This registration process is for families who do not have any students currently attending DCG schools. Please use a laptop or desktop computer to complete the online registration. Mobile devices are not compatible with this process. If you need access to a computer, a kiosk is available at our District Office. Please contact the registrar to setup an appointment by calling 515.992.3866 or email – enrollment@dcgschools.com.

 Click here to begin the registration application. 

Once you have submitted your completed application, please allow two business days for the information to be processed. Your child’s building of attendance will email you with additional information.

Request your Infinite Campus Parent Portal by clicking here. Please note, if you are registering for the upcoming school year, your portal will be active on July 1st.  If you are registering during the current school year, your portal will be active once your application is processed and approved.

Fees are available, to be paid through your Infinite Campus Parent Portal account.  If you are registering for the upcoming school year, Infinite Campus will be available to you in early July.  If you are registering for the current school year, it will be available once your application is processed and approved.

Preschool Registration – The registration period is February 1 – February 15 for the following school year. 3-year-old registrations submitted during this time will be eligible for a random selection to fill available openings.  After February 15th, please email stephanie.birmingham@dcgschools.com to be placed on a waiting list.

4-year-old registrations submitted between February 1-February 15 will typically be placed, however, if more registrations are received than anticipated, we will create a waiting list. After February 15th, complete the online registration and you will then be notified of your status from the preschool department.

Optional Kindergarten Registration – Please complete the registration process using the kindergarten option. Once complete, please email enrollment@dcgschools.com to express interest in the optional kindergarten program. Families will receive follow-up communication from building administration.

This registration is for families who currently have students attending DCG schools. Register your child by following the instructions provided below.  Please use a laptop or desktop computer to complete the online registration. If you need access to a computer, a kiosk is available at our District Office. Please contact the registrar to setup an appointment by calling 515.992.3866 or email – enrollment@dcgschools.com.

• Registration opens on February 1 each year. This registration process will be for the following school year.
• Register all of your children at the same time. This includes a child starting at DCG for the first time (for example – preschool or kindergarten).
• To add a “new” student, use the “Add New Student” button located on the “student” tab.

Click here to access the online registration link located within your Parent Portal Account.

• Look for “more” on the left navigation menu – online registration.
• Fees are available through your Infinite Campus Parent Portal the first week of July each year.

Optional Kindergarten Registration – Please complete the registration process using the kindergarten option. Once complete, please email enrollment@dcgschools.com to express interest in the optional kindergarten program. Families will receive follow-up communication from building administration.

DCG Athletics and Activities information will be available at this link. Registration will begin on July 15.

If you have questions, please contact Katelyn Cain at the High School 515.986.9747 or katelyn.cain@dcgschools.com

The Iowa Open Enrollment Law allows parents/guardians to enroll their student in a public school district other than their district of residence by completing an open enrollment application. State code requires open enrollment applications to be submitted to both the resident and receiving districts by March 1 of the year PRIOR to enrollment. This enrollment application will be submitted for the following school year.

Receiving districts may deny an open enrollment request if one of the following applies:

• The application violates the district’s insufficient classroom space policy,
• The district does not have the appropriate special education program,
• The application would adversely affect the district’s implementation of a court-ordered desegregation plan, or
• The student has been expelled or suspended.

Kindergarten open enrollment applications must be received by September 1 of the enrollment year. All other open enrollment applications must be completed by March 1 to be considered for the following school year.

Please send open enrollment forms to:

• Dallas Center-Grimes CSD – Attn: Registrar
• PO Box 680
• Grimes, IA 50111

OR

• Email: enrollment@dcgschools.com

Open Enrollment Form 2024-2025 & 2025-2026

Click here for open enrollment information from the Iowa Department of Education.

Open Enrollment FAQ

Does an application need to be filed for each individual student? – For each student in Opt Kindergarten – 12th Grade.

Does an OE application need to be filed on an annual basis? – No. Once an application is approved, your student may continue in the district until they graduate or you move from your resident district?

Can I choose which building my student will attend? – Students approved for open enrollment status will be assigned to a school in which space is available in their grade level. Every effort is made to place students in their school of choice AND with their siblings.

Is there any cost involved? – The resident school district will be responsible for paying the cost of tuition on an annual basis for your student to attend school in the receiving district. However, all miscellaneous registration fees for participation in the educational programs (extra-curricular activities, school supplies, etc.) are the responsibility of the parents/guardians.

Can my request be denied? – Open enrollment requests are denied if it is filed after the deadline, appropriate special education programming is not available, if there is not classroom space for the student, or if the student is under suspension or expulsion.

Do we need to request open enrollment if we move out of the district and want our student to remain in the same school district? – Yes.

Does open enrollment affect athletic eligibility? – Please contact the school Athletic Director for information regarding the varsity 90 school day ineligibility period for open enrolled students.

Can an 11th or 12th grade student complete their education at the resident district if their family moves to another district? – Yes. According to Iowa Code 257.6(d), non-resident 11th and 12th grade students who were residents of the district during the preceding school year may be enrolled in that district until they graduate. An open enrollment application is not required.

Private instruction means instruction using a plan and a course of study in a setting other than a public or organized accredited nonpublic school.  Iowa Code section 299A.1 (2) (c).  It includes competent private instruction (by a licensed practitioner or a non-licensed person), independent private instruction, home school assistance programs, and non-accredited nonpublic schools. Click here for homeschool information from the Iowa Department of Education.

What is competent private instruction?

Competent Private Instruction (CPI) is private instruction provided on a daily basis for at least one hundred forty-eight days during a school year, to be met by attendance for at least thirty-seven days each school quarter, by or under the supervision of a licensed practitioner in the manner provided under Iowa Code section 299A.2 and this chapter, or other person under Iowa Code section 299A.3 and this chapter, which results in the student making adequate progress. The CPI category includes home schooled children who are not enrolled in independent private instruction and those in non-accredited nonpublic “schools.”  281-IAC chapter 31.

Option 1:   Private Instruction under the supervision of a licensed practitioner

Under Option 1 a parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian simply completes the report of Competent Private Instruction (Form A- available from district of residence) and returns it to the resident district by September 1or within 14 days of commencing CPl.

NOTE: However, if a child has been identified as requiring special education programs or services,  prior written approval must be obtained from the special education director of the Area Education Agency (AEA) in which the child resides before the child may be home schooled or enrolled in a non-accredited nonpublic “school.”  This consent is not required if the parent, guardian,  legal, or actual custodian does not consent to initial evaluation or to reevaluation of the child for receipt of special education services or programs.  Iowa Code sections 299.4, 299A.9; 281-IAC rules 31.5(1) (f), 31.10.

Option 2:  Private Instruction by a non-licensed person

Under Option 2 a parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian may meet, but is not required to meet, all of the following requirements:

• Complete and send, in a timely manner the report required under Iowa Code section 299.4 and this rule to the school district of residence of the child.
• Ensure that the child under the parent’s, guardian’s, or legal custodian’s instruction is evaluated annually to determine whether the child is making adequate progress as defined in Iowa Code section 299.a.6 and this chapter.
• Ensure that the results of the child’s annual evaluation are reported to the school district of residence of the child and to the department of education by a date not later than June 30 of each year in which the child is under competent private instruction.

This is known as the “private instruction exemption.”

A parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian who chooses Option 2 with no reporting under the private instruction exemption relinquishes the ability to dual enroll for academics, extracurricular activities, or special education services. Dual enrollment requires compliance with the reporting requirements of Iowa Code section 299.4 and the assessment requirements of 299A.4. A parent who dual enrolls for academics, athletics, or special education services relinquishes the option to utilize the private instruction exemption, and must complete Form A.

A parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian who chooses Option 2 and chooses not to report to the district may wish to provide the district notice of the decision to use the private instruction exemption.  Doing so will create a presumption that a child of compulsory attendance age is in compliance with the compulsory attendance requirements of Iowa Code Chapter 299.

NOTE, however, if a child has been identified as requiring special education programs or services, prior written approval must be obtained from the special education director of the Area Education Agency (AEA) in which the child resides before the child may be home schooled or enrolled in a non-accredited nonpublic “school.” This consent is not required if the parent, guardian, legal, or actual custodian does not consent to initial evaluation or to reevaluation of the child for receipt of special education services or programs. Iowa Code sections 299.4, 299A .9;281-IAC rules 31.5(f),31.10.

Independent Private Instruction (IPI)

Independent Private Instruction (IPI) means instruction that meets the following criteria:

• Is not accredited
• Enrolls not more than four unrelated students
• Does not charge tuition, fees, or other remuneration for instruction
• Provides private or religious-based instruction as its primary purpose
• Provides enrolled students with instruction in mathematics, reading and language arts, science , and social studies
• Provides, upon written request from the superintendent of the school district in which the independent private instruction is provided, or from the director of the department of education, a report identifying the primary instructor, location, name of the authority responsible for the independent private instruction, and the name of the students enrolled.
• Is not a nonpublic school and does not provide competent private instruction as defined in Iowa Code section 299A.1 and these rules.
• Is exempt from all state statutes and administrative rules applicable to a school, a school board, or a school district, exempt as otherwise provided in Iowa Code chapters 299 and 299A.

1. 1. CPI Cover Letter
   2. DCG Homeschool Verification Form
   3. CPI Handbook
   4. CPI Form A
   5. Assessment Options
   6. CPI Comparison Chart
   7. FERPA Notification

Contact Information

Roxanne Cumings, Student Services Director : roxanne.cumings@dcgschools.com

Deanna Sandegren, Registrar : deanna.sandegren@dcgschools.com : 515.992.3866

• Deanna Sandegren (Registrar) P: 515.992-3866  Email: enrollment@dcgschools.com