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A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of the ensuing registration of that birth. A birth certificate verifies the child/parent relationship in an effort to assure the student is being enrolled by an individual with legal responsibility for the child. If the person enrolling the child is not identified as a parent of the child on the birth certificate, alternative documentation should be required to verify the individual’s authority to make educational decisions for the child. This process helps to protect against the enrollment or transfer of missing children.

Sometimes students from a refugee, immigrant, or asylee background may not have a certificate or document related to their birth. In these cases, an I94 form, a document certifying their arrival into the US by the DHS, will suffice as proof of their date of birth. Upon enrollment of a student for the first time in a particular school, that school shall notify in writing in their home language, the person enrolling the student that within 30 days they must provide either a certified copy of the student's birth certificate, or other reliable proof of the student's identity and age, together with an affidavit explaining the inability to produce a copy of the birth certificate.

53G-6-603

53G-6-603. Requirement of birth certificate for enrollment of students -- Procedures.

Upon enrollment of a student for the first time in a particular school, that school shall notify in writing the person enrolling the student that within 30 days he must provide either a certified copy of the student's birth certificate, or other reliable proof of the student's identity and age, together with an affidavit explaining the inability to produce a copy of the birth certificate.
(a) Upon the failure of a person enrolling a student to comply with Subsection (1), the school shall notify that person in writing that unless he complies within 10 days the case shall be referred to the local law enforcement authority for investigation.
(b) If compliance is not obtained within that 10 day period, the school shall refer the case to the division.
The school shall immediately report to the division any affidavit received pursuant to this subsection which appears inaccurate or suspicious.

Answers provided by USBE legal counsel

Q: Can an electronically submitted copy of a birth certificate be used for registering a student?

Often, certified copies of birth certificates have a colored stamp and sometimes a mark imprinted on the paper showing it is a certified copy. Submitting an electronic copy of a certified birth certificate (especially if the electronic copy is black and white) would not have either indication it is certified; thus, an electronically submitted copy of a birth certificate may not meet the requirement for a “certified copy.”

Q: Can an electronically submitted copy of a birth certificate be accepted as “Reliable Proof”?

LEAs may deem an electronic (colored) version of a certified birth certificate to be sufficient "reliable proof" as long as it is accompanied by a notarized affidavit.

Keep in mind, the intent of this law is to prevent “missing children” from being enrolled in school by someone who is not legally entitled to have custody of the child. As such, LEAs are advised to require the affidavit and an explanation of why they cannot produce the document in person. Thus, an electronic copy of a certified birth certificate could be acceptable under this code provision. It depends on what the LEA deems reliable.

Q: If another school/LEA has enrolled the student with the certified copy of the birth certificate and they send the birth certificate to the new school with the records or transfer request, does the new school still need to see the certified copy or other reliable proof from the parent?

No. The transferee LEA should be able to rely on the transferring LEA's prior corroboration of the previously-submitted birth certificate. Courts in different states do that all the time regarding an order or judgment rendered in one state court and imported into another state's court (called "full faith and credit"). I see no reason why LEAs can't do the same.

Q: Can the affidavit be a fillable form created by the LEA?

Yes, however, the affidavit has to have an original signature and must be notarized.

Q: Can the LEA decide what constitutes acceptable reasons for the affidavit. For example, if the LEA decides they will accept other reliable proof so that they can conduct registration electronically rather than in person, can they choose to accept an affidavit with the reasoning being “due to digital registration”?

The LEA's discretion lies in determining what is reliable alternative proof of the student's identity and age. This statute does not give an LEA flexibility to reject a parent's explanation in the affidavit.

The LEA can choose what meets the requirement for other reliable proof, but cannot choose which reasons are acceptable or not.

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