When you register your child for school, you may have to take a social worker with you. There are various pieces of information that the school requires in order to enroll your child, and you may not have all the information you need.

First and foremost you need the child’s birth certificate. In most cases you do not receive the child’s birth certificate until after the adoption is final. The social worker may provide this to the school in order to enroll your child.

You will also need to show the school that you have the right to enroll the child and the right to receive the child’s medical records. This can be in the form of a court order, or a letter from social services appointing custody of the child to you.

When I called the assistant principal last week to ask to be put on the contact list to receive copies of Sammy’s IEP report, report cards and other relevant paperwork, I had to provide a copy of the court order showing that I was still Sammy’s guardian and allowed to receive this information.

Foster parents can run into a similar situation. In many cases the social services department remains as guardian of the child and the guardian is the one who makes the decisions in regards to the child’s education. Your worker may want to attend meetings at the school and be a part of the decisions that are made. In other cases the worker may allow you to do that on your own.

If you’re in a case like mine, where you child enters foster care after the adoption is finalized, you will certainly want to be a part of any decisions made. By default, the foster parents are listed as the contact person. This means that you do not receive any records or information unless you specifically request it.

I had both the court order and the quarterly report from the foster care agency that showed that I am still Sammy’s legal guardian, thereby I am entitled to receive the information.

When I spoke with the assistant principal, she said she would have to check what the procedure was since they have never had a parent of a child in foster care who wanted to receive the information.

In Hannah’s case, we have legal guardianship of her, so I did not have to have anyone accompany me. I did have to take the guardianship papers, along with a copy of her birth certificate in order to enroll her.

If you are unsure what the procedure is for your school district, you can check with your social worker, or call the school district. This will avoid you getting to the school only to find out you don’t have the right paperwork.


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