School Enrollment · Checklist · Reviewed July 14, 2026
School enrollment, transfer, and records check
A first-step check for finding the district, enrolling, transferring, or requesting a student's records.
The short version
Start with the resident district, then separate enrollment from transfer
The district serving the home address must offer a public-school path, though state law does not promise a certain neighborhood school. California offers free transitional kindergarten to a child who turns four by September 1, and kindergarten to a child who turns five by that date. School attendance is required at age six. A parent can inspect pupil records within five business days, and a normal school-to-school record transfer is due within 10 schooldays of the new school's request.
What changes the answer: A transfer request is not ordinary enrollment. An interdistrict transfer generally needs approval from both districts. A student in foster care or without stable housing can have immediate-enrollment rights even when normal records are missing.
School offices ask for papers at the busiest moment a family has. Knowing which papers are truly required keeps a missing document from costing a child school days.
How it works
The address finds the district, not always the school
Use the California School Directory to identify the district office, then ask that office which school serves the exact home address. A postal city can cover more than one district, and attendance lines can split a neighborhood.
The district must provide an education to a resident student. It may assign a school based on boundaries, grade, program, or space. The state does not promise the school closest to the home or the school a family prefers.
California uses September 1 age cutoffs
A child who turns four on or before September 1 can go to transitional kindergarten. TK is the first year of a two-year kindergarten program. It is free and optional. A child who turns five on or before September 1 can go to kindergarten.
School attendance is required at age six. Kindergarten itself is not required for a five-year-old. A child generally must be six by September 1 to enter first grade. A limited path may apply to a younger child who finished a lawful year of kindergarten.
Ordinary enrollment uses age, address, and health records
The district usually asks for proof of the child's age and home address. It may also ask for old school records and a shot record. For a new TK through grade 12 admission, the usual list starts with five DTaP or related doses, four polio doses, three hepatitis B doses, two MMR doses, and two varicella doses. Hepatitis B is not required for entry into seventh grade. Dose dates and the student's age can lower some other counts.
A new or transfer student entering grades 7 through 12 needs a pertussis-containing dose given on or after the seventh birthday. A student advancing into seventh grade needs one Tdap dose. Medical exemptions and admission while some doses are still due use separate rules. The school checks the real dates and vaccine names, so bring the full record, not a note that only says the child is current.
Missing papers do not always block the first day
A student without stable housing can enroll right away. The school cannot wait for the usual proof of address. It also cannot wait for shot records, old school records, or a guardian paper. This right can cover a family sharing a home after losing housing. It can also cover a motel, shelter, car, campground, or other unstable place.
A foster student can also have a right to enroll right away after a move. The people with that duty first decide if the transfer is best for the student. The new school's foster liaison must contact the old school within two business days. The old school then has two business days to send the records.
Inside-district and outside-district transfers are different
An intradistrict request asks for another school in the same district. Local space, priority rules, and policy guide that choice. An interdistrict request asks for a school in another district. It generally needs a yes from the home district. It also needs a yes from the new district.
An interdistrict agreement can have conditions. It may last up to five years in a row. A family can appeal an official denial within 30 days. The appeal goes to the county office of education for the home district. Use the local form and keep the decision date.
Records have two useful clocks
A parent can inspect a current or former student's pupil records. The school must give access within five business days after the request. Put the request in writing and date it. Name the student and the records you want. This may include grades, attendance, discipline, tests, an IEP, or a 504 plan.
When a student changes California schools, the old school must send the permanent record or a copy. It has no more than 10 schooldays after the new school asks. The rule covers public and private schools. A parent can also ask for a copy and challenge what is in the record. A record delay should not be treated as the family's failure to enroll.
First moves
- 1
Use the California School Directory to find the official district and school contact. Ask the district which school serves the home address.
- 2
Write down the student's legal name, birth date, grade, and home address. Add the prior school, housing situation, and requested start date.
- 3
Ask the district for its enrollment list. Common papers cover age, address, school records, and immunization. Special enrollment rights can still apply.
- 4
If the student lacks stable housing, tell the school or district homeless-education liaison. Eligible students must be enrolled immediately even when usual documents are missing.
- 5
If the student is in foster care, ask for the district or county foster-youth liaison before a placement or school move interrupts enrollment.
- 6
For a transfer, get the local policy and form. Mark the deadline, decision date, and appeal instructions.
- 7
For school records, send a dated written request that names the student and records wanted. Keep the delivery confirmation.
- 8
California law generally gives a parent access to pupil records no later than five business days after the request. Special-education records use the same practical paper trail.
Watch for
- 1
The CDE directory gives contacts. It does not set attendance boundaries or promise a requested school.
- 2
A mailing city can cross a district line. Confirm the district with the district office.
- 3
A transfer request is not ordinary enrollment. Local criteria and space matter. So do priorities and appeal steps.
- 4
A student experiencing homelessness can qualify under a broader definition than living in a shelter or on the street.
- 5
School enrollment and meal forms are separate. Bus service, after-school care, and child care subsidies use other paths.
- 6
A records request, transcript request, and special-education assessment request do different jobs. Put each request in writing.
- 7
Custody orders and educational rights need careful handling. So do sealed records, safety plans, and restraining orders.
Official sources
Where to confirm this
Use the source that matches the step you are on. Current forms, fees, deadlines, and agency decisions can change after this page is reviewed.
Use this as a map. It does not decide your rights, tell you what to file, or say someone broke the law. If a deadline, denial, eviction, firing, injury, tax bill, permit fight, or insurance dispute is on the line, use the official source or a licensed professional.