A family arrives from Kyiv in August with a vaccination card full of Cyrillic abbreviations like АКДП and КПК. The school nurse cannot read it, the enrollment office asks for proof of immunizations, and the first week of school slips by. It does not have to go that way.
Immigration status cannot keep a child out of public school, and the documents that slow enrollment down, mainly foreign vaccination records and report cards, can be prepared before the first visit. This guide covers the legal ground rules, vaccine requirements and grace periods in California, New York and Texas, how schools and clinics read foreign records, and how to prepare each one for school enrollment.
Can a US school refuse to enroll a child because of immigration status?
No. In Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982), the Supreme Court struck down a Texas law that withheld state funds for children not "legally admitted" to the United States and let districts deny them enrollment.
State guidance builds on that decision. A joint letter from the New York Attorney General and the State Education Department says students between 5 and 21 have the right to a free public education "regardless of the student's nationality or immigration status." Schools may not require a Social Security number or information about immigration status as a condition of enrollment, and a student should start classes as soon as possible, ideally the next school day, with three business days to prove residency. New York's January 2025 guidance, updated in December 2025, repeats that schools are prohibited from requesting a Social Security card or number.
Schools may still ask for proof of residence, but New York schools must accept many forms of it, including a letter or affidavit from a landlord, a pay stub, a utility or cell phone bill, or a letter from a social worker or religious leader.
McKinney-Vento: immediate enrollment without records
Children "sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason," or living in motels, hotels or shelters, count as homeless under the federal McKinney-Vento Act. That can include a newly arrived family staying with relatives out of necessity. Under 42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(3)(C), the school must enroll such a child immediately, even without previous academic records, immunization records or proof of residency. It must contact the last school for records and refer the family to the district's homeless liaison, who helps obtain immunizations or health records.
What vaccines does a US school require?
School vaccine requirements are state law, not federal. According to KFF, all 50 states and DC require certain vaccines for school, and all of them require MMR, DTaP, polio and varicella; other vaccines vary by state.
Federal vaccine recommendations have been in flux since 2025, and at least nine states have made non-medical exemptions easier to get. The requirements themselves are still set state by state: as of KFF's August 2026 review, no state had changed its school rules in response to an August 2026 federal executive order urging states to revisit them. Check your state health department's current list before relying on any summary, including this one.
| State | What is required (examples) | Grace period for incomplete records |
|---|---|---|
| California | For TK to 12th grade admission: polio 4 doses, DTaP 5, hepatitis B 3, MMR 2 (both on or after the first birthday), varicella 2; Tdap for 7th grade advancement | Conditional admission if the child has received some required vaccines and follows the catch-up schedule |
| New York | DTaP or Tdap, polio, MMR, hepatitis B, varicella; Tdap for grades 6 to 12 and MenACWY for grades 7 to 12 | 14 days to show proof or get at least the first dose of each vaccine; may be extended to 30 days for a student transferring from another country who shows a good faith effort (10 NYCRR 66-1.4) |
| Texas | All grades: DTaP or Tdap, polio, MMR, hepatitis B, varicella, hepatitis A; grades 7 to 12 add meningococcal (MCV4) and a Tdap booster | Provisional enrollment with at least one dose of each required vaccine, not overdue for the next, reviewed every 30 days |
Are foreign vaccination records accepted for school?
Generally yes, if they are official, legible and dated. The details differ by state:
- Texas says that because many types of personal records are in use, "any document will be acceptable provided a physician or public health personnel validate it," by signature, initials or stamp. Records generated from an electronic health record must show the vaccine name and the full date (month, day and year).
- New York schools accept a certificate of immunization from a health care practitioner or from the state registry. In practice, families take the foreign record to a US provider who reviews it and issues the certificate.
- California: San Diego County's immunization program lists an "Official immunization record from a foreign country (must be in English or accompanied by certified translation)." Among its red flags are a "notarized translation without original-language documentation" and foreign records that show only US vaccine names.
Clinicians then apply US rules to the foreign doses. CDC says that "only written documentation should be accepted as evidence of previous vaccination," that vaccines given abroad generally count when the schedule matches US minimum ages and intervals, and that measles-containing doses given before the first birthday "should not be counted." Washington State's health department adds that oral polio vaccine given on or after April 2016 does not count toward the US polio series, and California's requirements say the same.
A precise translation is what lets the nurse or doctor make those calls quickly instead of restarting a series. See our full guide to vaccination records translation.
What do foreign vaccination cards look like?
| Country | Record | Notes for translation |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico | Cartilla Nacional de Salud (earlier Cartilla Nacional de Vacunación) | Dates written day/month/year; SRP is MMR, SR is measles-rubella only |
| Ukraine | Karta profilaktychnykh shcheplen or a vaccination certificate | АКДП (DTwP), АДП-М (reduced-dose Td), КПК (MMR), БЦЖ (BCG); doses often marked V1, V2 for the primary series and R1, R2 for boosters |
| Russia | Sertifikat o profilakticheskikh privivkakh (form 156/u-93) | АКДС is DTwP; ЖКВ is live measles vaccine alone, not MMR |
| Brazil | Caderneta de Vacinação or Caderneta da Criança | Tríplice viral is MMR; pentavalente combines several antigens, so list its components |
| Germany | Impfpass | Disease names in German (Masern, Mumps, Röteln, Windpocken); product stickers carry batch numbers |
| China | Vaccination certificate (yufang jiezhong zheng) | Abbreviated antigen names; dates often year/month/day |
Date order is the quiet hazard. A record reading 03/05/2019 means May 3 in most of the world and March 5 in the US. A good translation writes every date unambiguously, for example "May 3, 2019."
Do report cards and transcripts need certified translations?
Usually not for enrollment itself. Districts decide grade placement from whatever records you bring: report cards, the last transcript, a certificate of completed grades, and any special education or language assessments. A clear translation shortens placement meetings and helps a high school award credit for courses taken abroad. Common source documents:
- Mexico: boleta de calificaciones (report card), certificado de educación primaria or secundaria.
- Ukraine and Russia: tabel (grade report) and the pupil's personal file, osobova sprava or lichnoe delo, which follows the child from school to school.
- Brazil: boletim (report card) and histórico escolar (transcript).
- Germany: Zeugnis, graded 1 (best) to 6.
Keep the grades in the original scale. A German 2 is a good grade, and converting it to a US letter is the school's call, not the translator's. For high school credit and college applications, a certified translation is the norm; see our academic transcript translation guide and report card translation.
Proof of age
A birth certificate or passport is the usual proof of age. A passport already shows the child's name in the Latin alphabet, so many families use it and skip translating the birth certificate. If the school asks for the birth certificate, a certified birth certificate translation keeps the name spelled exactly as in the passport.
Mistakes that delay enrollment
Bringing only the translation. Bring the original record and the translation together; a translation alone can look suspicious.
A translation that lists vaccines but drops dates. Without the month, day and year of each dose, nobody can check minimum ages and intervals, so the dose may not count.
Brand names only, in either direction. "Pentaxim, 3 doses" tells a US nurse little, and San Diego County treats foreign records that show only US vaccine names as a red flag. Show the product as written and the antigens it contains.
Assuming a measles dose is MMR. Single-antigen measles vaccine (ЖКВ) covers neither mumps nor rubella, and measles-rubella (SR) leaves out mumps.
Waiting for the first day. Get the record translated and reviewed by a pediatrician or clinic before school starts, so catch-up doses fit inside the grace period.
Checklist for enrolling with foreign records
Questions people ask
Can a US public school refuse to enroll my child because of immigration status?
No. Plyler v. Doe (1982) held that states cannot deny children a free public education because of immigration status. State guidance, such as New York's, adds that schools may not require a Social Security number or immigration information as a condition of enrollment.
Do my child's foreign vaccination records need a certified translation?
It depends on the district and county, and a certified translation is the safe choice. San Diego County, for example, accepts an official foreign record only if it is in English or accompanied by a certified translation. Even where certification is not required, a precise translation prevents unnecessary repeat doses.
What if my child's vaccinations are incomplete by US standards?
Most states let the child enroll while catch-up doses are given. New York allows 14 days, extendable to 30 for students transferring from another country who show a good faith effort, and Texas allows provisional enrollment once at least one dose of each required vaccine is documented.
Will my child have to repeat vaccines received abroad?
Only the doses that do not meet US rules. Common examples are a measles dose given before the first birthday and oral polio vaccine given on or after April 2016, neither of which counts toward the US series. A clear translation lets the clinician count every valid dose.
Do report cards and transcripts need certified translations?
For enrollment and grade placement, most districts accept a clear translation, though some ask for certification. For high school credit transfer and college applications, a certified translation that keeps the original grades and scale is the standard.
What if we do not have any documents yet?
If your family is sharing housing because of loss of housing or economic hardship, or living in temporary housing, your child may qualify under the McKinney-Vento Act. The school must then enroll the child immediately and help obtain records and immunizations through the district's homeless liaison.
Should I bring the original vaccination card or a copy?
Bring the original and the translation together. San Diego County flags a notarized translation without the original-language document as a warning sign, and clinicians may need to see stamps and stickers on the card itself. Keep a scan of every page in case the school wants a copy for its file.
How much does it cost to translate a vaccination card for school?
Official Translations charges $29.95 per page for a certified translation. A one or two page card is usually delivered within 24 hours as a signed PDF by email, and longer booklets typically take one to three business days.