Caregiver Authorization Affidavit for Washington School Enrollment

The child is living with you and needs to start school. The district hands you a caregiver authorization form — or tells you they do not have one. Either way, the underlying rule is the same: Washington districts must enrol children living with a relative caregiver, and the affidavit is how you document the arrangement.

What the Caregiver Authorization Affidavit Does

The school caregiver authorization form establishes three things:

1. The child lives with you within the district's boundaries
2. You are responsible for the child's day-to-day care, including school-related decisions
3. You are making the statements under penalty of perjury

This is separate from the RCW 7.70.065 health declaration, which covers medical consent. The school affidavit does not give you medical authority, and the health declaration does not give you school authority. You likely need both.

Where to Get the Form

Washington has no single statewide school caregiver affidavit. Each district creates its own:

• Seattle Public Schools uses a standardised "Authority and Responsibility for a Minor Student" form, available through its Enrollment Services portal in over nine languages
• Larger districts (Tacoma, Spokane, Vancouver) typically have their own downloadable PDF on the district website
• Smaller and rural districts often handle it with a paper affidavit at the building level — sometimes just a statement you write out and sign in front of the registrar

If the district has no form, ask the registrar what documentation it accepts. A signed caregiver affidavit is one way to document that the child lives with you; district procedures vary.

What the School Can and Cannot Ask For

Required for enrolment:

• Proof of residency (utility bill, lease, caregiver affidavit)
• Proof of age and identity (birth certificate, passport, or official statement)
• Immunisation records or a valid exemption

Not required:

• A court custody order
• Legal guardianship paperwork
• A parent's co-signature (some districts request it, but it is not mandatory)
• DCYF involvement or a social worker's letter

If a registrar insists on a custody order, they are applying a standard OSPI does not require. Ask for the district's homeless/foster care liaison, or escalate to OSPI's Equity and Civil Rights Office or the Governor's Office of the Education Ombuds.

Annual Renewal

School caregiver authorisation forms typically cover one academic year. Most districts expect you to renew the form each fall during the regular enrolment or re-registration period. Unlike the health declaration — which expires on a fixed six-month clock — the school form tracks the academic calendar.

Ask about the renewal process when you first enrol the child. Getting ahead of it avoids a gap in authority at the start of the new school year.

What the Affidavit Gets You (and Doesn't)

Once the caregiver authorization is on file, the school treats you as the responsible adult for day-to-day school matters: attendance communications, report cards, parent-teacher conferences, emergency pickup, and field trip permissions.

Under FERPA, districts operating under OSPI guidance permit enrolled caregivers to inspect educational records, receive truancy communications, and sign permission slips. For special education, WAC 392-172A-01125 goes further — a relative with whom the child lives qualifies as a "parent" for IEP meetings and consent.

The affidavit does not give you legal custody, tax dependency, or authority over medical decisions. For medical consent, you need the RCW 7.70.065 health declaration or a parental power of attorney.

Our Washington School and Medical Consent Guide covers both the school and medical sides together — including the caregiver affidavit, the health declaration, and the escalation scripts for when a district pushes back.

See more Washington guides →