Indiana Connections Academy Enrollment Checklist for the 2020-21 School Year

Do you have everything you need? Because Connections Academy is a public school, parents must submit state-required information and documentation for each student. You will save time and enrollment will go more smoothly if you are prepared!

Use the online school Enrollment Checklist below to gather the documents you will need. The checklist lists your state's requirements, plus tips to help you find documents you may not have. Once you have your documents ready, it’s easy to create an account and complete the enrollment forms in Connexus^®, our online system.

Students who are currently suspended or expelled from their local school or district are not eligible to enroll.

A copy of one of the following documents must be provided for every student to verify age eligibility. To avoid unnecessary delays, provide a copy of this document along with your enrollment documents.

• Official birth certificate
• Passport
• Baptismal papers
• Green card

Not Sure Where to Get That?

• If you need a copy of your child's birth certificate, you can order it online through the Indiana State Department of Health website. Please visit the Vital Records webpage for more information.
• If your child was born in another state, please visit the CDC’s Where to Write for Vital Records webpage for more information. When using this tool, please remember to follow the CDC's Application Guidelines.
• Need a replacement Green Card (Permanent Resident Card)? Visit the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.
• Have questions about your U.S. passport? Visit the U.S. Department of State FAQs page.

As a reminder, the age eligibility is as follows:

• Kindergarten: Any student enrolling in kindergarten must be five (5) years old on or before August 1 in the school year for which you are enrolling.
• Maximum Age: Any student who turns nineteen (19) years old on or before August 1 will not be eligible to enroll in Indiana Connections Academy.

You must reside in the State of Indiana and provide ONE acceptable proof of residency to be eligible for enrollment in Indiana Connections Academy. You can find out what you need below to start online school:

Not Sure What is Accepted as Proof?

• A residential utility bill (gas, electric, water, sewage, or cable) from the last 60 days, in the resident's name and service address
• Mortgage statement from the last 60 days or current annual lease agreement
• Valid Indiana driver's license
• Property tax statement
• W–2 showing your home address
• Payroll stub from the last 60 days
• Letter from a government agency from the last 60 days

• If you do not have any of these documents, please contact the online school enrollment team at 800-382-6010 to discuss acceptable alternatives.

According to the Indiana State Department of Health, students in all grades are required to meet the minimum immunization requirements. All Indiana Connections Academy students must provide evidence of their immunizations. You may choose to provide the Connections Academy Immunization Form, which is provided in Connexus, to fulfill this requirement. As an alternative, you may provide one of the following as proof of immunization:

• A physician's written documentation
• An immunization record from another school
• An immunization record from the Indiana Immunization Registry (CHIRP) or printed record from another state registry

This documentation must include the month, day, and year each dose of vaccine was administered and the signature of a medical provider. This form must be stamped or signed by a health care provider.

Not Sure What Immunizations Are Required?

• For a complete listing of immunizations required by the Indiana State Department of Health, view the School Immunizations Requirements for grades K-12 webpage.

Where Can I Get Immunizations for My Student?

Immunizations can be obtained from doctor’s offices, clinics, or hospitals. Pediatricians and family doctors or their nurses or medical assistants can give your student the shots they need to meet the requirements for school enrollment. In addition, some large chain pharmacies offer immunizations for older children and adults.

What if I Need Assistance Paying for Vaccines?

If you need assistance paying for shots/vaccinations, you may be able to get free or reduced immunizations through this program:

• Vaccines for Children (VFC) program is a federally funded program that provides vaccines at no cost to children who might not otherwise be vaccinated because of inability to pay. Children who are eligible for VFC vaccines are entitled to receive pediatric vaccines that are recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
• According to the Indiana Department of Health, if you take your child to a public health clinic, you might have to pay a small charge for the nurse to give the immunization, but the shots themselves are free. Clinics that get vaccines from the government are forbidden by law from denying you vaccinations because you can’t pay.

Immunization Exemptions

A student may be exempt from immunizations in Indiana only for medical reasons or religious beliefs. Only a licensed physician (M.D. or D.O.) can provide a medical exemption. A nurse practitioner or a physician assistant under a physician’s supervision can also give a medical exemption.

All exemptions require a signature and date on the Connections Academy Statement of Exemption, which is available in Connexus.

• Religious Exemption: If the parents or guardians hold religious beliefs which preclude receipt of a vaccination(s), a Connections Academy Immunization/Exemption form (which can be found in your enrollment documents in Connexus) must be completed and signed by the parent or guardian with all information completely supplied, including the vaccines being waived. An updated waiver must be presented each year the child’s immunization status is reported.
• Medical Exemption: You must provide a physician’s certification that a particular immunization is detrimental to the child’s health. It must state in writing that the child has a medical contraindication to receiving a vaccine and must be resubmitted to the school each year. As true medical contraindications to immunization are vaccine specific, medical exemptions must be written for each vaccine that is contraindicated.

All students who have previously attended public school, private school, or homeschool are eligible to enroll and will be requested to submit academic records for placement.

• Report Card
  For students applying for grades K–9: Please submit a copy of the report card from the most recent school year.
  
  The following items should be included on the report card:
  • Student Name
  • Grade Level
  • School Year (example: 2019-20)
  • School Name
  • Grading Scale (example: 90–100%=A)
• Unofficial Transcript
  For students applying for grades 10–12: Submit an unofficial transcript that includes the complete end-of-year grades from the prior school year and any academic documentation (such as a progress report/interim report, class schedule, or marking period/semester report card) issued for the current school year. Additional documentation may be requested for placement.
  
  The following items should be included on the unofficial transcript:
  • Student Name
  • Grade Level
  • School Year (example: 2019–20)
  • School Name
  • Grading Scale (example: 90–100%=A)
  • Credits Earned

Not Sure How to Get Your Child’s Report Card or Transcript?

• Contact your student's previous school and request the document, providing them with the information outlined above, OR contact your school's district office with the request.

If after attempting these steps you still cannot obtain your student's report card or transcript, please contact the academic placement services team at 800-382-6010 to discuss acceptable alternatives.

Have Your Child(ren) Been Formerly Homeschooled?

• Prior Academic History Form
  For homeschooled students in grades K–12: Complete the Prior Academic History Form indicating what courses were completed through a homeschool curriculum.

All students that have previously attended public, private, or home school are eligible to enroll. At least 60 percent of students enrolled in Indiana Connections Academy must have attended an Indiana public school in the prior school year and must have been counted in the public school’s September count.

You may need to provide additional documentation if any of the following circumstances apply:

• Custody order: If your legal guardianship is determined by a court order, please submit a copy of the order.
• Gifted documentation: If you are requesting any Gifted and Talented programs, you will need to submit formal gifted documentation which may include gifted assessment results, report cards and state test scores. This document is required for Gifted and Talented course placement.
• State Testing Documentation: If your student is applying for fourth grade, the reading portion of the state assessment is used for promotion criteria and will be reviewed by an academic placement advisor during the course placement process. Please submit a copy of the results to expedite your student’s course placement.

Ready to Enroll in Online School?

Once you have all of the required documentation (outlined above), you are ready to proceed with enrollment in Indiana Connections Academy.