ADMISSIONS
FD-R (LOCAL)
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VERIFICATION OF AGE AND IDENTITY
CURRENT STUDENTS
SPECIAL
REGISTRATION FORMS
IMMUNIZATION RECORDS
WITHDRAWAL PROCEDURES
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A. New student When a student enrolls in PISD for the first time, the student’s age must be verified. Persons who are at least five years of age and younger than 21 on the first day of September of any school year are entitled to attend the public schools. Acceptable documentation of age and identification include any one of the following: n Birth certificate n Adoption records n Church baptismal records n Hospital birth records n Passport n Driver’s license n Any other legal document that establishes identity and date of birth
Students already in attendance will be required to verify residency on an annual basis, when resubmitting the enrollment card. To establish residency in PISD for the purposes of attending school, residency must be supported by documentation.
1. One
document at enrollment
2. 30-day
production rule
1. No single item of proof is sufficient to establish residency. 2. All new students are subject to the same verification requirements. 3. Every school in PISD must follow the same verification rules and procedures. 4. If a student’s residence is questioned, the same procedure will be followed in every instance. 5. All questions regarding verifications shall be resolved by the Director of Student Services. 6. Documents presented to establish residence must be current, so as to establish where the person is residing at the time of admission. 7. Other district personnel – such as attendance officers – may be used to verify residency. In addition, non-district personnel – including neighbors – may be asked to verify residence.
1. Waiver of documentation The Superintendent or designee may waive the residence requirement. Waivers shall be granted only in the most unusual circumstances, including but not limited to: a. homeless persons; b. migratory persons; c. a student who has established a residence separate and apart from the student’s parent or guardian. If the Superintendent or designee grants a waiver for any of the above reasons, residency shall be verified by other means, such as sending attendance and/or police officers to the residence of record and using other means to determine whether the individual is residing within PISD. Reminder: If a person is granted a waiver, that person shall be required to submit the following: Falsification of Information Acknowledgement 2. Parent lives in district; student does not. The Education Code, section 25.001, [See FD(LEGAL)] provides that a student is entitled to attend PISD, even if the student does not live in the District, but only if a parent – who is a joint managing, sole managing, or possessory conservator of the child – has submitted sufficient documentation to establish residency in PISD. In this situation, the parent shall be required, in addition to other enrollment information, to submit the following: Falsification of Information Acknowledgement 3. A student who lives in PISD without a parent. The Education Code allows a student of any age to establish a residence separate and apart from his or her parents and attend the public schools in which that student resides. [See FD(LEGAL)]
The adult with whom the student is residing will be required to present a Power of Attorney, unless the Director of Student Services grants an exception to that requirement under exceptional circumstances, as described in FD(LOCAL).
The adult with whom such a student is living shall be required, as are other individuals wishing to enroll students in PISD schools, to produce all documents establishing residency.
c. Additional verification If the adult with whom a student who has established a separate residence is living is unable to satisfy the residency requirements, the Director of Student Services shall, if appropriate, use attendance officers, police officers, and other means to verify the student’s residence in PISD. Reminder: Students living separate and apart shall submit, in addition to other registration information: - Falsification of Information Acknowledgement, signed by the person with whom the student is residing - Power of Attorney 4. Homeless students Federal law defines a homeless individual who: i. lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; or ii. has a primary nighttime residence that is (a) a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations; (b) an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or (c) a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings. Upon determining that a student may qualify as homeless, the campus principal will refer the student to the Director of Student Services for verification of residency. Generally, persons meeting this description should be allowed to attend PISD without documented evidence of residency. Extrinsic evidence – such as investigations by PISD police officers, truant officers, statements of persons with whom the individual has stayed – must be obtained. 5. Families living with other families a. Owner/renter of residence signature When a principal is informed that one family has moved into a residence with another family, the school shall require both the owner/renter of the residence and the parent, legal guardian, or person having legal custody of the student to come to the school and complete an Affidavit of Residence form in the presence of a school official. The school notary shall notarize this form and file it in the student’s cumulative folder. The owner/renter of the residence must also show proof of bona fide residence ( a signed, current lease, a deed, or other evidence of ownership or tenancy), as well as a current utility bill. In these situations, the family who provides the basis for residence in PISD shall submit, in addition to other residency documents: - Falsification of Information Acknowledgement b. Referral to the Director of Student Services Upon completion of the Affidavit of Residence, the principal shall refer the information to the Director of Student Services. The Director of Student Services shall use attendance officers, police officers, and other information to verify residency under these circumstances. 6. Grandparent providing substantial care of student The parent of the child must still enroll the child in school. If the parent resides “Out-of-District” (a) an Out of District Transfer must be completed, (b) an Affidavit of Grandparent Care must be completed in the presence of personnel from the Office of Student Services, and (c) the grandparent’s address will determine the school of assignment. The Office of Student Services will issue the necessary paperwork and notify the campus. If the parent resides within district, the parent will enroll the child – as usual. The parent’s address will be used to determine the school of assignment. Grandparent(s) providing care can be indicated on the Enrollment Card and the Emergency Card. Requests to enroll a student using the address of any other person providing care will require approval of an In-District Transfer. After the initial forms have been issued, both affidavits must be renewed before the beginning of each new school year. When proper documentation cannot be presented as required, the principal shall immediately refer the individual to the Director of Student Services, who shall proceed with attempts to verify residence.
PISD will firmly and consistently enforce its residency requirements. Persons found to be in violation of the residency requirement shall be subject to sanctions, as discussed below. A. Reason to believe residency might not be valid. The principal or district officials have reason to doubt a claim of residency in PISD under circumstances such as:
Any principal who encounters such circumstances shall refer these situations to the Director of Student Services for verification of residency. B. Annual enrollment process. New forms shall be submitted by all students no later than the beginning of each school year. Upon receipt of the renewed forms, each campus shall compare current information to the information on file. Any discrepancies that cannot be reconciled shall be forwarded to the Director of Student Services. C. If PISD learns a student is attending PISD schools but cannot establish residency in the District, it will offer the parent, legal guardian, or other adult with lawful control over the student one final opportunity to establish residency. The District will arrange to send a message home with the student and/or contact the student’s parent or guardian by telephone. The District shall inform the individual that residency must be established within 10 business days. This may be accomplished by submitting the required documents, as required above, or by applying for a waiver. During these 10 days, the District will initiate an investigation into the student’s residency. D. If, after the 10-day grace period expires, the parent, legal guardian, or other adult with lawful control over the student is still unable to establish residency, the individual shall be offered a hearing. The hearing shall be held within five business days of the expiration of the 10-day grace period. At the hearing, the student’s parent, guardian, or other adult with lawful control over the student shall be given the opportunity to explain to the principal and an associate superintendent why he or she cannot satisfy the residency requirements. E. If the result of the hearing and any investigation is to deny the claim of residency, PISD shall withdraw the student from the District. F. If it appears that district records have been knowingly falsified, the District may file criminal charges under Penal Code section 37.10. G. In addition, the District shall require the parent, legal guardian, or other adult with lawful control over the student to pay tuition for the period of time during which the student was unlawfully attending PISD. i. First, the District shall send a demand letter, requiring the parent, legal guardian, or other adult with lawful control over the student to pay the amount of tuition – based on the number of days of attendance times the district’s daily cost of educating the student – within 30 days or make arrangements with the District to pay the tuition over time. ii. If the District’s demand is not answered or otherwise satisfied, the Superintendent may consider whether extenuating circumstances allow for an exemption or whether the District shall file suit against the parent, legal guardian, or other adult with lawful control over the student for payment of tuition for any time the District can establish the student was not legally attending PISD schools.
Before a student can be officially admitted to PISD schools, appropriate registration forms must be completed and signed by the person who has legal custody of the student. Students who are 18 years of age and older may complete and sign these forms themselves. The following should be filled out, and information on each should be compared for consistency: · Enrollment card · Emergency contact card
Current immunization and health records must be transferred to PISD within 30 days of enrollment. If such records are not timely received, the student will be withdrawn until documentation is submitted, except under extenuating circumstances. These should be transferred within 30 days from the child’s prior school, if any.
A. Parent/student-initiated When a minor student withdraws from school, the parent must sign the withdrawal form and indicate the reason for withdrawal. The parent shall specify the date the withdrawal is effective and where the child will be educated in the future (for the purposes of the compulsory attendance laws). B. School-initiated 1. PISD may withdraw a student for nonattendance in accordance with FDD(LOCAL). PISD will notify the parents upon withdrawal. In addition, truancy charges should be filed. 2. PISD may withdraw a student upon a determination that the student is not residing in PISD. In this event, PISD will notify the parent, legal guardian, or other adult with lawful control over the student of the withdrawal. In addition, PISD will consider to take steps to recover any tuition the student might owe for any period during which the student was illegally attending PISD. If documents were falsified, PISD will consider filing criminal charges under Penal Code section 37.10.
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