Registration Process

Contract Request/Acceptance Process

• Contracts must be requested each subsequent season. 
• Families will be given a two-week window to request a contract.
• Contracts will be assigned a priority level, based on their qualifications. Contract priority will be given if the parent/guardian has submitted a contract request during the established contract request window. 
• Contracts will be accepted in order of priority. 
• Contracts will be accepted on a space-available basis. If more contracts are requested than available at a specific site, a random computerized lottery, with no preference for contract request date, will be held.
• Contracts are accepted by family/child care account. Once one student in a family has their contract accepted, all students in that family will also be accepted into the program. 
• Contracts not approved will automatically be kept on a waiting list for consideration as space in the program becomes available. 
• Contracts requested after the contract request window will be added to the bottom of the waitlist, regardless of priority qualifications, with the exception of newly hired district employees.

Contract Request Window

Contract requests must be submitted during the established two-week window to be included in the lottery.

Summer 2026
Contract request window: February 10, 8:00 am - February 23, 11:59 pm
Contract acceptance/waitlist notification to be sent out via email by the week of March 9

School Year 2026-27
Contract request window: March 24, 8:00 am - April 6, 11:59 pm
Contract acceptance/waitlist notification to be sent out via email by the week of May 4

Our Kids Club management team meets weekly to review staffing levels and, in direct relation, school year contract requests. As soon as we have sufficient staff to safely accommodate more children, we will begin accepting additional contracts from the waitlist.

You will be notified by email when your contract is ready for acceptance. Please respond within three business days of receiving this notification. If we do not receive your response, we will contact you by phone and provide an additional 24 hours for your reply. Should we still not hear from you after this follow-up attempt, your contract will be passed and the available spot will be offered to the next family on the waitlist.

Priority Levels

Priority One: Students of district employees; does not apply to casual employees or Teachers on Call employees

Priority Two: Students who receive financial aid for Kids Club, including county child care assistance or Community Ed child care financial assistance 

Priority Three: Students entering kindergarten, up to a predetermined number at each child care site. Students entering kindergarten who are not accepted at this priority will roll into their next highest priority level. 

Priority Four: Siblings of kindergarteners with accepted contracts

Priority Five:
    a. For Summer 2026: Students who requested a contract for the 2025 summer, regardless of whether the contract was accepted or not
    b. For School Year 2026-27: Students who requested a contract for the 2025-26 school year, regardless of whether the contract was accepted or not.

Priority Six: All other students

Non School Day Care Requests

Students with an accepted school year contract will be prioritized for non school day care requests. All other non school day contracts will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. Non school day care registration is available online up to ten business days before the non school day. Within ten business days, you must email your kids club site for approval to add the date.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What if I miss the two-week window?
A: If you miss the two-week contract request window, you can still submit a contract request. Contracts requested after the window will be added to the bottom of the waitlist, regardless of priority qualifications.

Q: Is the lottery truly random? 
A: Childcare accounts are assigned a randomized number via a computerized system. Acceptance starts at priority one based on randomized numbers and then moves to priority two, etc. We continue through priority levels until we have reached capacity. All remaining contracts are placed on a waitlist based on their priority level and randomized number. 

Q: I requested five days/week of care. Will my contract be accepted more quickly if I request fewer days/week?
Q: If I change my pickup time to 5:00 pm or 6:00 pm , am I more likely to get accepted?
A: The number of days or times requested in each contract will not influence when your contract is accepted. Contracts are accepted based on daily counts and the number of staff we have to support and maintain the 1:15 staff-to-student ratio.

Q: I have a kindergartener, and I was waitlisted. Did I not receive priority?
A: We did provide priority for incoming kindergarteners.  However, this priority level does not guarantee all kindergarteners acceptance into the program. Rather, it established a guaranteed number of kindergarteners, in proportion to kindergarten school enrollment, to be accepted at each site. This gives kindergarten families who are new to the district and have not utilized Kids Club a chance at getting into the program. If a kindergartener does not get accepted at priority 3, they then roll into the next highest level for which they would qualify.

Q: How did you determine priority levels?
A: Priority levels were created based on feedback from families and in collaboration with multiple district stakeholders. The priority levels and registration process was shared and vetted with Kids Club program managers, EPS Enrollment Center, Community Education Core Team, Community Education Advisory Council, EPS Cabinet, and the Parent Leadership Council before being finalized.

Q: Why are students with special needs not prioritized?
A: There are many variables within a family situation that could lead to high need for Kids Club, including but not limited to a student’s special needs. Given this, we do not take special needs into consideration for lottery prioritization.

Q: Why are students who are Edina residents/open enrolled not prioritized? 
A: There was discussion among stakeholders regarding priority for students who are Edina residents/open enrolled during our vetting process. Ultimately, a strong consensus was reached, with an agreement that once a family is enrolled in Edina Public Schools, students should have the same access to school programs regardless of their residency status. This is consistent with other activities and programs offered through EPS.