As the 2023-24 term approaches, Bulloch County Schools officials are getting stricter about a registration deadline, emphasizing that parents should register any students who are new to the county school district by Thursday, July 27, to ensure they can start on the first day of school, which will be Tuesday, Aug.  1.

Student registration remains open for new arrivals throughout the year. But children whose parents or guardians attempt to register them after Thursday may have to wait a few days for school staff members to verify records. That process sometimes requires requesting documents from other states or counties and the schools students previously attended.

“Families who wait to register their child after July 27 will likely experience a delay in when their child can start school,” Hayley Greene, Bulloch Schools public relations director, stated in an item for the upcoming Back to School guide. “Families will be contacted once their child’s information has been verified and given a date their child can start school.”

She further emphasized that “for your child’s safety” parents should not drop off unregistered children at school or place them on a school bus. This has happened often, Greene confirmed when asked.

Of course, that can result in staff members struggling to identify children who are not yet officially students in order to contact their parents and make sure they get home safely. So, the school system now emphasizes that a custodial parent or guardian must always accompany an unregistered child to school.

The caution about the registration deadline prior to the first day of school applies to any students, from kindergarten through 12th grade, who have not attended a school in the 15-school Bulloch County school district before.

Registering online

Families of new students must register their children online at www.bullochschools.org/registration or make a weekday appointment at their child’s school to use a registration kiosk.

Online registration can be done from any device with internet access, Greene said. the registration site even includes guides to uploading the necessary documents.

“Registration is available 24-seven online at your convenience,” Greene said. “You can upload your documents, sign forms; everything can be done online. If you need assistance, you can contact your child’s school office. … If you don’t have internet access or just need assistance, you can contact them and make an appointment.”

Parents or guardians with more than one child can make an appointment with their oldest child’s school and staff members at that school can assist with registering all of the children, she said.

Returning students

The need to “register” does not apply to children who were already students in the Bulloch County Schools but whose families have moved from one of the school zones within the county to another. Those families can call their schools to transfer, Greene said. Nor does it apply to families who have changed residences within the same school zone, since they simply need to update information online at the Campus Parent Portal.

In fact, the school district encourages parents of returning students to complete an annual update via their Campus Parent Portal to ensure that each child’s information is correct for the upcoming school year. 

School registration – key points

·        All school offices are open if you need assistance.

·        Registration for school can be done online. Register at any time 24/7 at www.bullochschools.org/registration.

·        Registration remains open throughout the school year.

·        If you are unable to register online, you may contact your zoned school to make an appointment to either register by using the schools' computer kiosks or to register by telephone.

·        For your convenience, if you have more than one child, you may register one or more children at your oldest child's zoned school. 

·        A checklist of required documents for registration is available on the registration website.

·        Registration for prekindergarten students to be included in the annual lottery drawings for available spaces occurred in the spring. However, you may still register your child for Pre-K and be placed on your school’s waiting list for openings that occur during the school year. Visit www.bullochschools.org/prekindergarten for information or a list of other local Pre-K centers.

·        For information about kindergarten registration and age eligibility, visit www.bullochschools.org/kindergarten. If your child attended one of Bulloch County Schools’ prekindergarten sites, that site is your zoned school and your child will remain at that school for kindergarten, then you do not need to register your child for kindergarten. They will be automatically enrolled. If this does not apply, please register your child for kindergarten at your zoned elementary school.

·        Your child does not need to be present during registration.