In response to the recent announcement by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding deferred action for immigrants currently living in the U.S., Dalton Public Schools has developed the following process for obtaining school records:
• If the student is ACTIVE in a school within Dalton Public Schools, please contact the current school to obtain a copy of records or transcript. ACTIVE student records are provided at a cost of $3 to the student.
• If the student is INACTIVE, attended a school within Dalton Public Schools and is:
* Under the age of 18, a parent or legal guardian may complete the online request form on the student’s behalf (Click here to download form).
* Age 18 & over/ Graduate, the transcript can be requested using the Student Transcript Request Form and payment of a $10 processing fee. The form and payment may be made in-person at the district’s Central Office in Dalton City Hall at 300 W. Waugh St. between the hours of 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. or through a mail-in request. All fees must be paid by cash or money order.
The Department of Homeland Security has determined that certain young people who were brought to the United States through no fault of their own as young children and who meet several key criteria will be considered for relief from removal from the country or entered into removal proceedings. Those who demonstrate that they meet the criteria will be eligible to receive deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal.
Only those individuals who can prove through verifiable documentation that they meet these criteria will be eligible for deferred action. Individuals will not be eligible if they cannot prove that they have been physically present in the United States for a continuous period of not less than 5 years. The use of prosecutorial discretion confers no substantive right or pathway to citizenship.
Who is eligible to receive deferred action under DHS’s new directive?
Individuals must:
1. Have come to the United States under the age of sixteen;
2. Have continuously resided in the United States for at least five years and are currently living in the United States;
3. Currently be in school, have graduated from high school, have obtained a general education development certificate, or are honorably discharged veterans of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States;
4. Have not been convicted of a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor offense, multiple misdemeanor offenses, or otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety;
5. Not be above the age of thirty.
Individuals must also complete a background check and, for those individuals who make a request to USCIS and are not subject to a final order of removal, must be 15 years old or older.
For more information on deferred action by the DHS, please visit their website at http://www.dhs.gov/deferred-action-process.
The process for obtaining student records from Dalton Public Schools complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regarding Disclosure of Education Records and Dalton Public Schools policy.
