                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

BIRTH CERTIFICATES REQUIRED UPON ADMISSION; REQUIRED NOTICE TO THE LOCAL
LAW-ENFORCEMENT AGENCY (§ 22.1-3.1)

A. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, no pupil shall be admitted
for the first time to any public school in any school division in this
Commonwealth unless the person enrolling the pupil shall present, upon
admission, a certified copy of the pupil&#8217;s birth record. The principal or
his designee shall record the official state birth number from the pupil&#8217;s
birth record into the pupil&#8217;s permanent school record and may retain a
copy in the pupil&#8217;s permanent school record. If a certified copy of the
pupil&#8217;s birth record cannot be obtained, the person so enrolling the pupil
shall submit an affidavit setting forth the pupil&#8217;s age and explaining the
inability to present a certified copy of the birth record. If the school
division cannot ascertain a child&#8217;s age because of the lack of a birth
certificate, the child shall nonetheless be admitted into the public schools if
the division superintendent determines that the person submitting the affidavit
presents information sufficient to estimate with reasonable certainty the age of
such child.
			However, if the student seeking enrollment is a homeless child or youth as
defined in &#xA7; 22.1-3, the school shall immediately enroll such student, even
if such student is unable to produce the records required for enrollment, and
shall immediately contact the school last attended by the student to obtain
relevant academic and other records, and shall comply with the provisions of
Subtitle VII-B of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, as amended
(42 U.S.C. &#xA7; 11431 et seq.), including immediately referring the parent of
the student or the youth to the local school division liaison, as described in
the federal Act, who shall assist in obtaining the necessary records for
enrollment.

B. Upon the failure of any person enrolling a pupil to present a certified copy
of the pupil&#8217;s birth record, the principal of the school in which the
pupil is being enrolled or his designee shall immediately notify the local
law-enforcement agency. The notice to the local law-enforcement agency shall
include copies of the submitted proof of the pupil&#8217;s identity and age and
the affidavit explaining the inability to produce a certified copy of the birth
record.

C. Within 14 days after enrolling a transferred pupil, the principal of the
school in which the pupil has been enrolled or his designee shall request that
the principal or his designee of the school in which the pupil was previously
enrolled submit documentation that a certified copy of the pupil&#8217;s birth
record was presented upon the pupil&#8217;s initial enrollment.

D. Principals and their designees shall be immune from any civil or criminal
liability in connection with any notice to a local law-enforcement agency of a
pupil lacking a birth certificate or failure to give such notice as required by
this section.

HISTORY: 1990, c. 295; 1991, c. 523; 2004, c. 500; 2007, c. 49; 2018, c. 394.