Are your kids ready for school? Don’t forget registration and immunization
Believe it or not, another school year is almost here for more than 270,000 students in Santa Clara County’s 31 public school districts. While enrollment may have started as early as January, parents can enroll their child in school throughout the year — the earlier, the better.
School and district boundaries can sometimes be hard to locate. A first step may be to call your neighborhood school and see if they can assist you. Be sure to ask what choice options you have. Another resource is the Santa Clara County Office of Education website. On the “Resources for Families” page at www.sccoe.org, you will find links to every school district and to the School District Locator where you can type in a home address to see its school zone information.
Once you have located your school or district, contact their office to register your child. While each district may have a unique registration process, here is some general information to help you enroll your child in school:
Registration forms: Offered in multiple languages at most districts, these ask for basic student and parent/guardian information.
Documents you will need: Property tax bills, mortgage statements, lease or rental agreements, and utility and phone bills are items you can use to prove you reside within the required boundaries. Additional verification items may also be requested, and you will need your child’s identification information such as a birth or baptismal certificate, or passport. Districts usually require original documents and not copies, so be sure to check beforehand.
Immunization records: These are available through your child’s doctor or public health clinic. Per the California School Immunization Law, students have to be immunized prior to entering school, whether in kindergarten or at any age if they’ve never been enrolled in California; additional immunizations are required for all students advancing to seventh grade. Santa Clara County offers many low-cost and even no-cost immunization options for children who qualify. For more information, please visit
www.sccoe.org
Navigating Public Schools is brought to you by the Santa Clara County Office of Education and features data from the Santa Clara County Assessor’s Office, County of Santa Clara, Shots for School, California Department of Education, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Santa Clara County Public Health Department.
This is the first in a four-part series. Be sure to read our next article on the best ways to get your children ready for school.
