COMMONWEALTH
OF VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION
P.O.
BOX 2120
RICHMOND,
VIRGINIA 23218-2120
SUPTS. MEMO NO. 170
August 27, 2004
INFORMATIONAL
|
TO: |
Division Superintendents |
|
FROM: |
Jo Lynne DeMary Superintendent of Public Instruction |
|
SUBJECT: |
Enrollment Requirements |
As the 2004-2005 school year begins, I want to take
the opportunity to provide you with information regarding changes in enrollment
requirements made by the 2004 General Assembly, and remind you of some other
requirements.
House Bill 1443, sponsored by Delegate Viola
Baskerville, and passed by the 2004 General Assembly, amended 22.1-3 of the
Code of Virginia regarding persons to whom public schools shall be free by
adding a section regarding children of military personnel who are deployed
outside the United States. This code
section provides that the public schools in each school division shall be free
to each person of school age who resides within the school division. Every person of school age who meets one of
the listed criteria in this section is deemed to reside within the school
division. The amendment added a
residency requirement for a student who is living with an individual who is
defined as a parent, not solely for school purposes, pursuant to a Special
Power of Attorney executed under Title 10, United States Code, 1044b, by the
custodial parent while such custodial parent is deployed outside the United
States as a member of the Virginia National Guard or as a member of the United
States Armed Forces. These students
are now deemed also to reside within the school division and may attend school
free of tuition.
HB 1443 also amended 22.1-5 of the Code of Virginia,
which prescribes the conditions under which students may be admitted into the
public schools of a division and charged tuition at the discretion of the
school division. This code section was
amended during the 2004 General Assembly session to add a provision regarding
children of deployed military personnel.
This provision states:
Further, no
person of school age shall be denied admission or charged tuition when (i) such
persons custodial parent has been deployed outside the United States as a
member of the Virginia National Guard or as a member of the United States Armed
Forces; (ii) such persons custodial parent has executed a Special Power of
Attorney under Title 10, United States Code, 1044b providing for the care of
the person of school age by an individual who is defined as a parent in
22.1-1 during the time of his deployment outside the United States; and (iii)
such person has been attending a public school in this Commonwealth while
residing with his custodial parent. The
person of school age shall be allowed to attend a school in the school division
in which the individual providing for his care, pursuant to the Special Power
of Attorney under Title 10, United States Code, 1044b, resides or, when
practicable, to continue to attend the school in which he was enrolled while
residing with his custodial parent.
Pursuant to these Code provisions, children of
school age who meet these requirements must be admitted.
SB 270, sponsored by Senator Frederick Quayle, and
passed by the 2004 General Assembly, amended the Code of Virginia in regard to
the education of homeless children. It
requires school divisions to comply with the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless
Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001, as amended. School divisions must coordinate the
provision of services to homeless students with relevant local social services
agencies and other agencies and programs providing services to such students,
and with other school divisions. Superintendents cannot exclude from school
attendance those homeless children who do not provide the requisite health or
immunization information required of other students. School divisions must
immediately refer the student to the school division liaison required to assist
the student in obtaining necessary physical examinations or proof or completion
of immunizations.
In 2003, the Virginia General Assembly amended
22.1-260 of the Code of Virginia, which requires that parents provide school
divisions with a social security number for each student at the time of
enrollment in school. This code section
was amended to permit a superintendent or his designee to assign another
identifying number or waive the requirement if a parent is unwilling to present
a social security number for the child.
This information, along with additional requirements that govern
requests for social security numbers, was shared with you via Superintendents
Memorandum No. 92, Informational, on May 30, 2003. Please refer to that Superintendents Memorandum for that
additional information.
On August 26, 2003, I sent a message via electronic
mail to all division superintendents reminding them of the provisions of
22.1-3 Code of Virginia regarding residency.
As noted in that message, a student is deemed to be a resident of a
school division if he or she is living with a natural parent. A court order or proof of custody is not a
requirement for the enrollment of these students.
Questions continue to be raised regarding a local
school boards authority to inquire into a prospective students citizenship or
visa status and to bar enrollment to those students who reside within the
school division but do not hold a student visa. Information regarding the enrollment of undocumented students was
shared with you via Superintendents Memorandum No. 159, Informational, on
November 2, 2001. This memorandum
clarified that school divisions are not permitted to inquire into a prospective
students citizenship or visa status in order to enroll the student. School divisions are required to accept
students who meet the residency requirements under
22.1-3 of the Code of Virginia and may not deny a
free public education to undocumented school-age children who reside within
their jurisdictions because they do not hold valid United States citizenship or
a student visa.
If you have any questions regarding these
requirements for enrollment, please contact Michelle Vucci, director of policy,
at (804) 371-0558 or mvucci@pen.k12.va.us.
JLD/MJP/jcj