Required Documents for School Enrollment in Texas (2024)

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If you are the parent of a student with a disability and you are trying to help your child gain reentry to school in Texas, there are certain documents that are required for enrollment. The documents you will need are:

Birth certificate or other proof of your child’s identity
Report card and/or transcript from the last school your child attended
Current immunization record
Proof of residency – could be a lease, utility bill with address and parent or guardian’s name, recently paid rent receipt, or most recent tax receipt showing home ownership

But what do you do if you don’t have one of the required documents? Read the information below to learn about how to get the documents, what the school should do, and what timeframes apply.

Birth Certificate

If your child previously attended the school you’re enrolling them in now, the school should have it on file. If they don’t have a copy already, or insist that you have to provide a copy again, then under the law, the school should enroll your child and give you 30 days to provide a copy of the birth certificate or other proof of identity. For more information, visit the Texas School Board Admissions Policy – Excerpt handout.

Report Card or Transcript

Under the law, the school should request a copy of your child’s school records from the school they last attended. This includes Excel Academy, the charter school your child attended while in Harris County Juvenile Probation Department custody. The previous school then has 10 days to provide the school where your child is enrolling with the records. Alternatively, you have 30 days to provide the records and could ask your child’s juvenile probation officer to help you obtain a copy of your child’s transcript, report card, or progress report from Excel Academy to provide to the school. For more information, visit the Texas School Board Admissions Policy – Excerpt handout.

Immunization Record

There are exceptions where your child could be provisionally enrolled in school while waiting to complete immunizations, but if your child has had all of their vaccines, then the school may be able to keep your child out of school until you can provide a copy of your child’s immunizations for health and safety reasons. Contact your child’s primary care physician to request a copy of your child’s immunization record as soon as possible.

Proof of Residency

The school should enroll your child while you gather documents to show you live within the boundaries of the school. If your name is not on the lease, utility bill, or other document connected to the residence where you’re staying because you are living with a friend or relative, then you are entitled to immediate enrollment. Tell the registrar or administrator that you are McKinney Vento eligible (a law that protects individuals without a permanent residence and are considered homeless) and ask for your child to be enrolled immediately without any of the required documents listed above.