Nonresident versus In-District Limited Choice – Which application should I complete for my child?

Nonresident families living outside of the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township boundaries may apply for Nonresident Status for the 2026-2027 school year by submitting a Nonresident Application and required documents.

PLEASE NOTE:

• The interactive (fillable) Attendance & Discipline form must be downloaded. You can then complete and save the form offline before attaching and uploading it to the application.  IMPORTANT:  This step cannot be completed by using a Chromebook.  Adobe is not preloaded onto these devices.  Please use a laptop or phone that is compatible with Adobe for this step.
• Using your phone will allow you to save your application progress  as a draft.
• When completing the application, we must have a valid email (preferred contact method) so that we may contact you regarding the determination of your application. If you have a hotmail account, please know that you may not be notified as there have been problems with this platform and our outgoing emails.

Nonresident Application

NOTE: A CHECK-BOX IS AVAILABLE AT THE END OF THE APPLICATION TO HAVE A COPY OF YOUR APPLICATION EMAILED TO YOU. PLEASE MARK THE BOX BEFORE SUBMITTING.

General Information
The Indiana State Legislature passed legislation altering Indiana Code 20-26-11-32, affecting the process public school districts must follow should a district accept nonresident students.

Below are some requirements of the law:

• Districts must determine annually, the capacity to accept out of district transfer students.
• Districts must publish the date applications for nonresident enrollment are accepted and the deadline by which applications must be submitted.
• Districts must give priority to children of nonresident employees, siblings of nonresident children of employees, current nonresident students, and siblings of nonresident students.
• Should applications exceed the capacity determined by the administration, students are to be selected randomly for acceptance.
• Nonresident applications may be denied if the student was, in the twelve (12) months preceding the application:

1. Suspended or expelled for ten (10) or more school days;
2. Expelled for firearms, destructive devices, or weapons;
3. Suspended or expelled for causing physical injury to a student (including fighting), school employee, or a visitor to the school;
4. Suspended or expelled for a violation of the home school or previous school’s drug or alcohol rules; or
5. Has a history of absences or occurrences of tardiness to school; including instances of early dismissal or untimely pick-up after the end of the school day.

The parent of the student making the request is responsible for informing the MSDWT of any of the infractions cited in items
one (1) through five (5) above.  A document addressing this information must be included with the application in order for the application to be considered. Parents/Guardians may be required to sign a document affirmatively stating that the student has not been subject to these types of discipline. The nonresident student may be removed from enrollment in the MSDWT if the information provided is found to be inaccurate.

• Nonresident families will have the opportunity to apply for nonresident enrollment provided the student meets the minimum criteria of enrollment and there is capacity to accept the student(s).
• Transportation of nonresident students is the responsibility of the parent/guardian unless otherwise mandated by state or federal law.
• Nonresident status is good for one year as long as the student remains in good standing.
• Nonresident applicants must supply complete official attendance records from all schools attended in the twelve (12) months preceding application. Parents/Guardians may be required to provide additional official attendance documentation for dates between the application date and the start of the nonresident enrollment.
• The decision/policy to accept new nonresident students will be reviewed annually based on capacity and costs to the district.

The MSDWT Board of Education revised district Section C: Students to reflect the new legislative requirements.

The District will determine the capacity to accept nonresident students annually per Indiana Department of Education guidance. The capacity to accept nonresident students will be determined by grade level (the district may consider building level capacity when determining grade level capacity). Students accepted as nonresident students will not be automatically approved annually. Nonresident requests will be reviewed each school year, with no transfers automatically carried over to subsequent school years.

Applications must contain verification of the student’s attendance and discipline records as represented by the parent/guardian on the application. The verification must contain records from the student’s previous school of enrollment for the twelve (12) months preceding application. Applications not containing verification may be denied upon receipt.

Applications received after the published deadline may be automatically denied.

Incomplete applications may be denied upon receipt.

If Washington Township Schools (WTS) receives more applications than seats available at any of the listed schools, in compliance with Indiana Code 20-26-11-32, a publicly- verifiable drawing will be scheduled for these seats.

All applicants will be notified via email of the need for a drawing by November 28, 2025.  If there is not a drawing, the guardian of the students who applied will receive an email by December 19, 2025 asking them to complete enrollment steps on or before January 16, 2026.

At the drawing, each student will be assigned a number for each location that was chosen on the application.  The number assigned to those students who have submitted an application to attend one of the Washington Township schools listed will be placed into a bin by location and grade level.  The numbers assigned to each applicant will be drawn to fill the available seats.  After all the numbers have been drawn for the available seats per location and grade level, the remaining numbers will be pulled from the bin and placed on a waiting list in the order that their number was drawn.

The guardian of all applicants will receive an email message after December 19, 2025 to the email address entered on the application indicating if they were placed at a Washington Township school or on a waiting list.  The students chosen to fill the seats will be required to register on or before January 16, 2026.  If one or more of the available seats has not been filled, Washington Township will contact the names in order on the waiting list via the email entered on the application.

Here are the most common questions associated with nonresident enrollment:

Are nonresidents charged an application fee or tuition costs?
There is no tuition or additional expense for our nonresident students. Those families may expect to pay for the same things our resident families pay for such as lunch and extracurricular costs. Nonresident families are eligible to apply for the same types of financial assistance as resident families; for example, the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch program.

Is bus transportation provided for students who live outside the district?
No, we do not provide school bus service outside our district. Many of our nonresident students are driven to and from school by parents, while others have arranged car pools. After-school childcare programs are available at many of our schools and can be  a big help to parents whose children are not bus riders.

Is my student eligible for extracurricular activities, student groups, and clubs?
Nonresident students are eligible for participation in all extracurricular activities, student groups, and clubs available to resident students.  For high school athletics, Washington Township adheres to all required eligibility and participation requirements required by the Indiana High School Athletic Association.

Once enrolled, must nonresidents reapply each year thereafter?
Students accepted at the elementary level will remain enrolled contingent upon their child(ren) maintaining attendance and behavior requirements as defined in Indiana Code 20-26-11-32.  Students approved at the elementary level will be required to reapply for nonresident approval when they reach middle school (grade 5 for upcoming 6th grade).  Similarly, students approved at the middle school level will be required to reapply for nonresident approval when they reach high school (grade 8 for upcoming 9th grade). Approved high school students are not required to reapply contingent upon their child(ren) maintaining attendance and behavior requirements as defined in Indiana Code 20-26-11-32.