Residency Requirement

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I only wish my relatives lived in DC, then I could buy a much bigger house in MD and still send my kids to decent schools.

Ha! This is us too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand. So many people are saying they are leaving the District to access MD or VA schools. Who are these people coming from MD to attend DC schools??

Used to. DC has had better schools for the past 10 years than MD and parts of VA. MoCo is a mess and the curriculum stinks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My impression has always been that the cohort is not as big as some people think, but is still significant, and involves:

Legacies. People whose parents or grandparents went to DCPS or certain DCPS schools and would have the kids do the same. I think in particular this is a linkage between DC and the "black flight" to PG county and the continuing linkages, paralleling black churches in DC with Maryland congregations.

Convenience. DC like many cities has a hub and suburban spokes. It's more convenient at the end of the day to pick up your kids at the hub instead of having to get all the way home in the congestion to get your kids from school. Also, DC has early childhood at grades the suburbs do not.

Complicated family relationships and housing insecurity. Many DC families can turn out to be much more complicated than the single-household nuclear family you think of, and families can be standoffish and not interested in the school system getting into their business. The social justice-oriented staff don't want to look into it because of potential for harm and the rule-oriented staff at DCPS don't want to make a mistake and get caught being mean to poor people.

A related, but dissimilar issue: Maryland tags. I think there are a good number of people who live in DC but keep Maryland tags on their cars long-term. Probably not legal for the car but they would be DC residents for the school system.

Did I miss big items here?

Anyway, count me among that cohort that doesn't care too much. But since it keeps coming up places like here, that's my theory of those Maryland plates.

A woman in my bookclub admits she does it because of the free PK3/4 and the school is on the way to work.

Free preschool/day care is a HUGE draw.

DCPS and charters should be requiring proof of filed DC income taxes for PK3/PK4. It's such a massive draw, even for UMC families in the region.

It's complete BS that they don't require this. Even DC withholding on a paystub can be reversed or re-claimed on filed MD/VA taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My impression has always been that the cohort is not as big as some people think, but is still significant, and involves:

Legacies. People whose parents or grandparents went to DCPS or certain DCPS schools and would have the kids do the same. I think in particular this is a linkage between DC and the "black flight" to PG county and the continuing linkages, paralleling black churches in DC with Maryland congregations.

Convenience. DC like many cities has a hub and suburban spokes. It's more convenient at the end of the day to pick up your kids at the hub instead of having to get all the way home in the congestion to get your kids from school. Also, DC has early childhood at grades the suburbs do not.

Complicated family relationships and housing insecurity. Many DC families can turn out to be much more complicated than the single-household nuclear family you think of, and families can be standoffish and not interested in the school system getting into their business. The social justice-oriented staff don't want to look into it because of potential for harm and the rule-oriented staff at DCPS don't want to make a mistake and get caught being mean to poor people.

A related, but dissimilar issue: Maryland tags. I think there are a good number of people who live in DC but keep Maryland tags on their cars long-term. Probably not legal for the car but they would be DC residents for the school system.

Did I miss big items here?

Anyway, count me among that cohort that doesn't care too much. But since it keeps coming up places like here, that's my theory of those Maryland plates.

this is a huge problem at my school. families with 5 or 6 kids who are cousins who all live in md using grandma's old address in the neighborhood to get ib status and free prek. they are also so of the most entitled families at the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My impression has always been that the cohort is not as big as some people think, but is still significant, and involves:

Legacies. People whose parents or grandparents went to DCPS or certain DCPS schools and would have the kids do the same. I think in particular this is a linkage between DC and the "black flight" to PG county and the continuing linkages, paralleling black churches in DC with Maryland congregations.

Convenience. DC like many cities has a hub and suburban spokes. It's more convenient at the end of the day to pick up your kids at the hub instead of having to get all the way home in the congestion to get your kids from school. Also, DC has early childhood at grades the suburbs do not.

Complicated family relationships and housing insecurity. Many DC families can turn out to be much more complicated than the single-household nuclear family you think of, and families can be standoffish and not interested in the school system getting into their business. The social justice-oriented staff don't want to look into it because of potential for harm and the rule-oriented staff at DCPS don't want to make a mistake and get caught being mean to poor people.

A related, but dissimilar issue: Maryland tags. I think there are a good number of people who live in DC but keep Maryland tags on their cars long-term. Probably not legal for the car but they would be DC residents for the school system.

Did I miss big items here?

Anyway, count me among that cohort that doesn't care too much. But since it keeps coming up places like here, that's my theory of those Maryland plates.

This describes our family. I'm a District resident with DC tags. My ex was a District resident until the current school year, however, he's ALWAYS maintained MD tags. No, I dunno why. But, alas, an AA father picking up daily from a DC charter. My mother and sister were our backups, also MD tags.

Following my parent's divorce, as a kid, I continued to attend a DCPS school (SWW). My father lived/lives in DC (and worked for DCPS, haha) while my mother moved to PG. My mom worked a few blocks from school.

Poor assumptions could be made from both scenarios.

[Anonymous]

Why do we continue to beat this horse?

[Anonymous]

What if I live in Maryland and I'm just really tired of paying tens of thousands of dollars for daycare? And I just really want DC's free pre-K? Can I cheat then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do we continue to beat this horse?

Because educaring non-residents is a poor use of DC’s money.

[Anonymous]

I am personally tired of paying taxes in DC for those who pay taxes in Maryland to use up our resources with no financial contribution. I don't care if your grandmother or mother still lives in DC, you don't.

[Anonymous]

Where does one report a residency cheater? Neighbor knows the address where the student actually lives which is contrary to the address on file at the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where does one report a residency cheater? Neighbor knows the address where the student actually lives which is contrary to the address on file at the school.

https://osse.dc.gov/page/osse-suspicion-non-residency-form

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand. So many people are saying they are leaving the District to access MD or VA schools. Who are these people coming from MD to attend DC schools??

Used to. DC has had better schools for the past 10 years than MD and parts of VA. MoCo is a mess and the curriculum stinks.

It's not so much about better schools. Some folks in MD, including some "workers" in the DC government who live there, are basically looking for a convenient school on their commuting route to their DC jobs, with basically free before and after care thrown in.

[Anonymous]

I work with someone with kids in a “HRCS” who lives in Silver Spring but her ex DH lives in DC. I wonder if she ever gets reported- she’s not a residency cheat but I’m sure people suspect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work with someone with kids in a “HRCS” who lives in Silver Spring but her ex DH lives in DC. I wonder if she ever gets reported- she’s not a residency cheat but I’m sure people suspect.

If they share custody no problem. I could be considered a boundary cheater, but one spouse lives in Ward 4 ( kids are enrolled in school here) and the other in Ward 5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My impression has always been that the cohort is not as big as some people think, but is still significant, and involves:

Legacies. People whose parents or grandparents went to DCPS or certain DCPS schools and would have the kids do the same. I think in particular this is a linkage between DC and the "black flight" to PG county and the continuing linkages, paralleling black churches in DC with Maryland congregations.

Convenience. DC like many cities has a hub and suburban spokes. It's more convenient at the end of the day to pick up your kids at the hub instead of having to get all the way home in the congestion to get your kids from school. Also, DC has early childhood at grades the suburbs do not.

Complicated family relationships and housing insecurity. Many DC families can turn out to be much more complicated than the single-household nuclear family you think of, and families can be standoffish and not interested in the school system getting into their business. The social justice-oriented staff don't want to look into it because of potential for harm and the rule-oriented staff at DCPS don't want to make a mistake and get caught being mean to poor people.

A related, but dissimilar issue: Maryland tags. I think there are a good number of people who live in DC but keep Maryland tags on their cars long-term. Probably not legal for the car but they would be DC residents for the school system.

Did I miss big items here?

Anyway, count me among that cohort that doesn't care too much. But since it keeps coming up places like here, that's my theory of those Maryland plates.

A woman in my bookclub admits she does it because of the free PK3/4 and the school is on the way to work.

Free preschool/day care is a HUGE draw.

DCPS and charters should be requiring proof of filed DC income taxes for PK3/PK4. It's such a massive draw, even for UMC families in the region.

It's complete BS that they don't require this. Even DC withholding on a paystub can be reversed or re-claimed on filed MD/VA taxes.

I'd be thrilled if they required this sort of proof from PK3-12th!