Question about Residency and FCPS Enrollment (Fairfax: extended stay, sale, rentals)

[sleigh13]

We are new to FCPS, trying to have my elementary-aged kids enrolled by Day 1. We will be staying in temp housing for about 6 months as we look for a house to buy. The issue I am having is 1) Which school do we enroll and, 2) How do we enroll with no permanent address (or lease agreement).

Our #1 goal was to keep from having to switch schools. We *think* we know which school zone we are going to stalk for new homes coming on the market; however, there are few, if any, rentals in this area. From the registration info on FCPS.edu, it seems there are no provisions to enroll students in transition.

Proof of residency:
A deed, lease agreement, or resident manager’s letter is acceptable. Supporting documentation may be required. If the family is living in the residence of a friend or relative, the homeowner/leaseholder must provide a notarized affidavit accompanied by the lease or deed. An affidavit by the parent stating his/her residence and three official supporting documents to that effect are also required as evidence of non-temporary residence.

What would we need to establish residency to enroll into school?
What is the latest date that a student needs to be enrolled to attend classes on Day 1?
Is there a provision to enroll students new to the area, with no permanent address?
What would we do if we planned to stay in a hotel/extended stay long-term.
Is it illegal for me to keep my kid out of school (is it legal for them to make me??)
Is home-schooling (HA!!) my only option in the interim?

Please help! I know this has to have come up before, especially with this being such a transient area.

[marie5v]

You can certainly send your child to school while living in a hotel or similar. Once you have actually moved into wherever it is you are staying, just go to the local school and they will help you enroll - obviously, you'll need all the usual forms and documentation (minus the lease) that one usually needs. The lack of a lease will not be a problem unless you run into an inexperienced (or extremely unhelpful) school secretary who doesn't know what to do in that situation. In that case, track down the principal or the school counselor and they should be able to help you. Many homeless students (not saying you are homeless exactly, but many students are) go to school, and provisions exist to ensure no one is excluded for lack of a permanent address. I don't know what they are exactly, I just know they exist.

[hilsmom]

I can't speak to a 6 month situation, but we are hoping to purchase a home, but may not be moved in before the beginning of the school year. I called the registrar at the school in the neighborhood we might be moving to, and she told me that there is about a 90 day window, as long as we have a signed contract, so my child could start school at their school. The only thing they ask is that we provide transportation, which is fine with me for a short time.

We are already Fairfax residents, just in a different school zone.

[choff5]

Originally Posted by sleigh13

What would we need to establish residency to enroll into school?
What is the latest date that a student needs to be enrolled to attend classes on Day 1?
Is there a provision to enroll students new to the area, with no permanent address?
What would we do if we planned to stay in a hotel/extended stay long-term.
Is it illegal for me to keep my kid out of school (is it legal for them to make me??)
Is home-schooling (HA!!) my only option in the interim?

Please help! I know this has to have come up before, especially with this being such a transient area.

Technically you can walk in the week before the first day and get enrolled but I don't recommend that, as it drives the schools nuts as they are placing students into classes and when the numbers keep increasing it makes it more difficult, especially if a school is on the verge of an additional position based on enrollment.

I also wanted to mention that while you may not considered yourself the same as homeless, if you are living in an extended stay, you ARE considered homeless by the county schools, which is a good thing, as it also may help you get placed into the school where you believe you will end up living. Here's more information, www.fcps.edu/dss/ips/homelessinfo/parentinfo.htm If the extended stay/hotel is in the school boundary of where you are going, the school provides transportation. I'm not sure if that's true if it's not, but that can be checked out.

Definitely don't exclude your children from attending school. It would be illigal, but it's more important for them to be there. I've known families who have moved in and then out in a couple of months for the very reason you are giving. While it's not optimal, it's much better for the children to be in school, getting started, than not.

[VRE332]

I think the hardest thing to get kids enrolled in school were the booster shot requirements.

[sleigh13]

Originally Posted by choff5

Technically you can walk in the week before the first day and get enrolled but I don't recommend that, as it drives the schools nuts as they are placing students into classes and when the numbers keep increasing it makes it more difficult, especially if a school is on the verge of an additional position based on enrollment.

I also wanted to mention that while you may not considered yourself the same as homeless, if you are living in an extended stay, you ARE considered homeless by the county schools, which is a good thing, as it also may help you get placed into the school where you believe you will end up living. Here's more information, www.fcps.edu/dss/ips/homelessinfo/parentinfo.htm If the extended stay/hotel is in the school boundary of where you are going, the school provides transportation. I'm not sure if that's true if it's not, but that can be checked out.

Definitely don't exclude your children from attending school. It would be illigal, but it's more important for them to be there. I've known families who have moved in and then out in a couple of months for the very reason you are giving. While it's not optimal, it's much better for the children to be in school, getting started, than not.

Thanks! We will be in already established corporate housing (may be apt or may be hotel), but will most likely not in our target school zone. Another option is finding a rental where we want to be, and hoping we can get a "landlord" to agree to a short-term rental

Originally Posted by hilsmom

I can't speak to a 6 month situation, but we are hoping to purchase a home, but may not be moved in before the beginning of the school year. I called the registrar at the school in the
neighborhood we might be moving to, and she told me that there is about a 90 day window, as long as we have a signed contract, so my child could start school at their school. The only thing they ask is that we provide transportation, which is fine with me for a short time.

We are already Fairfax residents, just in a different school zone.

By "signed contract", do you mean an offer to buy or documents indicating the house is under contract by you?

[hilsmom]

Originally Posted by sleigh13

By "signed contract", do you mean an offer to buy or documents indicating the house is under contract by you?

I think they need the signed contract that says you are under contract to purchase the home. That proves that you will be moving into the neighborhood. We just don't want to start her at one school for a month (my daughter will be starting K in Sept) and then switch her.

We are currently trying to get our townhouse on the market as most people do not want a home sale contingent offer on their houses anymore. The seller's realtor seems to think he might be able to convince the family to accept our offer with this contingency as we live in a great little neighborhood in reston that sells fairly quickly and our home has been nicely updated. The house we want has been on the market for a while and the sellers still haven't found a new house THEY want. We're really just hoping someone doesn't come along and snatch this house from under us in the next week before we can prove we have our house actively on the market and are serious about buying.