Seattle Public Schools

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Student Records

Requesting Transcripts and Other Student Records

Communications, Discipline Records, Video Records, etc.

These records would need to be requested through the Public Records Request process.

Public Records Request Center

Former Students, Universities, and Corporations

Use the ScribOrder Student Education Records Request System to request:

  • Student records (transcript, replacement diploma, graduation status or other student records) or
  • A graduation verification for a former student.
ScribOrder Student Educational Records Request System

Attaching Documents to Requests

  • Requests for student records from certain organizations, agencies and government bodies (i.e. most third parties unless allowed under FERPA) require a signed release of information form. Please attach the form directly to the order.
    • Graduation Verifications do not require a signed release of information form, since the information shared is considered directory information.
  • If a certification form needs to be completed by a Seattle Public Schools representative as part of the order, please attach the form directly to the order and add Special Instructions to indicate that the certification needs to be filled out.
  • Current and former students should be prepared to attach a photocopy of a government-issued photo identification (Driver’s License, Passport, etc.). The photo id needs to include the student’s name, date of birth and a photo. A digital photograph of the id is acceptable.

On the second screen, after clicking Prepare for Checkout, there is an option to attach any of the above referenced documents via the ‘Please attach your release documents’ field.

If an ROI or copy of a photo id of the requester is not attached before the order is submitted, there are other options:

  1. Attach documents to a ScribOrder request via the Order Tracker after an order is placed.
  2. If there are issues attaching documents to an order, please email the documentation to archives@seattleschools.org and reference your ScribOrder Number.

Failure to provide ID and/or documentation within 10 business days will result in the cancellation of the order and any delays in providing documentation will hinder our response time.

Alumni Access to Naviance

Students who set up an account with Naviance before they graduated directly at naviance.com continue to have full access to Naviance for 3 years after they graduated, including access to eDocuments. These former students will have general access to naviance.com for a maximum of 8 years .

Current Students – High School Transcript Requests

First and foremost, to support current students in their college application efforts, there are a number of existing resources in place at the student’s school (Naviance, Common App, Staff, etc.).

Therefore, students should work with the people & resources at their school to ensure transcripts are submitted as part of existing and established college application processes.

Request Transcripts in Naviance

Naviance is an application that students can use throughout the school year to identify where they are applying to college. When they identify a college, they outline the types of transcripts that are being requested to support their application to that college (Initial, Mid-Year, Final). In Naviance, there is an indicator as to how that college will accept a transcript: Via Naviance, Via CommonApp, or paper copies.

At different points in the year, staff will upload the transcripts for students and send the transcripts to the colleges that have been identified, with the exception of paper copies – schools will notify students how paper copies of transcripts will be handled.

There is a brief window of time that Naviance is not available in the summer (~July 4 – early August), but as long as the ‘Final’ transcript option was selected for a given college, that transcript will be sent automatically – no additional action is needed from a student.

Any changes a student would like to make to their Naviance options after July 4 may not be possible due to system outages.

For more assistance, reach out to staff at your school.

Final Transcripts (End of the Year Transcripts)
  • Final Transcripts are not available until approximately 12 week days after the last day of school. Every year, this date is defined by the Teacher Union contracts, so the date varies.
  • Final Transcripts from SPS in July do not contain Running Start Grades from Spring Quarter. If a college requires the Running Start grades from the final quarter, students will need to request their transcript from their Running Start college to be sent to the colleges that need those transcripts.
    • High school credits earned via Running Start will be added to the high school transcript in the Fall of the following year.
  • Colleges may send out a reminder communication about needing final transcripts – If the ‘Final’ transcript option is selected in Naviance or CommonApp, please be reassured that the final transcript will be sent. No additional action needs to be taken. The college may be behind in processing the transcripts received.

If a Current Student Needs Assistance

School Staff are there to help. Staff will guide students on the use of Naviance and CommonApp, supply students with paper/fax copies of transcripts as requested, upload transcripts to Naviance and Online College Application Portals to meet deadlines, etc.

Paper Copies

In some cases, colleges do not accept transcripts via CommonApp or Naviance:

  • When a college is identified in Naviance, but does not accept electronic transcripts, the school will generate a paper copy of the transcript. The school will provide the transcript to the student to mail.
  • When a college is not listed in Naviance, the student should work with staff to make sure they get a copy of their transcript to support their application.
Order Transcripts with ScribOrder

The last resource available to current high school students and parents of underage high school students to request official and unofficial copies of their high school transcript is the ScribOrder Online Student Records Request System.

It is important to note that orders for more than two transcripts or for orders for transcripts to be sent to more than two colleges will likely be rejected. Here is why:

ScribOrder is intended to fill gaps. In other words, it is not intended to replace systems like Naviance that are available to students at their school.

For instance, some colleges do not accept transcripts via Naviance or the CommonApp. In this case, paper transcripts may be requested from or provided by staff at the school or it may be more convenient to order a transcript via ScribOrder.

Do not order transcripts via ScribOrder if the transcript is being sent via Naviance or the CommonApp, especially Final transcripts. Colleges may send out a reminder communication about Final Transcripts, but if the ‘Final’ transcript option is selected in Naviance, please be reassured that the final transcript will be sent via Naviance.

How to Order via ScribOrder (Current Students)

  1. Go to the ScribOrder website
  2. On the left-hand side, click CLICK HERE if you are a CURRENT student or a PARENT of a current student under the age of 18.
  3. Fill out all required fields. When you add a Delivery Address(es), identify the number of copies.
    • Orders for more than two transcripts or for orders for transcripts to be sent to more than two colleges may be rejected. Please see information about Naviance.
  4. Most importantly, select the Information Type(s) Requested:
    • Official High School Transcript (sent to colleges or addresses identified)
    • Digital Copy – Official High School Transcript. The PDF file of the student’s transcript emailed to the requester can be verified by any recipient of the file via the following website:  Verify Credentials.

Reach out to help@scribsoft.com if you are experiencing technical difficulties with ScribOrder.

Questions?

Questions or concerns? Contact us!

DCYF and Foster Student Records

If a DCYF Caseworker needs to submit documentation to Seattle Public Schools about a student for our records (School Notification, Court Orders, etc), please send the documentation to the student’s current school and cc the Records & Archives Dept archives@seattleschools.org, Alesia Jessie amjessie@seattleschools.org and Charlotte McCracken cmmccracken@seattleschools.org.

If a DCYF Caseworker needs to submit a request for student records:

  • Please work with the student’s current school to request records.
  • If the school is on break or if the school is not responding, please reach out to the Seattle Public Schools Records & Archives Department archives@seattleschools.org with the request.
  • For Special Education Records for a student, please email the Special Education Records Department spedrecords@seattleschools.org with the request.

Note that requests must come directly from a valid DCYF email address for us to ensure the request is legitimate. Encrypted emails will not be accepted or reviewed.

Special Education and 504 Records

Please work with your student’s school for these records. If that is not successful, please reach out to the respective departments directly for those records – the contact information can be found in the contacts section of this page. FERPA requirements apply – records will only be released to a known parent/guardian, requesters with a signed release of information form or requesters identified under FERPA that do not need a signed release form. A valid government issued photo identification may be requested.

Union Verifications

To request the required verification for the union, please email the Records & Archives Department (archives@seattleschools.org). Your message must include the following:

Subject Line:  Verification for Union Dispatchers

Attachment:  A government-issued photo ID

Email Body:  Please indicate whether the verification request is for:

  • Yourself, or
  • A parent/guardian of a current or former SPS student

Include the following information:

  • Student Name:
  • Student Date of Birth:
  • Parent/Guardian Name: (if the request is for a parent/guardian of an SPS student)
  • Union Classification or Union Identification:

What to Expect in Response

The Records & Archives Department will respond to requests within 3–5 business days. The requester will be copied on the response that is sent to the union. The response will include:

  • Graduation Verification: Whether the student graduated from SPS and the graduating high school, OR
  • Enrollment History: If the student did not graduate from an SPS high school, the last date and school of enrollment.

For parents/guardians, the information provided will be about their ‘student’.

If Records Cannot Be Found

The Records & Archives Department will notify the requester if records are not not found. The requester will be given a week to submit additional information. If a response is not received within a week, the union will be informed that no record was found based on the information provided by the requester. This notification will serve as confirmation that the requester (or the requester’s student) did not attend SPS.

Important Information for Parents/Guardians Regarding Pre-2008 Records

Records created before 2008 list only one parent or guardian. As a result, we can confirm parent/guardian status only for the individual named in those records.
If you are not the parent/guardian listed, you may be asked to provide additional documentation—such as a birth certificate—to establish your connection to the student.

Subpoenas, Legal Requests

Submit subpoenas and legal requests to legal@seattleschools.org.