For parents living in Lake Washington School District (LWSD) with a child who will be 5 years old on or before Aug. 31, it is time to register them for kindergarten for the 2015-16 school year.

Registration takes place at residents’ neighborhood school, from 1-7 p.m. beginning Thursday.

LWSD offers two choices for kindergarten programs: half day and all day. The half-day kindergarten program is offered to all students in the district and is free to parents. The all-day kindergarten program is offered as space is available and is tuition based.

The state of Washington pays for half-day kindergarten. Parents of all-day kindergarten students pay for the other half of the day. Tuition for 2014-15 was $3,500, but the fee is subject to change. The 2014-15 tuition for those who qualify for a reduced fee was $1,260. It was $700 for those who qualify for free lunch. (All fees are subject to change.)

Parents interested in registering their child for all-day kindergarten will need to bring their checkbook to registration. They will be asked to pay for a month of kindergarten at the time of registration. That payment will be applied to the last month of kindergarten, in June 2016. Arrangements can be made for automatic withdrawals from parents’ bank account for monthly payments during the next school year.

At times, the district may need to transport students to a school other than their neighborhood school due to enrollment levels. If that happens, a lottery will be held on Feb. 11 to determine which students will be affected. In addition, if more than 22 children register for all-day kindergarten classes, a lottery will be held on Feb. 11 to determine the students in those classes. Due to the start of mid-winter break on Feb. 12, announcements of lottery results will not be made until Feb. 20.

Parents will be able to register their children for kindergarten from Thursday through the beginning of the 2015-16 school year. However, the later they register, the less likely they are to be able to get into an all-day kindergarten class and more likely to have their child assigned to a different school.

To register a child for kindergarten, parents should bring the following items:

• Proof of the child’s birth date such as a birth certificate or passport.
• Child’s health history, including current immunizations.
• Emergency contact information.
• Proof of residency (such as an energy bill with your current address, lease agreement or mortgage statement).

For those interested in registering for all-day kindergarten, parents are asked to bring a money order, check or cash as a deposit that will be put toward June 2016 tuition.

For more information, visit the district website’s For Parents Section and click on Student Registration, then Kindergarten Registration. To determine which school is your neighborhood school, check the district website, or call the district’s transportation office at (425) 936-1120.

Some areas have changed neighborhood school assignment due to recent boundary changes, which are effective in September. Parents should check the Boundary Process web page to determine if their area has been affected. They can also check with their neighborhood school.