Social Security Student Benefits: What Parents Need to Report

If your family relies on a child’s Social Security benefits, a school change can also change your budget. When your child approaches 18, paperwork about school attendance can determine whether those payments continue.

This matters if you are a blind or low vision parent whose child receives benefits on your Social Security record, or if you are the parent of a blind child receiving benefits. Understanding the rules can help you plan for graduation and avoid a payment you may later have to repay.

Which benefits are we talking about?

Eligible children may receive benefits on the earnings record of a parent who receives Social Security retirement or disability benefits, or who has died. The child does not have to have a disability. If you are a blind parent receiving SSDI, for example, your child without a disability may qualify. Your own receipt of SSI alone does not create benefits for your children.

Child benefits generally stop at 18, but an eligible unmarried student may continue receiving them, generally at ages 18–19, while attending elementary or secondary school full time. College attendance alone does not qualify. Ask Social Security for your child’s exact benefit end date, because limited exceptions can affect when payments stop. Read SSA’s child benefit eligibility guidance (opens in a new tab).

What counts as full-time school?

Social Security generally requires all of the following:

• An elementary or secondary school program that qualifies under the applicable education law.
• A course of study lasting at least 13 weeks that is not a correspondence course.
• At least 20 scheduled hours of attendance each week.
• A course load the school considers full time.

Exceptions to the 20-hour requirement may apply, including when a medical condition limits attendance. Homeschool, online, and special education programs are not automatically excluded, but they must meet the applicable rules. If your child’s schedule or program is unusual, ask SSA to review it rather than assuming your child is ineligible. SSA’s student benefits questions and answers explain these situations (opens in a new tab).

Start the paperwork before age 18

SSA normally sends Form SSA-1372-BK for school attendance certification (PDF, opens in a new tab) about three months before a child beneficiary turns 18. If it does not arrive, contact SSA.

1. The student completes their part of the form with accurate school and attendance information.
2. A school official certifies attendance and keeps the section used to report when full-time attendance ends.
3. The student returns the required completed and certified sections to Social Security. Giving the form to the school is only part of the process.

Keep a copy. If the form or the school’s process does not work with your assistive technology, contact SSA and the school to arrange help completing it.

Report changes as soon as they happen

Tell Social Security promptly if the student:

• Stops attending school or drops below full-time attendance.
• Changes schools.
• Graduates earlier than expected or will not graduate on schedule.

A school change or delayed graduation requires a new SSA-1372-BK certified by the school. School officials also have reporting duties, including notifying SSA when full-time attendance stops or graduation happens early. Do not assume the school has already taken care of your family’s reporting.

You generally do not need to report a scheduled vacation of no more than four full calendar months when the student plans to return. If those plans change, notify SSA. Summer payment eligibility has additional conditions, so check with SSA if the student turns 19 during the break.

How to report a school change

Call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY: 1-800-325-0778), contact your local office, or mail Form SSA-1383 for reporting school attendance changes (PDF, opens in a new tab). Use SSA’s local office locator (opens in a new tab) for the correct office and mailing address.

A blind child may need a different benefit review

These student rules are separate from SSI. If your child receives SSI, ask about SSA’s review of eligibility under adult rules at age 18 (opens in a new tab). A young adult whose qualifying disability began before 22 may also qualify for benefits under the disabled adult child rules (opens in a new tab), if other requirements are met. That benefit does not depend on remaining a full-time student.

Being enrolled in special education beyond age 19 does not, by itself, extend student benefits. Ask which benefit your child receives and which rules apply before building your budget around continued payments.

Put the dates in your financial plan

Add your child’s eighteenth birthday, expected graduation date, and SSA’s expected benefit end date to your calendar. Keep copies of forms and notes about changes you report. A little planning now can help your family adjust its budget before payments change.

Based on Social Security Matters’ October 15, 2026 post on accurate school attendance reporting (opens in a new tab), with additional SSA resources linked above.