Address for school (Fairfax: foreclosed, lease, house)

[doit41]

Is it illegal to pay rent for a single room in another school pyramid order to attend another school in FX county? I wanted to pull my son our of his high school and go to private school because of dispute with the administrations at his school last year. It would be cheaper if I just pay to share a house or rent a room and use the address and lease to enroll my son. I think could have use my friends' address for this purpose but I don't want to get into legal trouble. Is it illegal to pay rent and use the address for school purpose without actually living there? If the school found out, what would be the consequence? Thanks for your help.

[eyeball]

It may be less "illegal" and more "against the rules," but don't quote me on that. I think you might get away with something like this, and I doubt you'd be the first one to employ that strategy, but if it's discovered that the child is not actually a full-time resident at that address, there would probably be issues.

[spencgr]

According to the Registration process, you and your child must actually live in the school division; so yes, I think that would be considered illegal.

Fairfax County Public Schools: Special Services: Student Registration: Residency and Custody


As to the penalties if caught, I have no idea.

[doit41]

Originally Posted by eyeball

It may be less "illegal" and more "against the rules," but don't quote me on that. I think you might get away with something like this, and I doubt you'd be the first one to employ that strategy, but if it's discovered that the child is not actually a full-time resident at that address, there would probably be issues.

Yes, I know it could be issues if the school found out. I want to know if it was discovered, would they do anything worse than kicking my son back to his base school.

[ViennaSausages]

They'd make you serve lunch at the original school.

[spencgr]

Actually all of the affidavits that Fairfax County Public Schools use clearly state that "providing false or otherwise untrue information for school enrollment purposes constitutes a Class 3 Misdemeanor". So, you could receive a fine up to $500.

[Vectorhead]

Have you looked into pupil placing him at the other school? If you can come up with something that his base school doesn't offer, sometimes that can be done. If your high school is an IB school and you want him in an AP school, for instance, I think they'll usually try to accommodate you. Are you very particular about which school you put him in, or do you primarily just want him out of his base school?

[Oldhag1]

In Kentucky a father has been charged with theft for using a false address to put his son in a different school district and faces jail time in addition to fines and over $30,000 in restitution. It is a different school district, meaning he wasn't paying taxes in that school district, so that is different than what you want but still....

On a different note, don't you think it might be a bad lesson for your son to see you fudge (also known as falsifying) information to get something you are not entitled to? Wouldn't that teach him that honesty is immaterial if it doesn't suit what you want?

[marie5v]

Originally Posted by doit41

Is it illegal to pay rent for a single room in another school pyramid order to attend another school in FX county? I wanted to pull my son our of his high school and go to private school because of dispute with the administrations at his school last year. It would be cheaper if I just pay to share a house or rent a room and use the address and lease to enroll my son. I think could have use my friends' address for this purpose but I don't want to get into legal trouble. Is it illegal to pay rent and use the address for school purpose without actually living there? If the school found out, what would be the consequence? Thanks for your help.

I know two people who graduated from Mclean high school that way. The consequences are usually just that they kick you out and make you go to the old school, but i don't see how they could prove you are not living there. i'm not even sure they would bother to. just make sure you check the mail regularly so you get the stuff the school sends home.

[kevbros]

This a tough one. Let's think about how you might do this. Basically, the only reason you can ask for a high school transfer is to switch from IB to AP or vice versa, unless the student has documented medical issues. The new school has to be the closest one to you, you will have to provide transportation, and you had to have applied by 15 April. So at this point that option is foreclosed.

Renting a room on paper for school purposes would cause you to have fill out a false document, which is a misdemeanor, as others have pointed out. Normally, this comes up for people who don't live in Fairfax County, so the school district would also grounds to recover the tuition, although I don't know if they actually do that.

Thisleaves your only failsafe option as to move and actually reside in the new division. Technically, you could keep your old house, as long as you "live" in the new one. The schools ask for lots of proof when you do this, but it's still probably cheaper than private school tuition. The catch is you actually will have to establish real residence there with at least one parent. It's the parent's residence, not the kid's, that counts. The County can't tell you where or how to live. They have some language about " not solely for school purposes," but that has got to be hard to prove in court. Many, many people move to Fairfax County solely for school purposes.

Or you could just move. If you think it's in the best interest of your child, just do it. Once you sign a contract, he can enroll at the new school, you don't actually have to be in yet.