04/20/23 1

Ask Matt - January 2011 - Residency and Enrollment

Matt Carver, J.D., Director of Legal Services

tel - 515.267.1115

fax - 515.267.1066

204/20/23

Residency and Enrollment Verify the following before determining residency: The child’s age-

The child must be 5 years old on or before September 15 to enroll in kindergarten. (Iowa Code §282.3)

The student must be under the age of 21 in most situations. (Iowa Code §282.3)

Also, remember that you may require some proof of date of

birth, but you cannot require that the proof be a birth certificate.

304/20/23

Residency and Enrollment

Verify the following before determining residency:

Whether the student has graduated or received a GED - If either has occurred, the student is not eligible for a tuition-free education.

404/20/23

Residency and Enrollment Verify the following before determining residency: Whether s/he is under suspension or expulsion from his/her

previous district- Iowa Code §282.4(3) Notwithstanding section 282.6, if a student has been expelled or

suspended from school and has not met the conditions of the expulsion or suspension, the student shall not be permitted to enroll in a school district until the board of directors of the school district approves, by a majority vote, the enrollment of the student.

281 Iowa Administrative Code 17.8(1) Expelled or suspended students. A pupil who has been suspended or expelled by action of the administration or board of the resident district shall not be permitted to enroll if an open enrollment request is filed until the pupil is reinstated for school attendance in the resident district.

Ensure the student’s previous district followed through with disciplinary actions.

504/20/23

Residency and Enrollment Pursuant to Iowa Code §§ 282.1 & 282.6: “‘resident’ means a

child who is physically present in a district, whose residence has not been established in another district by operation of law, and who meets any of the following conditions: a. Is in the district for the purpose of making a home and

not solely for school purposes. b. Meets the definitional requirements of the term ‘homeless

individual’ under 42 U.S.C. § 11302 (a) and (c). c. Lives in a juvenile detention center or residential facility in

the district.”

604/20/23

Residency and Enrollment “The State Board of Education has been consistent in finding that

there is no residency for tuition-free education when the physical presence of the student appears to be solely for school purposes.” In re Marcelious Nickelson, 18 D.o.E. App. Dec. 131 (2000).

In Nickelson, the State Board found that a mother had not established residency for her son in the Hampton-Dumont Community School District, despite the fact that she rented an apartment in Hampton and lived there with her son during the week. The State Board noted that the mother: lived in Geneva on weekends; and, intended to live in Geneva full-time upon getting married.

704/20/23

Residency and Enrollment Some Recommended Questions for Potential Enrollees: 1. Where did the student live last year?

2. With whom did the student live last year?

3. How often does the student go back to last year’s home? [Going back on holidays or for birthday parties is acceptable, but if s/he is going back more often, then I would seriously question whether the student’s residency has truly changed.]

4. With whom is the student living at the new address?

804/20/23

Residency and Enrollment Some Recommended Questions for Potential Enrollees: (cont.) 5. Where does the student call “home”? [If s/he says someplace other

than your district, and wasn’t saying it for sentimental reasons (e.g., s/he lived in Mayberry until s/he was 10 years old and will always call it home), then s/he is not eligible for free tuition.]

*6. Why does the student want to go to your school? [Again, s/he may try to flatter you, and say that s/he wants to attend because s/he heard that your school was the best in the area. That sounds to me like s/he is there solely for school purposes, so s/he is out of luck.]

904/20/23

Residency and Enrollment Some Recommended Questions for Potential Enrollees: (cont.) 7. Ask questions regarding the new neighborhood to ensure s/he is not just

giving you an address out of the phone book or across from a friend in an apartment complex. [If s/he is truly making a place his/her home and does not know that a Casey’s or QuikTrip is directly across the street, I would become skeptical.]

8. How long does the student intend to stay at new address? [S/he doesn’t have to state that s/he intends to stay in your district forever, but if s/he is going to move back at mid-year, or right after the school year gets over, then s/he would not have the requisite intent to remain in the district.]

1004/20/23

Residency and Enrollment Some Recommended Questions for Potential Enrollees:

(cont.) 9. Where does the student keep a majority of his/her belongings? [If the student

admits that s/he is living out of a duffel bag in your district and keeps most of her/his belongings at her/his old address, then s/he is not likely in your district to make it home.]

10. In what extracurricular activities does the student participate? [If the student is a standout swimmer and your school has a strong swimming program or you heard that the student had difficulties with the coach at the last district, I would consider this student to be residing in your district “solely for school purposes.” You will have to charge tuition and 90 day transfer rules will apply.]

1104/20/23

Residency and Enrollment Some Recommended Questions for Potential

Enrollees: (cont.) 11. Did the student change schools due to the

deployment or transfer of a parent, who serves in the military? If so, the student is eligible for tuition-free enrollment, and the 90 day transfer rule may not apply.

Interstate Compact on Education of Military Children (Iowa Code Ch. 256H)

1204/20/23

Residency and Enrollment Some open-enrollment considerations: If you accept a student after the open-enrollment deadline (March 1) who does

not meet the statutory residency requirements or who has not obtained late open-enrollment approval from the sending and receiving districts, the student’s family is obligated to pay the per-pupil cost for tuition.

Districts DO NOT have the option of just eating the cost of tuition, if the student does not satisfy Iowa’s definition for tuition-free education.

Late changes of open enrollment. If any change in enrollment is made on or after March 1, the resident district is not required to pay per-pupil costs or applicable weighting or special education costs to the receiving district until the

first full year of the open enrollment. (281 IAC 17.10(7))

1304/20/23

Residency and Enrollment Junior-Senior Rule: Iowa Code § 257.6(1)(a)(4) allows a school district to include in its enrollment

count junior and senior "nonresident pupils who were residents of the district of the preceding school year and [who remain] enrolled in the district until the pupils graduate.”

Questions arise when families move just across the border to Illinois, Nebraska, South Dakota, etc., but the junior or senior student elects to stay in the Iowa district to finish his/her education. The DE’s guidance has been that the district must charge the family tuition.

The Iowa Attorney General has issued an opinion to the Iowa Department of Education ( DE ) that the “junior-senior rule” [Iowa Code § 257.6(1)(a)(4)] does not and should not be applied when families move outside of the State of Iowa. The family must be charged tuition.

1404/20/23

Residency and EnrollmentWHO SHOULD BE CONSIDERED HOMELESS

CHILDREN AND YOUTH?

1. Children living in “doubled-up” accommodations, such as sharing housing with other families or individuals, are considered homeless if they are doubled-up because of loss of housing or economic hardship.

2. Children living in motels and hotels for lack of other suitable housing.

Source: 42 USC 11434a

1504/20/23

Residency and EnrollmentWHO SHOULD BE CONSIDERED HOMELESS

CHILDREN AND YOUTH?

3. Children or youth who have run away from home and live in shelters, abandoned buildings, the streets, or other inadequate accommodations, even if their parents have provided and are willing to provide a home for them.

4. Thrown out children (i.e., those whose parents or guardians will not permit them to live at home) are considered homeless if they live on the streets, in shelters, abandoned buildings, or in other transitional or inadequate accommodations.

Source: 42 USC 11434a

1604/20/23

Residency and EnrollmentWHO SHOULD BE CONSIDERED HOMELESS

CHILDREN AND YOUTH?

5. School-aged unwed mothers or expectant mothers living in homes for unwed mothers and have no other available living accommodations.

6. Children remaining in a hospital because they have been abandoned by their families and are homeless because they have no other place to live.

Source: 42 USC 11434a

1704/20/23

Residency and EnrollmentWHO SHOULD BE CONSIDERED HOMELESS

CHILDREN AND YOUTH?

7. Migratory children, to the extent that they are staying in accommodations not fit for habitation. Migratory children should not be considered homeless simply because they are children of migratory families.

8. Children staying temporarily in trailer parks or camping areas because of inadequate living accommodations.

Source: 42 USC 11434a

1804/20/23

Residency and EnrollmentWHO SHOULD BE CONSIDERED HOMELESS

CHILDREN AND YOUTH?

9. Children and youth awaiting placement in a foster home or a home for neglected children.

10. Children who are staying in emergency or domestic violence shelters or in transitional housing programs.

Source: 42 USC 11434a

1904/20/23

Residency and EnrollmentDoes the 90 day athletic ineligibility period apply to homeless students?

It depends. Again, like the scenario regarding open enrollment, if it appears that a family/student is trying to use the homeless classification to get around the 90 day ineligibility rule, then the rule still applies. However, if it is shown that the student is truly homeless, then the 90 day period is waived. Schools should involve the Girls Union or Boys Association when these questionable situations arise. Pending the resolution of any athletic eligibility dispute, the student remains INELIGIBLE.

2004/20/23

Residency and Enrollment

What if it appears that a family/student is just trying to get around open-enrollment laws by alleging that the student is “homeless?”

School officials may make a determination that a student is not homeless if the evidence shows that the family/student is just using the classification for other purposes. Do not hesitate to involve your homeless liaison in this process.

2104/20/23

Residency and Enrollment - Questions

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