We own in DC and VA, ok to go to school in DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ive seen a fair amount of people talking about "address cheaters" and was wondering what people thought of our situation. We own a tiny 2 br house in DC that we bought before kids. Now we have four and live in VA. We have a specific school in DC that we want one of our kids to go to and want to use our DC address. We sill own the DC house and pay taxes, thoguhts??

Do you still use your DC house or did you rent it out?

[Anonymous]

If DC is not your primary residence, then no you cannot send your children there. Quit trying to cheat the system.

[Anonymous]

NP here, I find it ironic that someone who's probably paying in more to fund DCPS (via property taxes) than many of the LEGAL families attending DCPS schools is considered a "cheater".

[Anonymous]

Why? If OP is renting out the property, it's technically the renter who pays the property taxes and have the right to send their kids to school in DC. Just b/c you own a bunch of rental properties in DC but live elsewhere does not mean you get to send your kids to DC schools.

[Anonymous]

Can you publish your address in Virginia, so that I can use it to send my kids to TJ? Thanks!!!!

[Anonymous]

Color: TYPICAL DC RENOVATED SCHOOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here, I find it ironic that someone who's probably paying in more to fund DCPS (via property taxes) than many of the LEGAL families attending DCPS schools is considered a "cheater".

Man, those poor people really are the worst, aren't they?

If you want kids to be educated based on ability to pay, you're in the wrong country.

[Anonymous]

OP, I would not give up so easily. I've heard of a families in which one spouse sublet a room and lived there during the work week to establish in-boundary status for a desirable DCPS elementary school.

I recommend that you first apply to the charter using the address of your DC property. You will not have to establish DC residency until you are admitted, which could take months if you are wait-listed. If you are offered a spot, you will then have to decide if the school is worth having to establish DC residency. If, for example, your tenants move out in the next few months, you could move your family in over the summer to establish DC residency.

I know families that own homes in different states -- one in a desirable vacation spot -- and maintain the vacation home as their primary residence despite spending many more days per year at the other home. Residency is not a simple concept . My understanding is that once you have established residency in a state, if you move to another state but intend eventually to return to the first, your state of residency does not change. For example, college students can opt to maintain residency in their home states for years while they attend school. In fact, many states make it difficult for college students to benefit from the in-state tuition that a change in residency would entitle them to.

Once you've established DC residency and secured a spot at the charter school, you will then have to decide if the benefits of being a VA resident outweigh the non-resident tuition you would need to pay to attend the charter. From the charter law:

Nonresident student. -- The term “nonresident student” means:

(A) An individual under the age of 18 who is enrolled in a District of Columbia public school or a public charter school, and does not have a parent, guardian, custodian, or primary care giver, as determined pursuant to Chapter 3 of this title, residing in the District of Columbia; or

(B) An individual who is age 18 or older and is enrolled in a District of Columbia public school or public charter school, and does not reside in the District of Columbia.

and

(e) Nonresident students. -- Nonresident students shall pay tuition to attend a public charter school at the applicable rate established for District of Columbia public schools administered by the Board of Education for the type of program in which the student is enrolled.

One issue you would want to resolve is whether your child might lose his or her spot at the charter to an enrolling DC resident in subsequent years if you move back to VA. That is, does a returning student who was once a DC resident and who is now a non-resident whose family pays non-resident tuition get to keep his or her spot even if a DC resident applies for the same spot. The charter law suggests that non-residents might get to keep their spots:

(a) Open enrollment. -- Enrollment in a public charter school shall be open to all students who are residents of the District of Columbia and, if space is available, to nonresident students who meet the tuition requirement in subsection (e) of this section.

(b) Criteria for admission. -- A public charter school may not limit enrollment on the basis of a student's race, color, religion, national origin, language spoken, intellectual or athletic ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, or status as a student with special needs. A public charter school may limit enrollment to specific grade levels.

(c) Random selection. -- If there are more applications to enroll in a public charter school from students who are residents of the District of Columbia than there are spaces available, students shall be admitted using a random selection process, except that a preference in admission may be given to an applicant who is a sibling of a student already attending or selected for admission to the public charter school in which the applicant is seeking enrollment, or an applicant who is a child of a member of the public charter school's founding board, so long as enrollment of founders' children is limited to no more than 10% of the school's total enrollment or to 20 students, whichever is less.

The law does not define the term "enrollment". Note, though, that paragraph (c) does not authorize charters to grant a preference in admission to returning students. So, returning students must not be "enrolling" under the law. Otherwise, paragraph (c) would apply to returning students and they would have to enter the lottery each year, which they do not have to do at any DC charter school. Consequently, paragraph (a) probably does not apply to returning students either. That is, a charter school does not have to boot returning non-resident students to make space for residents who are applying to the school for the first time. Of course, you would want to confirm this policy with the charter school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I would not give up so easily. I've heard of a families in which one spouse sublet a room and lived there during the work week to establish in-boundary status for a desirable DCPS elementary school.

I recommend that you first apply to the charter using the address of your DC property. You will not have to establish DC residency until you are admitted, which could take months if you are wait-listed. If you are offered a spot, you will then have to decide if the school is worth having to establish DC residency. If, for example, your tenants move out in the next few months, you could move your family in over the summer to establish DC residency.

I know families that own homes in different states -- one in a desirable vacation spot -- and maintain the vacation home as their primary residence despite spending many more days per year at the other home. Residency is not a simple concept . My understanding is that once you have established residency in a state, if you move to another state but intend eventually to return to the first, your state of residency does not change. For example, college students can opt to maintain residency in their home states for years while they attend school. In fact, many states make it difficult for college students to benefit from the in-state tuition that a change in residency would entitle them to.

Once you've established DC residency and secured a spot at the charter school, you will then have to decide if the benefits of being a VA resident outweigh the non-resident tuition you would need to pay to attend the charter. From the charter law:

Nonresident student. -- The term “nonresident student” means:

(A) An individual under the age of 18 who is enrolled in a District of Columbia public school or a public charter school, and does not have a parent, guardian, custodian, or primary care giver, as determined pursuant to Chapter 3 of this title, residing in the District of Columbia; or

(B) An individual who is age 18 or older and is enrolled in a District of Columbia public school or public charter school, and does not reside in the District of Columbia.

and

(e) Nonresident students. -- Nonresident students shall pay tuition to attend a public charter school at the applicable rate established for District of Columbia public schools administered by the Board of Education for the type of program in which the student is enrolled.

One issue you would want to resolve is whether your child might lose his or her spot at the charter to an enrolling DC resident in subsequent years if you move back to VA. That is, does a returning student who was once a DC resident and who is now a non-resident whose family pays non-resident tuition get to keep his or her spot even if a DC resident applies for the same spot. The charter law suggests that non-residents might get to keep their spots:

(a) Open enrollment. -- Enrollment in a public charter school shall be open to all students who are residents of the District of Columbia and, if space is available, to nonresident students who meet the tuition requirement in subsection (e) of this section.

(b) Criteria for admission. -- A public charter school may not limit enrollment on the basis of a student's race, color, religion, national origin, language spoken, intellectual or athletic ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, or status as a student with special needs. A public charter school may limit enrollment to specific grade levels.

(c) Random selection. -- If there are more applications to enroll in a public charter school from students who are residents of the District of Columbia than there are spaces available, students shall be admitted using a random selection process, except that a preference in admission may be given to an applicant who is a sibling of a student already attending or selected for admission to the public charter school in which the applicant is seeking enrollment, or an applicant who is a child of a member of the public charter school's founding board, so long as enrollment of founders' children is limited to no more than 10% of the school's total enrollment or to 20 students, whichever is less.

The law does not define the term "enrollment". Note, though, that paragraph (c) does not authorize charters to grant a preference in admission to returning students. So, returning students must not be "enrolling" under the law. Otherwise, paragraph (c) would apply to returning students and they would have to enter the lottery each year, which they do not have to do at any DC charter school. Consequently, paragraph (a) probably does not apply to returning students either. That is, a charter school does not have to boot returning non-resident students to make space for residents who are applying to the school for the first time. Of course, you would want to confirm this policy with the charter school.

Wow, OP has already admitted they don't live in the rental. You ar basically instructing them on how to cheat, the bottom line of your post is that simple. I guess I shouldn't be suprised, but it still bugs the crap out of me that someone will advertise ways to cheat the system even after someone has said they want to do the right thing. You suck PP. And karma, it isn't always instant, but it always gets ya. Wonder what someone is going to cheat you out of down the line....

[Anonymous]

Wow, OP has already admitted they don't live in the rental. You ar basically instructing them on how to cheat, the bottom line of your post is that simple. I guess I shouldn't be suprised, but it still bugs the crap out of me that someone will advertise ways to cheat the system even after someone has said they want to do the right thing. You suck PP. And karma, it isn't always instant, but it always gets ya. Wonder what someone is going to cheat you out of down the line....

OP does not live in the rental now. People move across state lines for schools all the time, e.g., DC to MoCo and VA.

I'm not advising OP to cheat. I'm advising OP to move to DC if the charter is that important. I'm also suggesting that once OP's child is enrolled, OP might be able to move back to VA and keep the spot at the charter, at the cost of paying non-resident tuition.

There is no cheating involved.

[Anonymous]

You should just give guardianship of the children to a DC resident, like many of the MD drivers found around EOTP elementary schools do.

[Anonymous]

The key word in the very long post above is "residing." The test is legal residence, for at least one parent. But that means many things: changing one's legal address with employer's, the IRS, etc. paying income taxes in DC, registering one's personal auto in DC and obtaining a DC drivers' license (if you drive), not voting in VA, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless the DC house is your primary residence, that is breaking the law. You can pay out-of-state tuition if you really want your child to go to the DC school and there is room.

This. It is not about what is "okay," it is about what is legal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Wow, OP has already admitted they don't live in the rental. You ar basically instructing them on how to cheat, the bottom line of your post is that simple. I guess I shouldn't be suprised, but it still bugs the crap out of me that someone will advertise ways to cheat the system even after someone has said they want to do the right thing. You suck PP. And karma, it isn't always instant, but it always gets ya. Wonder what someone is going to cheat you out of down the line....

OP does not live in the rental now. People move across state lines for schools all the time, e.g., DC to MoCo and VA.

I'm not advising OP to cheat. I'm advising OP to move to DC if the charter is that important. I'm also suggesting that once OP's child is enrolled, OP might be able to move back to VA and keep the spot at the charter, at the cost of paying non-resident tuition.

There is no cheating involved.

I should add that it might be possible for OP to move back to VA with child and for OP's spouse to remain a DC resident -- paying DC income taxes -- to avoid having to pay the non-resident tuition. The charter law does not appear to require that the student live in DC, only one of the parents.

Again, no cheating involved since one of the child's parents would be paying DC income taxes. Residency should have more to do with where you pay resident income taxes than where you spend the most number of days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I can think of a number of DC schools I would prefer to schools in, say, North Arlington or Fairfax. But as is with all desirable schools, the best are over-subscribed, or in the case of charters, have long waitlists.

The only way you can legally use your DC address is if it is your primary residence. I can see how it seems unfair - you're paying property taxes on house and can't receive the benefits, whereas someone else may not own at all, is merely renting.

It would be helpful if the difference between income tax and property tax was relevant to actual schools. IOW

What exactly do you mean by this? You think that if the owner of a rental property pays more in taxes than the renters do in income taxes that the owner should have the privilege of attending schools over the tenant? So what of those poor, dirty tenants? Should we simply apprentice their children to a trade and treat them as slave labor?