This section sets enrollment paperwork rules for public school: parents or the school district must provide required documents, and schools must notify or record certain information.
Sec. 25.002. REQUIREMENTS FOR ENROLLMENT. (a) If a parent or other person with legal control of a child under a court order enrolls the child in a public school, the parent or other person or the school district in which the child most recently attended school shall furnish to the school district: (1) the child's birth certificate or another document suitable as proof of the child's identity; (2) a copy of the child's records from the school the child most recently attended if the child has been previously enrolled in a school in this state or another state, including for a child who most recently attended a public school in this state, a copy of the child's disciplinary record and any threat assessment involving the child's behavior conducted under Section 37.115; and (3) a record showing that the child has the immunizations as required under Section 38.001, in the case of a child required under that section to be immunized, proof as required by that section showing that the child is not required to be immunized, or proof that the child is entitled to provisional admission under that section and under rules adopted under that section. (a-1) Information a school district furnishes under Subsections (a)(1) and (2) must be furnished by the district not later than the 10th working day after the date a request for the information is received by the district. Information a parent or other person with legal control of a child under a court order furnishes under Subsections (a)(1) and (2) must be furnished by the parent or other person not later than the 30th day after the date a child is enrolled in a public school. If a parent or other person with legal control of a child under a court order requests that a district transfer a child's student records, the district to which the request is made shall notify the parent or other person as soon as practicable that the parent or other person may request and receive an unofficial copy of the records for delivery in person to a school in another district. (b) If a child is enrolled under a name other than the child's name as it appears in the identifying document or records, the school district shall notify the missing children and missing persons information clearinghouse of the child's name as shown on the identifying document or records and the name under which the child is enrolled. The information in the notice is confidential and may be released only to a law enforcement agency. (c) If the information required by Subsection (a) is not furnished to the district within the period provided by that subsection, the district shall notify the police department of the municipality or sheriff's department of the county in which the district is located and request a determination of whether the child has been reported as missing. (d) When accepting a child for enrollment, the school district shall inform the parent or other person enrolling the child that presenting a false document or false records under this section is an offense under Section 37.10, Penal Code, and that enrollment of the child under false documents subjects the person to liability for tuition or costs under Section 25.001(h). (e) A person commits an offense if the person enrolls a child in a public school and fails to furnish an identifying document or record relating to the child on the request of a law enforcement agency conducting an investigation in response to a notification under Subsection (c). An offense under this subsection is a Class B misdemeanor. (f) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, for a child to be enrolled in a public school, the child must be enrolled by the child's parent or by the child's guardian or other person with legal control of the child under a court order. A school district shall record the name, address, and date of birth of the person enrolling a child. (g) A school district shall accept a child for enrollment in a public school without the documentation required by Subsection (a) if the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services has taken possession of the child under Chapter 262, Family Code. The Department of Protective and Regulatory Services shall ensure that the documentation required by Subsection (a) is furnished to the school district not later than the 30th day after the date the child is enrolled in the school. Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 260, Sec. 1, eff. May 30, 1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 575, Sec. 34, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1514, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 234, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003. Amended by: Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 164 (H.B. 25), Sec. 3, eff. May 27, 2005. Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 896 (H.B. 3), Sec. 6, eff. September 1, 2023.