Katy ISD launches new online student registration service
KATY (FOX 26) - It's a big switch in Katy ISD, going from paper registration forms to registering online.
The district ran a 4-school pilot program with InfoSnap last year. This year it goes district wide.
Katy ISD Spokesperson Maria DiPetta says InfoSnap saves the district money, and saves parents time.
"It's simple, because you can do it in the convenience of your own home," DiPetta told Fox 26. "It takes less than 15 minutes to enroll all the kids that are living in your home."
With InfoSnap, the lengthy part of student registration gets done online. Parents sign with an electronic signature. But nothing is final until the needed documentation is brought to the school.
"You have to come to the campus to show proof of residency and shot records," diPetto said Monday. "Those are things you can't scan into InfoSnap. We're not at that level quite yet."
Katy ISD launched new student registration July 18th and already 1,500 new students have enrolled. August 8th is when InfoSnap registration opens up for returning students.
DiPetta says Katy ISD parents will get a notice about it through e-mail.
"All you need to do is verify that the information in InfoSnap is correct. If it's not correct, then you update it there," she says.
Student information on the new program will be accessible only to designated users at the student's school, DiPetta says. She adds that private student information will stay within the district. Parents don't even have to divulge their child's Social Security number.
"If they don't want to put the Social Security number in the online registration they do not have to," DiPetta says. "The second option is that they get a student identification code for their child that comes from the Texas Education Agency. That ID code will stay with them until they leave the district."
Fox 26 did not have a child to register, but with the district's permission, we scrolled through the registration process. Parents concerned about privacy need to take note of the page titled "Student Directory Information."
Student names, addresses, phone numbers, photos, honors and awards, sports participation, and even the height and weight of athletes, are considered part of the student directory. Katy ISD says this information can be released to someone filing a Public Information Request without specifically notifying parents. Consent on this disclosure is the default.
Parents who want their child's information withheld from the student directory must notify the district about that 2 weeks before the start of school.