School residency cheaters investigated

[Anonymous]

When we moved here we had a lease. Gas and water were in landlord's name. Pepco print out establishing we had an account wasn't acceptable. Neither was the Verizon FiOS bill or the at&t bill. They kept asking me, "why don't you have a license and car registration?" I kept saying, "because we don't have a car." Finally, my husband had to take off time and go to the school during school hours with a letter from his employer. It was a huge pita. I can only assume this is compounded for others in less secure situations.

But what I find most infuriating is, the stalking. The stalking is not okay. The daily caller being the beacon of journalism it is, this woman, whose life does not sound all that secure or easy, is also now going to be stalked by a bunch of right-wing nut jobs. And so might her child.

If you're the kind of person who's okay with that--well, for one I'm not sure why live in the district at all, since 99% of it must make you insane; and two, I think you must really be struggling socially yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I suspect a lot of the so-called "residency cheaters" are actually "car-registration cheaters."

Not that that's a good thing, but it's certainly outside the purview of DCPS.

There's a very easy way for DCPS and OSSE to get a handle on this. You may have noticed that many DC police cars and parking enforcement vehicles are now equipped with license plate scanners, which enable enforcement personnel to drive around checking for stolen vehicles, unpaid tickets and against watch lists. It would be very easy for DC to deploy such technology on vehicles that rotate around drop off/pickup lines at various public funded schools. As the software can link to vehicle registrations, it's pretty easy then to check out of state vehicle registrations against parent lists at the schools. If a car, for example, is registered in a parent name at a Maryland address, then it's a way to target investigative resources.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Not hard to show where you live. Come to my house. I'll show you my messy house, all my clothes, paperwork, ask the neighbors if I live here and so on.
Never seen people put up such a fuss and fight if they are not cheating.

This is how I feel. It's not hard to prove your residency. So report if you know of someone, and they can put to rest any confusion or questions. It shouldn't be a big deal to prove.

Actually, it is hard to prove residency. When I met my husband, he owned the house we lived in and had all the utilities in his name. Though we filed joint taxes as a married couple and my drivers license and registration carried my name and address, it was insufficient for registering my child. Very insufficient. We're three years in to public schooling in DC and each year, the schools we've attended have been hard core about seeing the person whose claiming guardianship and residency IN PERSON when they register a child.

If it's fair to resort to stereotypes - and it seems the "articles" and thousands of DCUM posts on the subject make stereotypes very fair - then I have to believe that the people with means to skirt this system are more likely well-off white people taking advantage of highly-regarded charter schools and DCPS west of the park. Yet these "reporters" couldn't be bothered with JKLM or Creative Minds, where there are certainly affluent white people "scamming our schools." Not to mention principals and parent teacher organizations looking the other way. These people are just not being followed home or having their government documentation researched and posted online.

Show of hands/posts, how many here are irked by their wait list number for Eagle Academy or Ludlow-Taylor?

I mean, if you don't see this sham excuse for journalism as a bigger problem in the interest of our kids, then I'm just frankly worried for our kids. I have resided and paid taxes in the District of Columbia for close to 30 years. But thinking about some nutcase vigilante targeting my kid for "investigation" because he's a brown kid getting out of the car of my MD-residing SIL who sometimes helps with childcare makes my blood boil.

And you go, Oh! If you're following the law you have nothing to worry about. Just answer the questions imposed on you and you're good to go! But the blatant racial bias expressed here and in the articles means I have a hell of a lot to worry about. Some fucking kook stalking kids outside of their school, taking photographs and posting them online? How is it that THAT fact doesn't disturb people?

I play the cards dealt. The racist vigilante stalking my kids outside their school dealt first.

Again - if there's anyone who can post pictures of these lowlifes that I can share with my kid's school, I'll be most grateful. We're longtime DC residents and taxpayers, but I'll be damned if I will accept this kind of harassment. It is far more egregious to me than people trying to do what's best for their kids - all the nonsense about "concerned and involved parents" is obviously a bucket of donkey shit.

Are all dc residents this angry and against stopping fraud?

I'm with this woman. I want to know who Watson and Taylor are. Not that hard to find out.

It has nothing to do with fraud. It has to do with the kind of people who stall children, all in the name of their "cause." Perfectly acceptable, one assumes, to have their own children stalked. After all, I'm sure their parents have done "something" wrong, and if not... why would they mind?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Not hard to show where you live. Come to my house. I'll show you my messy house, all my clothes, paperwork, ask the neighbors if I live here and so on.
Never seen people put up such a fuss and fight if they are not cheating.

This is how I feel. It's not hard to prove your residency. So report if you know of someone, and they can put to rest any confusion or questions. It shouldn't be a big deal to prove.

Actually, it is hard to prove residency. When I met my husband, he owned the house we lived in and had all the utilities in his name. Though we filed joint taxes as a married couple and my drivers license and registration carried my name and address, it was insufficient for registering my child. Very insufficient. We're three years in to public schooling in DC and each year, the schools we've attended have been hard core about seeing the person whose claiming guardianship and residency IN PERSON when they register a child.

If it's fair to resort to stereotypes - and it seems the "articles" and thousands of DCUM posts on the subject make stereotypes very fair - then I have to believe that the people with means to skirt this system are more likely well-off white people taking advantage of highly-regarded charter schools and DCPS west of the park. Yet these "reporters" couldn't be bothered with JKLM or Creative Minds, where there are certainly affluent white people "scamming our schools." Not to mention principals and parent teacher organizations looking the other way. These people are just not being followed home or having their government documentation researched and posted online.

Show of hands/posts, how many here are irked by their wait list number for Eagle Academy or Ludlow-Taylor?

I mean, if you don't see this sham excuse for journalism as a bigger problem in the interest of our kids, then I'm just frankly worried for our kids. I have resided and paid taxes in the District of Columbia for close to 30 years. But thinking about some nutcase vigilante targeting my kid for "investigation" because he's a brown kid getting out of the car of my MD-residing SIL who sometimes helps with childcare makes my blood boil.

And you go, Oh! If you're following the law you have nothing to worry about. Just answer the questions imposed on you and you're good to go! But the blatant racial bias expressed here and in the articles means I have a hell of a lot to worry about. Some fucking kook stalking kids outside of their school, taking photographs and posting them online? How is it that THAT fact doesn't disturb people?

This is so true.

If this person was staking pictures outside of janney, people would be in a fucking rage.

There were cheating parents at Janney last year, people noticed and reported it and the kids were pulled out of Janney very quickly. Fraudsters aren't tolerated there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I suspect a lot of the so-called "residency cheaters" are actually "car-registration cheaters."

Not that that's a good thing, but it's certainly outside the purview of DCPS.

There's a very easy way for DCPS and OSSE to get a handle on this. You may have noticed that many DC police cars and parking enforcement vehicles are now equipped with license plate scanners, which enable enforcement personnel to drive around checking for stolen vehicles, unpaid tickets and against watch lists. It would be very easy for DC to deploy such technology on vehicles that rotate around drop off/pickup lines at various public funded schools. As the software can link to vehicle registrations, it's pretty easy then to check out of state vehicle registrations against parent lists at the schools. If a car, for example, is registered in a parent name at a Maryland address, then it's a way to target investigative resources.

Easy enough to get around that by parking a couple blocks away and walking in.

[Anonymous]

Lots of links on residency fraud at DCPS.

Complaint for residency fraud at DCPS - https://archive.org/stream/604086-tuition-fraud-complaint/604086-tuition-fraud-complaint_djvu.txt

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/nov/19/residency-fraud-still-plagues-schools/
http://dcist.com/2012/05/dc_looks_into_non-residents_who_att.php (Wilson High School is most ripe for fraud)http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/DC-Attorney-General-Suing-Two-Police-Officers-for-Claiming-False-DC-Residency-and-Sending-Their-Children-to-School-For-Free-307056701.html (Eaton, Deal, Wilson)
http://www.hunewsservice.com/news/view.php/53575/Residency-Fraud-A-Problem-in-DC-Public-S (more reporters watching license plates)

DCPS anonymous hotline for residency fraud tips
Student Residency Fraud Prevention Hotline
Making sure every seat is accounted for.
Call: [phone]
If you have information that a non-district resident is receiving
District-funded public education free of charge.
Submit tips online too - http://dcforms.dc.gov/webform/osse-residency-fraud-prevention-form

[Anonymous]

Does "women business leaders in the health care industry" sound like a real job to you DC people? Or some kind of lobbying leech organization? It's where Mr. Rosial's wife works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Basically remove the rental agreements and utility bills from the list. Really, all that should be required is either the military form, government assistance, or "copy of Form D40 certified by the DC Office of Tax and Revenue"

http://osse.dc.gov/node/887022

One of the following items is accepted to establish DC residency:

A pay stub;
Supplemental Security Income annual benefits notification;
A copy of Form D40 certified by the DC Office of Tax and Revenue;
Military Housing Order;
An embassy letter;
Proof that a child is a ward of the District of Columbia, in the form of a Court Order; and
Proof of financial assistance from the DC Government, in the form of either a:
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) verification of income notice or recertification approval letter;
Medicaid approval letter or recertification letter;
Housing assistance letter from a housing shelter, including contact name and phone number or a letter from the Housing Authority; or
Proof of receipt of financial assistance from another DC Government program.
If none of the above items are available to verify residency, two of the following items are required:

Unexpired DC motor vehicle registration;
Unexpired lease or rental agreement;
Unexpired DC motor vehicle operator's permit or other official non-driver identification; and
One utility bill (only gas, electric and water bills acceptable).

It appears that undocumented immigrants could still get government benefits and verify their income, right? "Sixteen states and the District of Columbia also provide some health coverage to select groups of nonqualified immigrants using state-only funding."
https://aspe.hhs.gov/basic-report/overview-immigrants-eligibility-snap-tanf-medicaid-and-chip

The problem with removing rental and utility bills is that it would likely prevent undocumented immigrant children from getting an education and they are a vulnerable population. I am not sure how many of DC's undocumented immigrant population would be able to get government benefits sufficient to prove their residence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Not hard to show where you live. Come to my house. I'll show you my messy house, all my clothes, paperwork, ask the neighbors if I live here and so on.
Never seen people put up such a fuss and fight if they are not cheating.

This is how I feel. It's not hard to prove your residency. So report if you know of someone, and they can put to rest any confusion or questions. It shouldn't be a big deal to prove.

Actually, it is hard to prove residency. When I met my husband, he owned the house we lived in and had all the utilities in his name. Though we filed joint taxes as a married couple and my drivers license and registration carried my name and address, it was insufficient for registering my child. Very insufficient. We're three years in to public schooling in DC and each year, the schools we've attended have been hard core about seeing the person whose claiming guardianship and residency IN PERSON when they register a child.

If it's fair to resort to stereotypes - and it seems the "articles" and thousands of DCUM posts on the subject make stereotypes very fair - then I have to believe that the people with means to skirt this system are more likely well-off white people taking advantage of highly-regarded charter schools and DCPS west of the park. Yet these "reporters" couldn't be bothered with JKLM or Creative Minds, where there are certainly affluent white people "scamming our schools." Not to mention principals and parent teacher organizations looking the other way. These people are just not being followed home or having their government documentation researched and posted online.

Show of hands/posts, how many here are irked by their wait list number for Eagle Academy or Ludlow-Taylor?

I mean, if you don't see this sham excuse for journalism as a bigger problem in the interest of our kids, then I'm just frankly worried for our kids. I have resided and paid taxes in the District of Columbia for close to 30 years. But thinking about some nutcase vigilante targeting my kid for "investigation" because he's a brown kid getting out of the car of my MD-residing SIL who sometimes helps with childcare makes my blood boil.

And you go, Oh! If you're following the law you have nothing to worry about. Just answer the questions imposed on you and you're good to go! But the blatant racial bias expressed here and in the articles means I have a hell of a lot to worry about. Some fucking kook stalking kids outside of their school, taking photographs and posting them online? How is it that THAT fact doesn't disturb people?

I play the cards dealt. The racist vigilante stalking my kids outside their school dealt first.

Again - if there's anyone who can post pictures of these lowlifes that I can share with my kid's school, I'll be most grateful. We're longtime DC residents and taxpayers, but I'll be damned if I will accept this kind of harassment. It is far more egregious to me than people trying to do what's best for their kids - all the nonsense about "concerned and involved parents" is obviously a bucket of donkey shit.

Are all dc residents this angry and against stopping fraud?

I'm with this woman. I want to know who Watson and Taylor are. Not that hard to find out.

It has nothing to do with fraud. It has to do with the kind of people who stall children, all in the name of their "cause." Perfectly acceptable, one assumes, to have their own children stalked. After all, I'm sure their parents have done "something" wrong, and if not... why would they mind?

These people are being investigated because they're criminals. It really is that simple. How would you propose anyone catches these criminals if basic (legal) investigation methods such as following them home constitute "stalking"? Everyone always cries racism when faced with facts.

[Anonymous]

The DC/VA license plate thing is not full blown proof. I have a neighbor who has owned his DC home for 20+ years and he has some sort of Uber/type business with cars registered in VA. Then I have another neighbor who either rents or lives in his father's home and he has MD plates. There are parents who are taxi drivers who drop their kids off.

[Anonymous]

Someone is not a criminal because they have Maryland plates and a child in their car. You are also not in law enforcement. But it's okay to stalk someone just in case they might be a criminal? In fact. According to you, it's our civic duty?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Not hard to show where you live. Come to my house. I'll show you my messy house, all my clothes, paperwork, ask the neighbors if I live here and so on.
Never seen people put up such a fuss and fight if they are not cheating.

This is how I feel. It's not hard to prove your residency. So report if you know of someone, and they can put to rest any confusion or questions. It shouldn't be a big deal to prove.

Actually, it is hard to prove residency. When I met my husband, he owned the house we lived in and had all the utilities in his name. Though we filed joint taxes as a married couple and my drivers license and registration carried my name and address, it was insufficient for registering my child. Very insufficient. We're three years in to public schooling in DC and each year, the schools we've attended have been hard core about seeing the person whose claiming guardianship and residency IN PERSON when they register a child.

If it's fair to resort to stereotypes - and it seems the "articles" and thousands of DCUM posts on the subject make stereotypes very fair - then I have to believe that the people with means to skirt this system are more likely well-off white people taking advantage of highly-regarded charter schools and DCPS west of the park. Yet these "reporters" couldn't be bothered with JKLM or Creative Minds, where there are certainly affluent white people "scamming our schools." Not to mention principals and parent teacher organizations looking the other way. These people are just not being followed home or having their government documentation researched and posted online.

Show of hands/posts, how many here are irked by their wait list number for Eagle Academy or Ludlow-Taylor?

I mean, if you don't see this sham excuse for journalism as a bigger problem in the interest of our kids, then I'm just frankly worried for our kids. I have resided and paid taxes in the District of Columbia for close to 30 years. But thinking about some nutcase vigilante targeting my kid for "investigation" because he's a brown kid getting out of the car of my MD-residing SIL who sometimes helps with childcare makes my blood boil.

And you go, Oh! If you're following the law you have nothing to worry about. Just answer the questions imposed on you and you're good to go! But the blatant racial bias expressed here and in the articles means I have a hell of a lot to worry about. Some fucking kook stalking kids outside of their school, taking photographs and posting them online? How is it that THAT fact doesn't disturb people?

I play the cards dealt. The racist vigilante stalking my kids outside their school dealt first.

Again - if there's anyone who can post pictures of these lowlifes that I can share with my kid's school, I'll be most grateful. We're longtime DC residents and taxpayers, but I'll be damned if I will accept this kind of harassment. It is far more egregious to me than people trying to do what's best for their kids - all the nonsense about "concerned and involved parents" is obviously a bucket of donkey shit.

Are all dc residents this angry and against stopping fraud?

I'm with this woman. I want to know who Watson and Taylor are. Not that hard to find out.

It has nothing to do with fraud. It has to do with the kind of people who stall children, all in the name of their "cause." Perfectly acceptable, one assumes, to have their own children stalked. After all, I'm sure their parents have done "something" wrong, and if not... why would they mind?

These people are being investigated because they're criminals. It really is that simple. How would you propose anyone catches these criminals if basic (legal) investigation methods such as following them home constitute "stalking"? Everyone always cries racism when faced with facts.

Criminal surveillance should be performed by trained and qualified law enforcement, certainly not vigilante "journalists"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The problem with removing rental and utility bills is that it would likely prevent undocumented immigrant children from getting an education and they are a vulnerable population. I am not sure how many of DC's undocumented immigrant population would be able to get government benefits sufficient to prove their residence.

Then these undocumented citizens should take it up with the people in escalades and infinitis that have ruined it for the rest of the class, literally. Anything people can abuse should be taken away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Criminal surveillance should be performed by trained and qualified law enforcement, certainly not vigilante "journalists"

Then the criminals would just cry that the police are 'targeting our communities' and all surveillance would stop. Then what?

[Anonymous]

The question is, what can you actually require to really determine if someone lives where they say they do. I was just looking at NYC's school requirements- they don't seem any harder to fake than ours:

Proof of address which may be verified by any two of the following containing the address of residence:

A lease agreement, deed or mortgage statement for the residence
A residential utility bill (gas or electric) in the resident’s name issued by a utility company (e.g., National Grid or Con Edison), must be dated within the past 60 days
A bill for cable television services provided to the residence; must include the name of the parent and the address of the residence and be dated within the past 60 days
Documentation or letter on letterhead from a federal, state, or local government agency, including the IRS, the City Housing Authority, Human Resources Administration, the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), or an ACS subcontractor or the federal Office of Refugee Settlement, indicating the resident’s name and address, must be dated within the past 60 days
A current property tax bill for the residence
A water bill for the residence dated within the past 90 days
Rent receipt which includes the address of the residence, must be dated within the past 60 days
State, city, or other government issued identification (including an IDNYC card), which has not expired and includes the address of residence
Income tax form for the last calendar year
Official NYS Driver’s License or learner’s permit which has not expired
Official payroll documentation from an employer issued within the past 60 days such as a pay stub with home address, a form submitted for tax withholding purposes or payroll receipt (a letter on the employer’s letterhead is not adequate); must include home address and be dated within the past 60 days
Voter registration documents, which include the name of the parent and the address of residence
Unexpired membership documents based upon residency (e.g., neighborhood residents’ association), which include the name of the parent and the address of residence
Evidence of custody of the child, including but not limited to judicial custody orders or guardianship papers documents issued within the past 60 days with name of child and address of residence