School Documentation

Isn't the deed public knowlegde? Bring them a copy of that. And bring in an unopened utility billl.

If it really bothers you and you can find others who it also bothers find out when the school board meets and petition for a change.

I have had to do this although not every year....I just copy the part at the top with my address on it, and cover the rest with a blank sheet of paper in the copy machine and give them that....I agree with you, it is none of their business to have my financial information....

When we first moved to Frisco we gave them closing statement because that is all we had at that time. For five years since we have provided utility bill. A mortgage statement should not be required every time. Some people do own their homes without a mortgage so they would not be able to provide. They should require some kind of documentation because of the school boundaries every year because you could try to move, but keep kids in old school.

We live in a world of too many rules and too many taxes. I'm used to being paperwork raped, it's not a big deal. Fretting over stuff like this will cause you to get frown lines and crows feet. How do you think the poor office staff feels when you blame them for doing their not so fun job? Don't make it more difficult for all of you by trying to throw a wrench into a machine that none of us are going to be able to stop.
Cheerfully go with the flow or ruin your day by being mad about the injustice and the office staffs day because they have to get certain proof of address.
My job also requires me to ask for ID and other personal info. 98% of people are fine with it, then you have the 2% club that have to whine and throw fits......
Black out the info you are uncomfortable with them seeing and give them what they need. All they need is your address. If you knew how important the logistics are to keep your school funded you wouldnt be so negative.

All the district is doing is ensuring that your child(ren) live in the district. I taught for 8 years and in 3 school districts. Every district required a utility bill as proof of address. You would not believe how many people say that they live in a district that don't. They are doing this to benefit your child. You are paying taxes for your school district to help your child's education. If children are enrolled in that school that don't live in the district, they are taking away resources that could be used for your children.
Now, I haven't heard of showing a mortgage statement. That is new to me. Just know, they don't care about the amount on the bill. They are just verifying your address.

I have not had to give mortgage info before but seriously, electric bills are electric bills....what is there to be twisted about. I am frustrated that our school is so full and am glad they are verifying that the children who are in the building are the ones that should be. I agree with the other posts to black out any private info you don't want them to see.

They want it so they know that they know you haven't moved. Seems reasonable to me. I bet with all the foreclosures a lot people ar ekeeping their kids in better districts and moving to more economically disadvantaged ares (relatively, at least) or simply want to keep thier kids at the same school. Can't say I blame them, but it isn't fair from a resource perspective. At my kids' school some of the grades are maxed out and I woudl be furious to be kicke dot a ditanct school so someone who didn't live there could have my spot.

Use a sharpie and black out the financial info. Or ask what less personal info woudl be acceptable.

With 34 kids in my daughter's class, I wish our school district did that. She goes to a preferred school. I know several kids that shouldn't be there, but the school doesn't. They only ask for the info when you first enroll. Be part of the solution of keep your school classes to the right size, don't making an issue out of it. They don't care about the $ amount on your bills, just the address on it.

A lot of schools are going to this. now that the government is so far behind in payments to the school the schools are making sure that each and every student enrolled is in fact in the district. As it costs a lot to educate a child and each district wants to make sure they are getting the right amount of money. If your child does live in the district no problem. If not then you end up paying out of district fees which can add up to as much as a private school fees. My school district doesn't make copies of these items they merely take them look at them and then check them off the list of documents needed. Tell them your not allowing copies to be made. They don't need them its a waste of paper. Not sure why this is such a big issue. It is really no different than in and out of state college tuition. just one more hoop to jump thru and if your in the right district it shouldn't be a biggie.

I would gladly provide this information to my school district because every single year, there are kids who attend our school district who do not live here. The cost per child is huge to educate them. Districts spend huge amounts of money to track down the families who are basicly stealing. It is sad for the children, because they are yanked out of school and it is not thier fault.

If you live in a place that has desireable schools, this is probably the reason why the district is asking for this information, they really do not want to snoop, they want to weed out the theives. If you cannot produce this information, they will assume that you are stealing educational services. It really is kind of a small price to pay to keep your hard earned tax dollars going to educate the children whose parents or gaurdians actually pay in to get them. The average cost per student yearly is more than ten grand, and in this day and age, with schools getting cuts and having short falls, they really cannot afford to have even a few kids going to school who do not pay in.

I am sure that if you look at the reason why, that the district is trying to provide services to your children and wants to ensure that they can keep doing so, that you can manage to provide this, especially if you save them money that they can spend on things like books and teachers. I would be willing to bet that if you called the superintendents office, and told them nicely that you would like to black out your personal informatiion, but will glady assist them in confirming that your children are among those who are entitled to attend that school district, they would surely accept that without invading your privacy.

It really is a big deal, but not for why you think, because they are trying to be good stewards of the money you spend to send your children to school there!

M.

You say you have not moved, but how do they know that! That is why they need current info and proof of district each year. You can black out any info on the bill ect... that they do not need or you do not want them to see, all they want is something with an address on it that has a current date.

I know... it's like random businesses insisting on your SSN. Illegal much?

Black out the financial info. Leave the name, address, and 800 number for them to reach the bank or utilities to verify.Do NOT leave your customer ID number (all I need to steal your identity is your name, address, & customer ID # to phone in and get the rest of it OR to get it all emailed to myself).

If they protest THAT'S when I would take it up with the school board.

- That you have no problem at all with verifying your address... HOWEVER... they keep all that information on file. Hundreds of families financial and personal info, and schools don't have good security systems. Unless the school is going to provide identity theft protection OR beef up their security to match that of the banks... which seems financially improbable, you think that it is only wise for families to protect their banking and financial privacy.

The school has no right to your financial information, AND it's a huge security risk.

- They cannot prove in anyway that they are legally allowed to your financial information since even cops have to get a warrant on a case by case basis, and PRIVATE institutions (like credit cards, banks, etc.) are voluntary joins. School is legally required. An end round run the constitution is absolutely not permitted. BUT if you voluntarily give up your financial info to the school there is an argument to be made about the whole "no expectation of privacy". Like when you put your garbage on the street, you give up your rights to privacy. Ditto when you start disseminating other info. It's a legal quagmire.

You are under NO legal obligation to give up your constitutional rights just because it makes it "easier" for the school.

(( <laughing> Yes, I'll add it to my growing list of "reasons to homeschool" #293 Not having to surrender, or fight against surrendering, my right to privacy in my financial affairs. You know, I started HS'ing for purely academic reasons... but the list of "Whew! Makes me glad I HS" is several hundred lines long.))

We have to prove the information each time we change schools - elementary to middle, middle to high. Anyway, we have to bring in 5 documents proving address, one of which is either your mortgage bill, title, or rental agreement, one of which is your drivers license, and 3 pieces of mail. They must be originals and the mail must be in the envelopes. They make copies of everything and give it back.

This is done because there is soooo many people trying to go to better school then their neighborhood schools. Our local high school purged over 400 kids that were out of area last year. That is a lot of kids. It's become a huge problem.

I think that they are making sure that you are infact, still in the school district. There are many people that would use previous information to remain at a school, even if they moved out of the district.

It's necessary to provide current utility bills or phone bills to prove you havent moved from the district (these days "your word" is not enough). I doubt they can force you to show them your mortgage bill. The utility bill should be plenty, or a current bank statement with your current address. Once again a minority of people try to cheat and the majority must suffer.
You can take them an unopened envelope, they dont have to look at your entire bill, they just need to see the mailing name and address. You can take an unopened mortgage statement.... there is absolutely no reason for them to have to see the actual bill, seriously.

Make a copy and white out the amounts then white out the amounts then make another copy and submit that. You could also request a letter from your utility company and your mortgage company stating that you are paying the bills at that location. So many children move around and they never change schools or use a relative's address that good schools wind up with a lot of children who are not really supposed to be at that school.

I don't think they will kick your kids out of school for that.

However, I have to wonder if it's more of a hassle to battle with the school over this or just show them the bills.

If you are worried about privacy, black out your account number and your payment amount. It is customary to ask for that stuff each year though.

all they need to see is that you still live in the district, on your utility bill all they need is your name, address, & the date (so they know it is current) you can black everything else out, on your mortgage the same, just black out any other information that they don't absolutely need, i do this on a lot of stuff, my son is severely disabled & they want all sorts of things for us to get him into programs, but i dont want all my info randomly out there for anyone, so usually all they need is the name, address & date, so i black out everything else

There are many that lie about where they live and an unopened bill will not suffice as you can have your bills mailed anywhere....they are trying to keep taxpayer money used on kids that should be getting it (live in the area) so they should be applauded....yep, it is a hassle but having kids in public school is a hassle....I can't begin to tell you how many kids my children have known that go to the local high school but live in other districts and vice versa....

Your school may be requiring the information needed on a yearly basis because ALL Texas public schools are in the middle of being audited. They want to make their paperwork as up-to-date as possible to make the audit go over as smoothly as possible.

The following is from the Home School Legal Defense Association and it may help to explain why your school is asking for what they want...

From the HSLDA E-lert Service...
======================================================================

Texas: Education Agency Audit of Public Schools

Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:

A recent article in the Houston Chronicle has caused some alarm in the
Texas homeschool community. However, HSLDA believes that the Texas
Education Agency is acting in an appropriate manner in combating fraud
in the public schools.

The Chronicle's article of September 2, 2010, entitled "High Number of
Home-Schooled Students Leads to State Audit,"
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=9043 is a follow-up to its March 10,
2010, article regarding possible fraud in public schools. Darren Jones
of HSLDA sent out an e-lert http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=9044
regarding that article, clarifying some of the inaccurate statements
that the Chronicle had made.

In the most recent Chronicle article, the Texas Education Agency has
revealed that in an attempt to combat public-school fraud, it will be
conducting an audit of students who have recently withdrawn from
public middle or high schools. It appears possible that some public
schools are claiming that students who are withdrawing from their
school are going to be homeschooled, when the student may simply be
quitting. This means that the public school would not have to report a
student as a dropout.

HSLDA fully supports the Texas Education Agency's effort to make sure
that public schools are accurately reporting and to make sure that
state money is not misspent. However, if you or any other
homeschoolers are harassed in any way by the TEA, please let us know
so that we can assist you.

Darren A. Jones
Staff Attorney

I am a teacher so I can answer the underlying question of why this is happening. Public schools receiving funding from the government in order for there to be free education to all. Each school receives money according to the student population. We must turn students away (to another school) once we have reached our capacity (sometimes we end up having to make room). The problem lies in that there are sometimes schools parents want their kids to go to and they used to live within the district lines for that specific area the school is located in, but now they do not. However, there are other students that can be serviced correctly in the school they are supposed to be really be in. If students are not being serviced in the right school they are supposed to be in, these parents are taking away from others who could be. A lot of school districts are cracking down on this because of TEA standards, etc. Now, they should only have to be asking you ONCE a year, not often throughout the school year. This is only to verify your student is being serviced at the correct school. It is not to look at your personal records. It is the address that is being verified through the receipt of a utility/rent/mortgage bill. Usually with your ID and the bill that should suffice. You can complain about it, but there is a valid reason behind it.

You can black out any confidential information. They just need to know that you live where you say you live. It needs to show your name and address and have a current date, all other information can be blacked out with a Sharpie. They don't need to know your mortgage number, amounts, etc.
Things may be different in TX, but in CA, I only had to provide that info on initial enrollment. My son went to the same school K-8 and I never had to provide it again. Of course, each new school year, we get enrollment packets with emergency contact and insurance information that we must provide along with forms if the child has any special needs, etc.
Many schools receive federal and state funding for certain things based on the demographics and locations of where the children live, etc. I know this because I have friends who are teachers.
But, you are exactly right. Your personal information can be kept confidential. Make a photocopy of your documents and then black out your confidential information. Leave the date the statement or bill was mailed and your name and address. That's all they need.

Best wishes.

I also have to provide this evry year for my kids. You do have the right to block out account numbers and such but the date and address have to be current. This started several years ago because there are in fact a lot of kids that go to schools that are not in their district-lying about where they live. the school teaches the child and provides lunch etc but they do not receive any funds because the parents live outside the district.

Ask what their privacy policy is.... and just politely say you consider these documents... as private. Ask if other forms of documentation can be given.
I assume, they ask for COPIES of these documents????
Also... I would ask "where" do these documents go... in the kid's file, somewhere else.... is it just thrown in the trash or SHREDDED first... etc. BECAUSE as you said... these are highly private documents with personal account information on it.
Since they require these documents... they NEED to have, a privacy policy in place... and the proper protocols for handling these documents. Any school... should have these procedures in place... especially since schools are "accredited." Accreditation boards.... require schools to have proper procedural protocols... for such things....

Ask... in a mellow way.... perhaps in person... and 'nicely' because as you know... some office clerks get 'irked' with some questions....

It is a reasonable... question to ask them.. to me.

But many people, do 'lie' about their home address... just to get their kids into a certain school.... per district.

all the best,
Susan

I agree with you one this one.

This is just another one of the ridiculous rules that BOE's dream up. I know they are trying to prevent fraud, but I'm sure there's a better way. They can communicate with the Tax Collector to verify the property owners. Do they expect you to appear in person with the original document each year?

Yes, your bills are private. I'm sure this goes against all the privacy laws. Tell them that you do not want to give them your private information. Offer them something of public record like your driver's license.

P.S. What do they do if you don't have a mortgage bill? My mortgage company doesn't provide me with one, just a coupon book which I destroyed about 2 years ago.

Jen C is right. Many districts will ask each time you enroll a new child in the school despite there being siblings who are attending, or if you move within the district etc. It is the only way to prove you are in that district. and her great idea White out private info.

It would bother me too. Are they asking everybody or just you? I know there are always concerns about children attending neighboring school districts in California in order to attend 'better' schools. Maybe they are worried that you don't really live there.

If they requiring everyone to provide this information on a yearly basis, it seems like a waste of taxpayer's money that the staff has to check every year. If they are just pigeon holing you, it sounds unfair and like someone may have the wrong idea about where you live.

Good luck with this. I would be surprise to learn that they kicked your children out because the school districts get money for children to attend. They would then be chasing you around for truant children.

Could you explain this privacy issue to an administrator and offer instead to have a notary public certify this for next year? It does sound a bit excessive, but with all the new Homeland Security rules, as well as district rules (we have them here in Portland too--but not to the degree that you do). Or could they just xerox the address on those documents along with the 'proof' (usually the letterhead) and conceal the rest with another piece of paper? Just some ideas.

C., Both of my parents have worked in the school system. There is a reason they do this, although the reason may not apply to you, they have to ask everyone. In many cases people do move and never let the district know because they don't want to have to move their kids to a different school. They ask for proof of residency simply to keep the schools from getting over crowded. The districting of the schools is determined by the amount of housing in the area, if too many kids from other areas are in a school that they are not districted for then the school gets too crowded. They are not trying to find out how much you pay for your house or utilites, they just want to see the address and make sure it is still current. If I am not mistaken, you can always white out your amount due or your total cost info (you may want to ask to be sure). They don't want to know your finances, just your residency.
S.

A utility bill should be enough. It has the address and the date. It's a waste of the office staff's resources to have to get double info on everybody by also requesting mortgage statements.

Many of you talk about people cheating the system by having their children attend schools even after moving out of that particular district - in other words children attending schools in districts where their parents are not paying property taxes. Well here's the other side of that. We pay school taxes to the city of Allen even though we don't live in the city of Allen nor do we have any children attending Allen schools. Now who's being dishonest?

What if you don't HAVE a mortgage? Some people actually OWN their homes. I agree that you should be able to take in an unopened utility bill with the post date on it.

That's wierd. I'm in Maypearl ISD which isn't too far from where you are and they don't require us to provide this documentation every year. I wonder why Midlothian ISD is requiring you to do when others in this state don't. I would think it would be the same all across the state. I would bring that up to them. Ask them why they do when others don't. If they were doing some rezoning, I could see that possibly but only at the time they are doing the rezoning but not ever year. To threaten to refuse your kids entry is completely wrong especially if you aren't new to the district. I would contact the school board, superintendent or the ISD's administrations office to get more clarification. That's interesting. I guess I'm really interested since we are so close to your school district. Would hate for mine to start doing the same thing. Maybe there's a really simple and logical explanation but I personally can't think of one. That would bother me too. If you can, keep us posted as to what you find out. Good luck!

A utility bill with your name and address is proof enough. They don't need a mortgage statement. I've never heard of a school district that didn't ask for proof of residency. If you don't want the school to know how much you pay for electricty or water then black it out.

I'm fairly certain it's a state law . . . I'm in Waxahachie and it's the same thing. We've had to re-enroll every year. . . . trust me, it's just as big a hassle to the office staff as it is to you. Our mailing address is a different city than our school district and it gets hairy every year :-). As for Stephanie in Maypearl, that is really interesting. I have to wonder if they SHOULD be doing it and they aren't. But on that same note - I've always used a utility bill . . .

Because people move all the time and don't want to change their kids schools it is normal practice to prove residency each year. Your utility bill should do that though. Your mortgage is your business and you might have a home paid for, how would they treat that?

As for multiple sources: my FIL pays one of our utility bills, it was a Christmas present to me, so he could actually show he has utilities in town. He lives 14 miles out in the country. I am sure some people could do this too.

If it's such a big deal then make a copy of the document, black out the copy then make another that is the blacked out version. If you just black out the copy and hand them that they can still see the words underneath if they look at it just right. But if you make a copy of the one that is blacked out then the copy only shows the black areas as black.

We blank out the account number and any information we are concerned a out being seen. They HAVE to do it because tons of people cheat. This is the easiest way to do it.