The requirements relative to school district verification of
student residency are as outlined below. The attached form is suggested as a
way to collect the required information.
1. POLICY
a. Definition of residence for school
attendance purposes:
The student physically resides full time, weekdays/nights
and weekends, at a place of abode located within the limits of the school
district.
b. Effective for
the 1990-91 school year, all school districts will require students who are
seeking to enroll or continue to enroll in a school district to register at the
school they are assigned to attend. The school district shall verify the
residence of each student.
c. In
succeeding years any new student enrolling or entering a school district or any
continuing students whose residence has changed will be required to verify his
or her residence address as herein provided as a part of the registration
process.
2. PROCEDURE
a. Each student identified in paragraphs 1
and 2 above must establish his or her residency in the following manner:
i. STUDENTS LIVING WITH PARENTS OR GUARDIAN
The parent or legal guardian of a student seeking to enroll
must provide the school district with at least two of the items numbered (1)
through (9) below as verification of their address, except that any document
with a post office box as an address will not be accepted.
a) Filed Homestead Exemption Application
form;
b) Mortgage Documents or
property deed;
c) Apartment or home
lease;
d) Utility bills;
e) Driver's license
f) Voter precinct identification;
g) Automobile registration;
h) Affidavit and/or personal visit by a
designated school district official;
i) Any other documentation that will
objectively and unequivocally establish that the parent or guardian resides
within the school district; and, in the case of a student living with a legal
guardian who is a bona fide resident of the school district;
j) Certified copy of filed petition for
guardianship if pending and final decree when granted.
b. HOMELESS CHILDREN
When a child is determined to be homeless as defined by the
Stewart B. McKinney Act 42
USC Section 11431(1),
11432
(e)(4) and
11302(a), the
school district shall consider and take enrollment action that is in the best
interest of the child pursuant to 40 USC 11432(e)(3).
c. STUDENTS LIVING WITH ADULTS OTHER THAN
PARENTS OR LEGAL GUARDIANS:
i. The non-parent
claiming district residency must meet the criteria of subparagraph (i)(a)
through (j) above, required of a parent or legal guardian.
ii. The district resident must provide the
school with an affidavit stating his or her relationship to the student, and
that the student will be living at his/her abode full time, and provide
documentation fully explaining the reason(s) (other than school attendance zone
or district preference) for this arrangement. The local school board or its
designee will make the necessary factual determinations under subsection
II.1(c)(2). Examples of situations where "in loco parentis" authority of an
adult should be recognized to establish residency of the minor include but are
not limited to the following:
a) Death or
serious illness of the child's parent(s) or guardian(s);
b) Abandonment of the child;
c) Child abuse or neglect;
d) Unstable family relationships or
undesirable conditions in the home of the child's parents or guardians having a
detrimental effect on the child;
e)
Students enrolled in recognized exchange programs residing with host
families.
iii. Whenever
appropriate the person who has assumed responsibility for the care and custody
of the child shall be encouraged to obtain legal guardianship of the child.
a) The requirements of Section II.1(a) and
(c) above are minimum requirements and the school district may require
additional documentation and verification at any time.
b) At a minimum, the district shall maintain
in a file a written instrument identifying the types of documents used to
verify each student's residency and copies of any relevant guardianship
petition or decree.
c) The
provisions of this policy do not apply to students who reside outside the
school district, but who have legally transferred into the school district.
3.
In the event that a local school district has a similar procedure which
requires documentation of residence and is approved by the State Board of
Education, such procedure may be substituted for the procedure outlined in
Section II.
