School Records Can be Important

It may seem unusual, but the Social Security Administration often needs copies of school records, sometimes records that were closed decades ago. Unfortunately the records have often been destroyed by the school district. To qualify as a Disabled Adult Child (an adult who is eligible to draw benefits from the Social Security account of a deceased, disabled or retired parent), a claimant must show that he or she was disabled before age 22 and has remained disabled. Often the disability involves the question of IQ, and while the law does not specifically require the proof of a specific IQ before a certain age, it might as well make that requirement. If the claimant can’t prove their pre-age 22 IQ they at least need to be able to prove educational problems before age 22. Grades are less important; even more important is the fact that the person was in Special Education, or that they ranked low standardized tests. If there is any question that school records might be needed at a later date one should go ahead and ask the school for all records shortly after high school graduation. Some federal regulations require that the school keep records for a minimum of 5 years-which often seems to mean that schools will destroy exactly those records immediately after the 5 year period If you think that it is possible that school records might be needed it is a good idea to request all records from the school within 5 years of leaving school. Then keep the records in a safe place.