Shelby County Board of Education
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6006

 
Issued Date: 08/26/10
Revised: 06/30/11


ELIGIBILITY OF STUDENTS TO ATTEND SHELBY COUNTY SCHOOLS


Proof of Residence

Unless otherwise prohibited by law, parents, guardians or other persons having lawful control of students must provide the following proof of residence in order to enroll a child in Shelby County Schools.

General Proof of Residency
The parent, guardian or other person having lawful control of the student must provide two (2) of the following items listed below:

  1. Driver's license or other State or Government (military) issued identification bearing the address at which the student will be residing during the current school year.

  2. Most recent MLGW bill of the owner, renter or lessee of the home in which the student will reside during the current school year or a municipal water bill;

  3. Mortgage statement or deed of the owner of the home in which the student will reside during the current school year;

  4. Lease of the lessee of the home in which the student will reside during the current school year;

  5. Rental Agreement of the renter of the home in which the student will reside during the current school year;

  6. Real Estate tax receipt.

  7. In the event that two (2) of the items listed in Nos. 1-6 above cannot be provided, residency may be established by submitting to the office of the Shelby County Schools' Student Services Department other documentation deemed to be appropriate proof of residence in the sole discretion of the Shelby County Schools' Student Services Department.

Shared Residency Requirements
In the case in which a student resides with his/her parents, guardian/s or other persons having lawful control of student, in the home of someone other than his/her parents, guardian/s or other persons having lawful control of the student:

  1. The homeowner of the home in which the student resides must accompany the parent/guardian to registration and provide two (2) of the items listed in Nos. 1-7 of the General Proof of Residency Section above.

  2. The parent, guardian or other person having lawful control of the student claiming shared residency must provide two (2) of the following items listed below:

 

  1. Driver's license or other State or Government (military) issued identification of the parent, guardian or other person having lawful control of the student, bearing the address at which the student will be residing during the current year;

  2. Car registration of the parent, guardian or other person having lawful control of the student bearing the address at which the student will be residing during the current school year;

  3. Voter registration of the parent, guardian or other person having lawful control of the student bearing the address at which the student will be residing during the current school year;

  4. Payroll stub of the parent, guardian or other person having lawful control of the student bearing the address at which the student will be residing during the current school year;

  5. Three (3) significant pieces of mail with a forwarding sticker bearing the address at which the student will be residing during the current school year;

  6. Government Assistance Communication directed to the parent, guardian or other person having lawful control of the student bearing the address at which the student will be residing during the current school year.

  7. In the event that two (2) of the items listed in Nos. 1-6 directly above cannot be provided, residency may be established by submitting to the office of the Shelby County Schools' Student Services Department other documentation deemed to be appropriate proof of residence in the sole discretion of the Shelby County Schools' Student Services Department.

Fraudulent Enrollment

When it is conclusively determined that a student is out of district, the school will send a standardized letter to the parent/guardian stating that the child will be withdrawn. The withdrawal date provided by the school will be no less than two (2) and no more than six (6) business days from the date the letter is issued. Once a letter is sent to the parent, Student Services staff will conduct all future dialogues with the parent.

If the school suspects that a child resides outside of the Shelby County Schools district but is unable to substantiate the suspicion, the principal will report the information to Student Services for further investigation. The child will remain enrolled at the school while the investigation is conducted. All referrals to Student Services for residency verification will come directly from the principal or the principal's designee.

If Student Services verifies that a student is out of district, then Student Services will send a letter to the parent/guardian advising that the student must be immediately withdrawn. The school will also receive a copy of this letter. If Student Services is unable to conclusively verify the residency in question, the information will be referred to the Director of Safety and Security for further investigation. All referrals to the Director of Safety and Security will come directly from Student Services.

Cases investigated and substantiated by the Director of Safety and Security will be reported to the Assistant Superintendent of Student Services. The Assistant Superintendent will forward these cases to Shelby County Schools' General Counsel as deemed appropriate. After conferring with all offices involved in the investigative process, Shelby County Schools' General Counsel will make a determination about pursuing legal remedies pertaining to fraudulent enrollment.

“Any parent, guardian, or other legal custodian who enrolls an out-of-district student in a school district and fraudulently represents the address for the domicile of the student for enrollment purposes is liable for restitution to the school district for an amount equal to the local per pupil expenditure identified by the Tennessee Department of Education for the district in which the student is fraudulently enrolled.” In the case of out-of-state enrollment, the “parent, guardian, or other legal custodian is liable for restitution to the school district for an amount equal to the state and local per pupil expenditure identified by the Tennessee Department of Education…. Restitution shall be cumulative for each year the child has been fraudulently enrolled in the system. Such restitution shall be payable to the School District and, when litigation is necessary to recover restitution, the parent, guardian, or other legal custodian shall be liable for costs and fees, including reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred by the School District.” T.C.A § 49-6-3003

In the event that a person, other than a student's parent, guardian, or other legal custodian, provides proof of a student's residence, that person shall sign a statement affirming that the student is in fact residing in their home. The person signing the statement affirming that the student is residing in their home shall also sign in agreement that if they are found to have falsely represented that the student is residing in their home, the person signing the statement shall be responsible for paying to Shelby County Schools, an amount equal to Shelby County Schools' local per pupil expenditure identified by the Tennessee Department of Education. A student relying upon proof of residency of a person other than the student's parent, guardian, or other legal custodian shall not be enrolled in Shelby County Schools unless the person providing the proof of the student's residence signs the aforementioned agreement.

In accordance with state law, fraudulent enrollment cases which are substantiated and identified as being cases for which a legal remedy should be sought by Shelby County Schools' General Counsel, will be legally pursued using the remedies available under T.C.A §49-6-3003.


T.C.A. §49-6-3003