, la autorregulación, la autogestión y la iniciativa.

Si desea que su estudiante participe o no desea que su estudiante participe en este cuestionario, por favor complete el formulario de consentimiento en este enlace.

Student Employability Skills Survey Questions Cuestionario de Habilidades y Competencias para la Empleabilidad

Encourage Survey