Enrollment Requirements

Please submit one of the following:

• A copy of the student's birth certificate
• A statement by the local registrar or county recorder certifying the date of birth for the student
• A record of birth certificate date from a Health Office/Vital Statistics
• A duly attested baptism certificate for the student
• An active (not expired) passport for the student
• A Court Order showing the student's name, date of birth, and guardianship status 

If the document does not contain the parent/guardian name, additional guardianship verification is required.

If none of the above documents is obtainable, an affidavit of birth must be signed by the parent/guardian.

Proof of home address must include the name and address of the parent or guardian (submit one) from either category

Dated within the last 45 days, with date visible

• Utility service contract, statement or payment receipts; from agencies such as PG&E, water, cable, or garbage
• Pay stub
• Correspondence from a government agency
• Rental property payment receipts

Must be active / current / not expired at the time it is submitted as proof of address

• Automobile registration
• Auto insurance policy (declarations page)
• Rental property contract or lease
• Homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy
• Property tax statement, must be the current assessment year.
• Grant deed, title of property
• Section 8 agreements
• Voter registration

Note: cell phone bills or bank statements are NOT an acceptable proof of home address.

If none of the above documents is obtainable, an affidavit of residency must be signed by the parent/guardian.

Picture ID is used to verify the identity of the parent/guardian (including educational rights holder or caregiver) and will be used for the purpose of confirming the adult and student applicant relationship.

Any document that contains the parent/guardian's name and photo can serve as the picture ID. Driver's license or passport are the most common forms of Picture ID.

If no picture ID is obtainable, an affidavit of identity must be signed by the parent/guardian.

Other documents may be required to apply or enroll:

• Court Orders: Court orders regarding custody (legal or physical), educational rights, restricted contact with the student.
• High School Transcript: For students currently enrolled in a non-SFUSD high school looking to transfer to SFUSD for the current school year.

Exceptions for grade eligibility based on age requirements

• Too young for TK: no exceptions can be made to enroll in TK. Learn about Pre-Kindergarten programs as a different option.
• TK age, but wish to enroll in Kindergarten: this is not an option for families of applicants who are eligible for TK by age. Once enrolled, families can speak with their school to pursue a grade acceleration during the school year. 
• Kindergarten age, but wish to enroll in TK: families can choose to enroll their children in Transitional Kindergarten instead of Kindergarten, based on the written advice of a medical provider. To pursue this exception for your student, provide: (i) signed Kindergarten Continuance Form and (ii) letter of recommendation from your student's medical provider.
• Kindergarten age, but wish to enroll in 1st grade: only allowable if the student has already completed Kindergarten in a public school. This exception does not apply to students coming from private schools.
• 1st grade age, but wish to enroll in Kindergarten: if a student has never enrolled in Kindergarten previously, families can choose to enroll in Kindergarten even if they are up to one year older than the Kindergarten eligibility window. 

To pursue any of these exceptions for your student, contact the Enrollment Center by calling 415-241-6085 or emailing enrollinschool@sfusd.edu.

Additional considerations for grade placement

• 2nd - 8th grade: grade placement is primarily based on which grades the student has completed, not age.
• High school (9th-12th grade): grade placement is primarily based on the number of credits completed, not age.
• SFUSD does not enroll students who are older than 18, unless the student has been continuously enrolled in a California school district before moving to San Francisco. Students who are 18+ can pursue enrollment at the City College of San Francisco.

Per board policy, students who are residents of San Francisco have priority in school assignment above all students who live outside of San Francisco. Therefore, SFUSD requires parents/guardians to provide documentation of the student's residency upon admission to a district school. This policy does not apply to homeless students.

• Board Policy 5111.1 - District Residency
• Administrative Regulation 5111.1 - District Residency

Definition of Residency

A minor’s residence is presumed to be the legal residence of the parent(s) or guardian(s) who have physical custody of the minor. In order to be enrolled in SFUSD, the student's parent/legal guardian must continually reside in San Francisco at the time of application and for the entire period of enrollment in SFUSD. If the parent/legal guardian lives in San Francisco, they can submit an application for next school year, regardless of whether the student lives in San Francisco at the time of application. Lowell HS and Ruth Asawa SOTA HS have an additional residency requirement that the student also live in San Francisco at the time of application.

For all schools, during the regular school year, the parent and the student must reside in San Francisco. If the parents are separated and live at different addresses, the pupil must physically reside with the parent in San Francisco for at least 50% of the time during the regular school year.

A resident is an individual who is a full time occupant of a dwelling located in San Francisco and who, on any given day, is likely to be at his/her stated address when not at work or school. In determining the place of residence the following rules shall be observed:

1. It is the place where one remains when not called elsewhere for labor or other special or temporary purpose, and to which he/she returns in seasons of repose.
2. There can only be one residence.
3. A residence cannot be lost until another is gained.
4. The residence of the parent/guardian with whom an unmarried minor child maintains his/her place of abode is the residence of such unmarried minor child.
5. The residence can be changed only by the union of act and intent.

Temporary residence in San Francisco, solely for the purpose of attending a SFUSD school, shall not be considered residency. A person who owns property in San Francisco, but does not reside in San Francisco, is not considered a resident.

Special Situations

A student may also establish residency by providing official documentation deemed sufficient to the District to show that s/he is:

• an emancipated minor living in SF
• in the court-appointed care of a licensed foster home, family home or licensed children’s institution within SF
• confined to a hospital or residential care in SF for treatment of a temporary disability
• lives with a caregiving adult
• has obtained an interdistrict permit

Enrollment in a particular school may be denied if District staff determine that the student resides with a caregiver rather than the parent solely for the purpose of attending a particular school.

Undocumented Students

Any child whose family resides in San Francisco is guaranteed access to a free public education in SFUSD. No family will be denied access to school because of their immigration status.

Students Who Move 

If the parent/guardian who has physical custody of the student(s) moves to a new address at any time after submitting the application for enrollment, s/he must submit a Change of Address form to the Education Placement Center within 14 days following the move. Students who move out of San Francisco but wish to remain in a SFUSD school shall apply for an interdistrict permit from the new district of residence. Interdistrict permits shall be processed in accordance with District procedure. 

If the parent/guardian fails to submit a Change of Address form within 14 days of their move, the student’s enrollment may be revoked.

Verification of Residency

The Superintendent or designee may annually verify, at the Superintendent’s discretion, the student’s residency and retain a copy of the document(s) offered as verification of residency in the student’s mandatory permanent record. If the Superintendent or designee reasonably believes or has a reasonable suspicion that the parent/guardian of a student has provided false or unreliable evidence of residency, the Superintendent or designee is authorized to make reasonable efforts to determine whether the student meets District residency requirements.

In order to verify residency, SFUSD reserves the right to request additional documents and/or to conduct an investigation. Because residency can change for students and their families during the school year, SFUSD may verify residency at any time, or may require proof of continued residency at such intervals (e.g. monthly, quarterly, annually) as may be deemed appropriate, including in transitional grades. The Director of the Education Placement Center is the designee charged with overseeing residency fraud investigations. The EPC Director may utilize District staff or private investigators to conduct residency investigations as the EPC Director and/or designee deems reasonably appropriate.

Revocation of Enrollment 

If the Superintendent or designee reasonably determines in their discretion that a student’s enrollment and/or school placement is based on a false claim of residency, address, guardianship/caregiver, or any other false information, the student’s enrollment will be revoked. 

Non-Residents

If the District finds that the student is not a resident of San Francisco, the student will be dropped from enrollment in the District and required to enroll in school in the student’s actual district of residence. 

• For one year after the revocation, the pupil will not be eligible to apply for an interdistrict permit to any oversubscribed school.
• The student will be immediately eligible to apply for an interdistrict permit to attend an undersubscribed school that has space at the time of application, including their original school if it is undersubscribed. Such applications will be processed in accordance with District procedures. 

Residents

If the District finds that the student is a San Francisco resident, but has obtained a particular school assignment based on other false information or moved to San Francisco after the District’s discovery of their non-residency, the student will be dropped from the assigned school that was obtained with false information and will be re-enrolled in an undersubscribed school that has space at the time of re-enrollment. 

• Residents who have had their enrollment revoked due to violation of this policy shall not be eligible to participate in any choice placement process into an oversubscribed school for one year after revocation.
• Residents found to be in violation of this policy may remain in their assigned school if (1) it is an undersubscribed school [1], and (2) there is space and no outstanding choice requests at the time of revocation.
• Families who are determined to have violated this policy shall be charged for the time and expenses that the District incurs to complete its investigation. If enrollment has been revoked, an interdistrict permit to attend school in San Francisco will not be granted for one year after revocation.
• In addition to recovering investigation costs, the District reserves the right to pursue additional civil and criminal legal action against individuals who have submitted false information to the District to obtain enrollment in an SFUSD school, including without limitation prosecution of a claim for violation of Government Code § 12650 et seq. for false claims violations. The Board delegates to the General Counsel the authority to settle false residency claims.

The Enrollment Center shall send the parent/guardian a letter notifying them of the District’s preliminary determination that the student does not reside in San Francisco. The letter shall inform the parent/guardian that the student is suspected of living outside of San Francisco; shall list the suspected address outside of San Francisco; and will notify the parent/guardian of their right to challenge this preliminary determination within 7 days.

Appeal of Revocation of Enrollment 

A parent/guardian has the right to appeal the District’s residency determination. Once the District receives notice of the intent to appeal, the District will provide an appeal form and a summary of evidence used to support the residency determination. The parent/guardian will then have 14 days to submit a narrative and supporting documentation in support their appeal to the Educational Placement Center. The student will remain enrolled in the SFUSD school until the decision to revoke enrollment is sustained or reversed. This decision shall be final. 

In enforcing this policy, the EPC Director acts under the discretion of the Superintendent. The student may remain in school until the appeal is exhausted.

If the parent/guardian fails to submit a notice of intent to appeal within 14 days after receipt of the notification letter, the student’s enrollment shall be terminated on the 15th day after receipt of the notice. This decision shall be final.

Report residency fraud!

Call our hotline at 415.522.6783 or e-mail at AddressTipline@sfusd.edu

[1] An “Undersubscribed school” is defined as a school that was not full and did not have outstanding choice requests at the beginning of the current school year. “Oversubscribed school” is defined as a school that was full and had outstanding choice requests at the beginning of the current school year.

According to the California School Immunization Law, children must have their required immunizations (shots) before they can attend school. Immunization requirements apply to all new students in SFUSD.  In order to start school, the student must have at least one dose of every required vaccine and no deadline for any missing dose has passed.

All students should get tuberculosis (TB) clearance (negative TB skin or blood test, negative chest x-ray, or signature of health examiner attesting to no risk factors for TB) within one year of entering SFUSD or signature of health examiner attesting to no risk factors for TB.

Learn more about the health requirements to enroll in school.