Transferring a Child from One School District to Another?

Does the school have a before or after school program? Sometimes they can go to these programs for a nominal cost, and a scholarship may be available. Otherwise get to know the other parents around them. See if they can trade babysitting.

I faced this issue in a little different way. We were literally on the border of 2 districts. The way the worked it out for me is I had to pay the school taxes for both schools and provide my own transportation (even tho there was a bus stop right by my driveway).I would def be upfront so it looks as tho they are doing the right thing!

I wish them much luck!!

Depends on where you live. In our district, if you live here, you go here. You can't attend a school in another district unless you are a resident of that district. They really keep it simple for us.

Never heard of a district that didn't have out of district rates but those yearly rates, per child, are anywhere from 10k to 25k a year. Yes per child!

You are not a resident of the community, you don't contribute to the tax base so of course you pay full costs which really are that high.

If you were able to pick a district everyone would want to live where ever and pick the best district, that just isn't possible, the money has to come from somewhere.

Our town would probably not let them stay....ugh. I would want my kids to be in school w friends from same town and would ut them in correct school. On site aftercare and before school is not that much $. Could they find the money in their budget somewhere? Do u mean district or town?

The problem is, this is handled differently from one district to another.

In my area, there is a specific time of year when people can request attending different school districts, but frankly, most of the time, that is denied. Costs to educate children are sky-high, and it is understandable that the school district only wants to educate the children that actually reside in that district, because those children are the ones that have parents or landlords paying the local school taxes.

Exceptions are made for parents that are employees of the school district. Even if the family lives outside that particular district, they may attend schools in the district where the parent works.

Some school districts will accept students from other districts, and have the parents pay a tuition differential, but I don't know if that is very common now.
I realize they want to buy a house, but what about renting a place in their current school district?

Is this a separate school " district" or " boundary" ? There is a big difference.

In my area.... If you are in a certain district but move or choose a different school ( out of boundary lines) you pay a nominal fee and if there are openings at the preferred school, your children can attend that particular school . You choose. This happens a lot with the more popular exemplary schools within a district.

If it pertains to district.... This is very different because property taxes are based on school taxes and where your address is located. You cannot switch districts ... You must live in the specified district for your school.

You need to check both to see where you stand, gather info
And then make choices.

I am sure every district is different. Our public school has a large percentage of kids that live out of district that pay tuition to attend the school. We just found out that a long time student was using their grandparents address to stay at the school without paying. They will probably be kicked out. If they just would have been upfront, applied to be an out of district kid and paid the tuition this wouldn't be a problem for them.

It likely has a policy to accept out of district students who pay tuition. The tuition can be high. The out of district students at my school pay MCPS the equivalent of a private school tuition. We get a lot of embassy kids for the 1-2 years that they are here in the U.S. I think their embassy pays the tuition.
You can probably get a private school for the same price or less. (My cousin sends ALL 6 of her kids to a parochial school for less than $15K).

Some schools in our area allow it and charge a tuition. Most do not and people will actually put down the address of a relative just to get in. Not legal, not ethical, not a good lesson to a child to have to lie about where she lives. If you aren't living there, you aren't paying taxes into that district. I think it's only fair.

It really depends on the district. Most have information on their websites about their policies on interdistrict transfers.

One very important thing to note though, is that the policy may change from year to year. Even if they are allowed in now, they may not have guaranteed admission in future years.

My district doesn't allow students from other districts unless they have a parent who works at one of our schools. We are required to provide two separate utility bills as proof of residency.

I would advise your friend not to move to an area where she's unhappy with the assigned school, since she would never have a guarantee of going somewhere else.

Some school systems do consider school change requests based on child care needs as you describe. But frankly the family has to get the information directly from the school system(s) involved. If this is a case of a "hardship need" to have kids with specific child care, and both schools are inside the same district, they may have a chance; but if this is a matter of schools in two totally different districts they may not. However, it's hard to tell from the post what the case really is.

It really won't help them to hear what other places around the country do or don't do, and all they will get on a forum like this is our replies about "Well, in OUR district...."That means nothing unless someone posting here is in their exact school district. They should not wait but should go in person and meet with someone at the school district offices.

I'm glad they want to be honest and up front about it rather than sneaking around registering kids for school with a fake address --that does happen, and it's unfair to other families, so I really applaud them for wanting to do this all above board. They may not get the answer they want, but at least they are doing it all correctly!

Our school will accept transfers based on attending a daycare.

We've sent our kids to a different school district than ours & we are currently sending our girls to a HS which is the best in our district--but is NOT the one they should be going to. I do a lot of paperwork each year!

Each district has it's own rules. I would start by talking to your fellow parents & find out what the others are doing. IF the school is very strict, your friends can continue using their relative's address on all school paperwork. And put their name on 1 or 2 of the relative's bills. Around here, they require a bill--mortgage, rental agreement, Sewer or Gas--for residency verification. They won't take a cell phone bill, don't know why. And never EVER mention the move. I've seen a school call the parents & say hey heard you moved--your child's last day here is Friday. Of course, this was a problem kid...so they were happy to boot him. That's one way & I know many many families who do this.

IF your friends have any relationship with the school staff, they can meet with them & explain that since the children will be staying before & after school with Gma or whoever, NOTHING has changed--except they are sleeping in a different house now. I switched elementary school districts because I was unhappy with their home school & the district I switched them to had child care provider listed as a reason for the transfer. And if you explain, most people are understanding & then since they know the family situation, as long as every one keeps their noses clean, they can stay, year to year. It's worth asking about, because having to lie about where you live is draining to every one. Good Luck

As long as they are willing to pay tuition they can do it.

Yes, each district handles things differently.

For example, in my local district they have open enrollment (which means that children who live in district A can attend a school in district B) but it is limited to a certain number of students and said students must attend a specific school (so of the six elementary schools, only one school takes out of district kids).

ETA: It also has to be done by a certain date in my district and the window of opportunity is very narrow.