Going to the wrong school

[Anonymous]

I was talking to a parent in my child's school. They just sold their house. They will be moving out of the school boundary, but still within the county. However, they are going to continue to keep their child in the current school, because they don't have child care at the new school. As you know SACC waiting lists are long and if you move, you go to the back of the line and lose your child care.

Has anyone ever done this or known someone who has? I see these news stories about people getting arrested for "stealing" an education in other parts of the country. I have never heard of such a prosecution in Fairfax.

What happens if they get caught???

It makes me wonder about a SACC system that makes people so desperate they sneak across boundary lines just to keep their child care.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you tell on them and see what happens?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don't you tell on them and see what happens?

I don't want to do that! I have no desire to harm them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was talking to a parent in my child's school. They just sold their house. They will be moving out of the school boundary, but still within the county. However, they are going to continue to keep their child in the current school, because they don't have child care at the new school. As you know SACC waiting lists are long and if you move, you go to the back of the line and lose your child care.

Has anyone ever done this or known someone who has? I see these news stories about people getting arrested for "stealing" an education in other parts of the country. I have never heard of such a prosecution in Fairfax.

What happens if they get caught???

It makes me wonder about a SACC system that makes people so desperate they sneak across boundary lines just to keep their child care.

It's February. A lot of schools have policies that allow children who move mid-year to remain in their school after a certain date. Don't be so quick to assume they're doing something illicit. In other words, mind your own damned business. Otherwise someone might call you a busybody.

[Anonymous]

The schools and SACC do sometimes allow this. I wouldn't be surprised if they were already approved through the school. I'd be careful especially if they're staying.

[Anonymous]

In Moco you can complete the year. And I have a friend whose child is allowed to stay in his high school for 2 years after moving out of the cluster (but still in the county) due to complicated reasons.

If they are paying their state and county taxes it doesn't seem like they are stealing anything.

[Anonymous]

If the school has room, they simply apply for a student transfer due to child-care:

http://www.fcps.edu/dss/osp/StudentRegistration/student-transfer/

[Anonymous]

Also--SACC gives priority to transfers. They're basically at the top of the list at the new school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also--SACC gives priority to transfers. They're basically at the top of the list at the new school.

That's not my understanding. I've talked to SACC about it. You go to the end of the waiting list if you move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also--SACC gives priority to transfers. They're basically at the top of the list at the new school.

This. We moved mid-year and kept our child at the original school. We spoke with both schools, and they agreed it was in our child's best interest to finish out the year at the school where he started. We made it into SACC at the original school, and wait listed the new school for the following year. Since we were considered a transfer, we got priority status on the new school list. We receive a SACC spot at the new school when we started the following year. Without the priority, we would still be on the waitlist!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also--SACC gives priority to transfers. They're basically at the top of the list at the new school.

This. We moved mid-year and kept our child at the original school. We spoke with both schools, and they agreed it was in our child's best interest to finish out the year at the school where he started. We made it into SACC at the original school, and wait listed the new school for the following year. Since we were considered a transfer, we got priority status on the new school list. We receive a SACC spot at the new school when we started the following year. Without the priority, we would still be on the waitlist!

I just called the SACC registrar right now. They say they USED to offer priority placement if you had sacc services in another school. But the rules changed.

I don't think this rule makes sense. People who are on the waiting list at a school obviously already have child care arrangements of some kind in place. If you move to a new school, you lose your current child care arrangement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was talking to a parent in my child's school. They just sold their house. They will be moving out of the school boundary, but still within the county. However, they are going to continue to keep their child in the current school, because they don't have child care at the new school. As you know SACC waiting lists are long and if you move, you go to the back of the line and lose your child care.

Has anyone ever done this or known someone who has? I see these news stories about people getting arrested for "stealing" an education in other parts of the country. I have never heard of such a prosecution in Fairfax.

What happens if they get caught???

It makes me wonder about a SACC system that makes people so desperate they sneak across boundary lines just to keep their child care.

Let them worry about themselves. Is this really your business to post on the forum. Plus, it's the same county, there's no "stealing" going on. Also, you can request permission to attend a different school in the county because of childcare issues. Mind your own business.

[Anonymous]

It's illegal and not worth the risk. However, I believe families can pay tuition to attend public schools in districts where they do not reside. Anything else would be ridiculous. Can you imagine the humiliation a child would feel if one day they were expelled from school for a parent's unwillingness to pay a small tuition fee. Or the attorney's fees, lost time from work, potential loss of a security clearance, plus fines accessed in court proceeding.

Totally not worth it.

Unless of course you're talking about DCPS where they practically encourage it just to keep enrollment numbers high enough to keep schools open and to justify adequate staffing. Everyone has an uncle with a mailing address in D.C.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's illegal and not worth the risk. However, I believe families can pay tuition to attend public schools in districts where they do not reside. Anything else would be ridiculous. Can you imagine the humiliation a child would feel if one day they were expelled from school for a parent's unwillingness to pay a small tuition fee. Or the attorney's fees, lost time from work, potential loss of a security clearance, plus fines accessed in court proceeding.

Totally not worth it.

Unless of course you're talking about DCPS where they practically encourage it just to keep enrollment numbers high enough to keep schools open and to justify adequate staffing. Everyone has an uncle with a mailing address in D.C.

It's all within Fairfax County. I've never heard of paying tuition to go to another school in your own county. You can get exceptions just for circumstances like this (a mid year move). In MoCo you can apply for a COSA (change of school assignment). The taxes are the same regardless of where in the county you live.

[Anonymous]

Oh sorry, I should have read the OP more carefully. In some ways this probably creates a larger problem than simply paying out of district tuition.