- Who it's for
- Outside Caregiver, Whole Family
- Child / youth age
- All ages
- Geography
- National
- Action type
- Plan
- Reading time
- About 5 min
- Last verified
- August 2026
What this is
A checklist for caregivers handling a school transfer, including records to request, credits to protect, and questions to ask on the first day at the new school.
Why it matters
Transfers are where credits, support plans, and services quietly disappear. Ten minutes of paperwork at the old school can save a semester at the new one.
What you should know
- Request an unofficial transcript, current schedule, and any support-plan documents before you leave the old school.
- Ask the old school to send records directly to the new school and keep your own copy of everything.
- Confirm at the new school which credits transferred and which were converted to electives.
- If a support plan existed, ask the new school in writing to review and continue it.
- Ask who the new counselor is on day one, not in week six.
- Federal law contains protections for students whose living situation is unstable; ask the district's homeless-and-highly-mobile liaison whether they apply.
Talk about it
Ask your child what they want to keep from their old school — a class, an activity, a friendship.
Your next step
Start one folder, paper or digital, that holds every school document in one place.
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