How To Register Kids For School If Non'custodial Parent

Dorsum to school primer: Right to attend and custody

Mon, August xix, 2019

We're getting the questions already – those sticky questions that come up throughout the year but peculiarly right before the school year begins: "Mom left kids with a resident of the district and resident wants to enroll the kids" or "Dad wants to enroll his kids. He's on the birth certificate, but he was never married to mom." While the situations seem to become more complex each year, knowing the bones rules governing which schoolhouse district a kid has the right to attend and how custody is adamant should help guide y'all to answers – even to those viscid questions. Here's a primer on those basic rules.

General rules for which school district a child has the right to attend

Ohio constabulary sets forth the rules for which school district a child has the right to attend. [1] The general rule is that a kid is entitled to attend tuition-complimentary in the district where the child's parents reside. [2] There are multiple exceptions to this dominion, and some of the more than common ones are: [3]

Child who is the subject of a Grandparent Ability of Attorney or Caretaker Authorization Affidavit – attends the commune where the child lives with his/her grandparent. [iv]
Kid who requires special education and who does not reside in the district where the child's parent resides – attends the district where the child resides - regardless of custody. [5]
Child in the custody of a governmental bureau (such as Children Services or Jobs & Family Services) or a non-parent – attends the district where the child resides. [6]

Foster children oft motility from one foster abode to some other. Nether the Every Student Succeeds Human action (ESSA), foster children must remain in the school where the child was outset enrolled at the time of foster placement – unless it is not in the child'south best involvement. [7]

Child with a parent in the military – entitled to attend the district where the child is residing with the non-parent appointed every bit the parent's agent under a military ability-of-attorney [8] or may go along to attend the school where the parent was residing before being chosen to active duty. [9]
Kid over the historic period of 18 who supports him/herself by his/her own labor – entitled to attend the district in which the child resides. [ten]
Homeless children or unaccompanied youth – entitled to attend in either the last school attended when child had permanent housing/where last enrolled or the district where the temporary shelter is located. [xi]

Unaccompanied youth has a very broad definition. It includes children and youth under twenty-1 who are not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian due to reasons such as running away from dwelling house, being kicked out of home, or being sent to live with family or friends later on the parent is evicted.

Custody documents must be presented upon enrollment

At the time of initial entry into a public school, a pupil must present, amidst other things, a certified copy of whatsoever court order or decree that allocates parental rights and responsibilities for and designates the residential parent and legal custodian of the child. [12] These documents are key to determining which school district the kid of divorced parents is entitled to nourish, considering, as ready forth above, the general rule is that a child is entitled to nourish tuition-free in the district where the kid's parents reside. [13] When there is a divorce, dissolution or legal separation, the "parent" is defined as the parent who is designated the residential parent and legal custodian of the child in that court social club. [14] But non all custody documents stalk from a divorce – the following sets forth the types of custody orders that may be presented.

Establishing custody – courtroom documents or the "autumn back" rule

In Ohio, custody may only be granted via a court order, with one exception:

Domestic Relations Court: Issues divorce decrees/shared parenting agreements. If one parent is given sole custody, then the child may attend school only where that custodial parent resides. If there is a shared parenting agreement, the child may nourish school where either parent resides, unless but one parent is designated as residential parent for school placement purposes.
Juvenile Court: Issues custody orders in situations of neglect, dependency or delinquency. Generally, custody is vested with children services, at least initially. Custody may also exist given to a not-parent. This may be on a temporary or permanent basis.
Probate Court: Issues guardianships over "the person." This commonly occurs when the parent agrees to give guardianship of the child to another person.
The "fall back" dominion for single females: If there is no court-ordered custody and the parents are unmarried, the mother is considered the sole residential parent and legal custodian – until a courtroom determines otherwise. [15]

So, what are the answers to those sticky questions?

In truthful lawyer form, the answer to the 2 questions posed at the beginning of this article is… "it depends." For the mom who left her kids with a resident of the district, this could be an unaccompanied, homeless youth situation – so you will have to make farther inquiry to assemble more facts. To help determine whether a child is an unaccompanied, homeless youth, refer to Appendix 9.A of the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Homeless Instruction Homeless Liaison Toolkit. What about the dad, never married to mom, who wants to enroll his kids? As you lot learned higher up, mom would be considered the sole residential parent and legal custodian. You may want to directly dad to go to court to found paternity and/or gain legal custody. If he does, the children may be admitted tuition-free, for up to threescore days. [16] Of grade, if any of the children require special pedagogy, they should exist enrolled – regardless of their custodial condition – in the district where the child resides. [17]

[1] R.C. 3313.64.

[2] R.C. 3313.64(B)(one).

[3] At that place are additional exceptions not addressed in this article. The reader is encouraged review all the relevant laws and to seek guidance if in that location is a question concerning student attendance, custody and tuition.

[4] R.C. 3313.64(A)(1)(b) and (B)(ane). Grandparent POAs and Affidavits are governed by R.C. 3109.51-3109.73.

[5] R.C. 3313.64(B)(ii)(c).

[6] R.C. 3313.64(B)(2)(a).

[7] The U.S. Departments of Didactics and Health and Human Services recently jointly issued a letter and not-regulatory guidance that provide detailed information on the responsibilities of school districts under ESSA.

[8] R.C. 3313.64(F)(14).

[9] R.C. 3313.64(K). This rule applies to parents in the National Guard or Reserves. The child may continue to attend, regardless of where the child is living while the parent is on active duty (the parent must go on to be a resident of that district).

[10] R.C. 3313.64(F)(1). The Ohio Attorney Full general has opined that for a student to be self-supporting, the student must be able to "finance or otherwise facilitate the furnishing of the necessities of life, including food, shelter, and wear, by means of their own physical or mental effort." Ohio Atty. Gen. Op. 2014-026.

[11] R.C. 3313.64(F)(13); 42 U.s.a.C. 11431 et seq.

[12] R.C. 3313.672(A).

[13] R.C. 3313.64(B)(1).

[14] R.C. 3313.64(A)(1)(a).

[15] R.C. 3109.042.

[16] See R.C. 3313.64(E).

[17] See R.C. 3313.64(C)(1).

This is for informational purposes only. It is non intended to be legal advice and does not create or imply an attorney-client relationship.

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