School & Education
Worried about doing this on your own? You may be able to get free legal help.
The law guarantees undocumented students a free public education. The right to public education is for kindergarten through 12th grade. It ends at the age of 21. Your child’s immigration status does not matter for their school enrollment, and the school can't ask about your child's immigration status.
In 1982, The United States Supreme Court ruled in Plyler vs. Doe that all children, regardless of status, have the same right to go to school. Public schools may not:
- Prevent an undocumented student from attending or enrolling in a school,
- Treat the student differently than other students, or
- Require documents or a Social Security Number (SSN) from the undocumented student.
An undocumented student has a right to the same services and benefits as all other students.
For a student to attend a school district, the student must be able to show that he or she actually lives within that school district. This is called showing "residency." The school district is required by law to provide your child with an education if you can prove that you:
- Live within the school district, and
- Are the parent or adult with whom the child regularly lives.
You will have to prove:
- Your identity,
- The child’s identity,
- That you live within the district, and
- That the child has had proper medical care.
Below are the steps you can follow to enroll your child in school.
School districts are required by law to ask in writing for a certified copy of the birth certificate of every newly enrolled child within 30 days of enrollment. If a birth certificate is unavailable, then other proof of the child's identity and age is required. You will also have to make a sworn statement explaining why the birth certificate cannot be produced.
If you do not have a driver’s license or state identification card, there are other ways to prove your residency. You just need to show that you live within the district’s boundaries.
Some examples of alternate identification include:
- A library card,
- Employee identification,
- Utility bills,
- An apartment lease or deed to real estate , or
- A notarized affidavit (sworn statement) of residency from the parent or person with whom the child is residing, confirming that the child eats and sleeps at the residence.
