Change to policy re: moving out of boundary?

[Anonymous]

I am confused by one thing -- I had a kid at JR (when it was Wilson, so about three years ago) and every year, when re enrolling, I am pretty sure we still had to show proof that we were living IB. Which seems to me to imply that if we didn't have that proof, we would have been denied a spot unless we came in via the lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am confused by one thing -- I had a kid at JR (when it was Wilson, so about three years ago) and every year, when re enrolling, I am pretty sure we still had to show proof that we were living IB. Which seems to me to imply that if we didn't have that proof, we would have been denied a spot unless we came in via the lottery.

Everyone has to show proof of residence every year when re-enrolling.

[Anonymous]

I could see DCPS interpreting this as the student having the right to attend their new school in addition to having the right to attend their old school. They don’t specify that the student must withdraw from their old school, giving principals the discretion to let students stay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I could see DCPS interpreting this as the student having the right to attend their new school in addition to having the right to attend their old school. They don’t specify that the student must withdraw from their old school, giving principals the discretion to let students stay.

In the past when there was principal discretion the handbook made that perfectly clear.

[Anonymous]

What about the right to attend the MS that your ES feeds to?

[Anonymous]

So what is the final read of this: once enrolled in a school, does the student have the right to stay even if they move out of bounds?

[Anonymous]

no. But you do you with your residency forms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So what is the final read of this: once enrolled in a school, does the student have the right to stay even if they move out of bounds?

Yes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what is the final read of this: once enrolled in a school, does the student have the right to stay even if they move out of bounds?

Yes

It's very poorly written and doesn't adequately address that question. It should say, "the student NO LONGER has the right to attend their current school as of XYZ date (w/in 3 days of moving, end of the year, terminal grade, etc.)." But instead it says nothing and later says they can lottery for OOB schools. Except that MSDC does not allow you to lottery for a school you're currently enrolled in, so that leaves families with no legal way to try to continue at their current school. I have a REALLY hard time imagining a principal kicking a student out mid-year OR wanting new students to enroll mid-year.

It seems like someone in DCPS central office made the change without thinking through the logistics of how it would actually work in practice. Which is just so very DC. I'm guessing principals will use their discretion to implement in a reasonable way, and we'll see another change in the policy for next year.

[Anonymous]

it could be a first step towards changing the policy in the future. dcum has pointed out online that the written policy was presumably well-intentioned but potentially a loophole for “moving” into the JR pyramid for 1 month and then claiming the policy supports that etc. now people will think twice about gaming the system. it would be cruel to suddenly say all students now attending under this provision cannot remain at their current e.g. elementary school next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about the right to attend the MS that your ES feeds to?

This is not changed. The rule is:

1) If you lottery into the ES, you are entitled to attend the MS it feeds to.

2) If you attend an IB ES and then move OOB, you would need to lottery to attend the MS that school (which was your IB but is now OOB for you) feeds into.

The only change is whether you can stay at that ES after moving OOB, and it appears that under the new rules, no. Whether that gets enforced, I don't know. But when you look at the way the language was changed, it appears they are eliminating the right to attend a school until the terminal grade if you move OOB after enrolling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:it could be a first step towards changing the policy in the future. dcum has pointed out online that the written policy was presumably well-intentioned but potentially a loophole for “moving” into the JR pyramid for 1 month and then claiming the policy supports that etc. now people will think twice about gaming the system. it would be cruel to suddenly say all students now attending under this provision cannot remain at their current e.g. elementary school next year.

I would be curious to know how many people actually try this, though -- moving IB for a school for a super short time just to enroll, and then returning to their OOB house. Especially if for less than a year.

I think people talk a big game on DCUM, and certainly some of this stuff happens (people using investment property addresses or grandparent addresses to claim IB status, moving temporarily to get an IB spot, etc.) but I really wonder how widespread it is. We have had bad lottery luck and had people in our neighborhood suggest doing stuff like this to get a spot in a better school, but notably none of the people recommending this strategy do it themselves. So I'm skeptical

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it could be a first step towards changing the policy in the future. dcum has pointed out online that the written policy was presumably well-intentioned but potentially a loophole for “moving” into the JR pyramid for 1 month and then claiming the policy supports that etc. now people will think twice about gaming the system. it would be cruel to suddenly say all students now attending under this provision cannot remain at their current e.g. elementary school next year.

I would be curious to know how many people actually try this, though -- moving IB for a school for a super short time just to enroll, and then returning to their OOB house. Especially if for less than a year.

I think people talk a big game on DCUM, and certainly some of this stuff happens (people using investment property addresses or grandparent addresses to claim IB status, moving temporarily to get an IB spot, etc.) but I really wonder how widespread it is. We have had bad lottery luck and had people in our neighborhood suggest doing stuff like this to get a spot in a better school, but notably none of the people recommending this strategy do it themselves. So I'm skeptical

.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what is the final read of this: once enrolled in a school, does the student have the right to stay even if they move out of bounds?

Yes

It's very poorly written and doesn't adequately address that question. It should say, "the student NO LONGER has the right to attend their current school as of XYZ date (w/in 3 days of moving, end of the year, terminal grade, etc.)." But instead it says nothing and later says they can lottery for OOB schools. Except that MSDC does not allow you to lottery for a school you're currently enrolled in, so that leaves families with no legal way to try to continue at their current school. I have a REALLY hard time imagining a principal kicking a student out mid-year OR wanting new students to enroll mid-year.

It seems like someone in DCPS central office made the change without thinking through the logistics of how it would actually work in practice. Which is just so very DC. I'm guessing principals will use their discretion to implement in a reasonable way, and we'll see another change in the policy for next year.

This change is in next year’s handbook. So possibly the MSDC change will come next cycle.

[Anonymous]

And the more online registration they have, the easier it will be to enforce. If you do it at the school and you had a long term relationship with the school - as long as you show residency, they do not check your actual address for being in bounds.