Enrollment in District 401 requires the payment of school fees. The amount for each school is set by the District 401 Board of Education.
All school fees will be paid via MySchoolBucks. School fees have been pre-loaded to your student’s webstore account. Pay by credit/debit card online using our School Fee Payment System or mail a check to your student's school (payable to EPCUSD 401):
For school fee waiver information, please scroll down and visit our section on waivers or call your home school and we’ll mail an application to you. School fees ARE NOT automatically waived for students who receive free/reduced lunch, medical card, or other subsidies. You must submit the waiver application and required documents to be considered for fee waiver and meet the federal eligibility requirements.
Registration is from July 15 to Start of School. Please pay by September 1, 2024. Pre-Kindergarten tuition cannot be waived.
NSF fee for returned checks: $30 and loss of check writing privileges.
Families are expected to pay their fees unless a fee waiver is obtained.
You may be eligible for a waiver of your school fees depending on your household income.
As stated in Section 4:140 of the Board of Education's District Policy Manual, a student shall be eligible for a fee waiver when the student currently lives in a household that meets the same income guidelines, with the same limits based on household size, that are used for the federal free meals program.
Not sure if your family is eligible for a fee waiver? Consult the GUIDELINES. These are the same figures used to determine eligibility for free meals (next section).
Mail the application and documents to this address:
Elmwood Park CUSD 401
Business Office — Fee Waiver
8201 W Fullerton
Elmwood Park IL 60707
Our business office will review your application and contact you with a decision.
Household income includes ALL members of your household who receive wages, public aid, unemployment, child support, Social Security, Social Security Disability, etc. For example:
Additional consideration will be given to a waiver application where one or more of the following factors are present:
For more information, see Section 4:140 of the District Policy Manual.
Remember to include:
Income requirements are subject to change.
If your household income falls into one of the eligible categories, print out the following PDFs:
District 401 students may qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Eligibility thresholds are determined each year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture based on household size and income level. To apply, use this link starting on August 1, 2024:
An approved application is only good for one school year and 30 days into the new school year. You must send in a new application unless you received a letter stating your child is eligible for the new school year.
Please see the rows below for additional information about free and reduced-price lunch.
At the beginning of each school year, District 401 shall notify by letter all students and their parents/guardians of:
Parents/guardians enrolling a child in the District for the first time shall receive the eligibility information regardless of when during the school year the enrollment takes place.
Not sure if your family is eligible for free or reduced-priced meals? View the income eligibility guidelines. The figures for free meal eligibility are also used to determine eligibility for District 401 fee waivers.
To apply for free or reduced-price meals, beginning on August 1, 2024, use this online application or contact the District 401 Business Office by calling 708-583-5842.
Please send your students with a bag lunch or money to purchase lunch at school until you are notified of your free/reduced status.
If you qualified for free or reduced-price meals last school year, you can continue on the program for the first two weeks of school.
Each school's procedures in this area are governed by District 401's policy on free and reduced-price food services, which can be found in Section 4:130 of the Board of Education's District Policy Manual.
District 401 schools offer MySchoolBucks as a convenient method to pay for student meals.
This online payment service provides a quick and easy way to add money to your student’s meal account by using a credit/debit card or electronic check.
With MySchoolBucks, you can view cafeteria purchases, check your student's balance, receive low balance alerts and pay for school meals.
Enrollment is easy. Just follow these steps:
If you have any questions, contact MySchoolBucks directly in any of these ways:
If a student leaves D401 after paying all required fees, the following refund policy applies:
Board of Education Policy 6:140 Education of Homeless Students provides that any homeless child shall be immediately admitted, even if the child or child's parent/guardian is unable to produce records normally required for enrollment. A homeless child may attend the district school that the child attended when permanently housed or in which the child was last enrolled. A homeless child living in any district school's attendance area may attend that school. Students eligible for services under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act shall have transportation provided to them in accordance with both state and federal law. Homeless students will also have all school fees waived and will become automatically eligible for free or reduced cost meals provided by the District.
The District 401 liaison for homeless children is: Dr. Stephanie Daly, Director of Student Services, 8201 W. Fullerton Avenue, Elmwood Park, IL 60707, (708)583-5836, dalys@epcusd401.org.
For more information about Homeless Student/McKinney-Vento Services, please visit the West 40 Community Resources.
McKinney-Vento eligible children are those who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime abode. In general, children or youth living in motels, transitional housing, shelters, the street, cars, abandoned buildings, and other inadequate accommodations may be considered eligible for McKinney-Vento services. This includes, but is not limited to, the following groups:
*These two categories are Unaccompanied Homeless Youth (UHY), children not in the physical custody of their parent or court-ordered guardian and lack a fixed, regular and adequate abode.
When a disagreement arises regarding the eligibility of a student under McKinney-Vento and/or McKinney-Vento services provided to that student, the LEA Liaison can't resolve it.