Enroll now or wait?

[Anonymous]

We just moved to DC from out of state and are staying at an AirBnB while we try to buy a house. Unfortunately, have been unable to win with any of our FOUR offers. I am torn on whether to register my son for 1st grade in the school for this AirBnB, which could potentially not be the school we end up buying for in-boundary or just not enrolling him anywhere until we buy. I definitely don't want to commit residency fraud, but I read in another thread that if I didn't enroll him somewhere, CPS would come after me. What would you do? I'd hate to have him switch schools AGAIN especially since the first few weeks are all building relationships.

[Anonymous]

You have a month — I would wait to enroll. If you do find a place, I’m not sure if you can enroll using an address that is under contract but not yet closed, maybe someone else can answer that.

[Anonymous]

I would enroll him so you can get notifications and updates from the school on what's happening city wide and then switch once you know where you're living. As long as your in DC, I don't think you'll be doing fraud...it's the folks living in maryland and putting their kids in dc schools, when it's considered residency fraud (if i'm not mistaken).

[Anonymous]

Do you like the school that you are in bounds for right now? If so, enroll, and as long as you stay in DC you can use it!

[Anonymous]

See what you need to show you are a resident. Don't think you have the documentation needed for establishing residency yet.

[Anonymous]

In order to enroll you need to show car registration +driver's license with your DC address, or a utility bill (not phone) with the residence address in your name, or the lease. I doubt you have any of these documents if you are in a temporary Airbnb. I really don't think you can enroll your child at this stage even if you want to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In order to enroll you need to show car registration +driver's license with your DC address, or a utility bill (not phone) with the residence address in your name, or the lease. I doubt you have any of these documents if you are in a temporary Airbnb. I really don't think you can enroll your child at this stage even if you want to.

OP - I don't and I won't by the time school starts, so I am really facing a catch 22. I guess that, technically, we are homeless. Except we are not poor, and I do not want to reap benefits that are put in place for kids who need them, but I also do not want to get in trouble for having an unenrolled 6 year old, nor do I want him to miss the first days, zoom or in person. The inbound school for the AirBnB is great, but we can't afford to buy in bounds here and the commute may not be the best (we are WFH now). Additionally, I have a younger child, who I would not want to risk being unable to enroll in Kindergarten in the same school as her brother next year.

[Anonymous]

Wait and see whether school will be hybrid or all-virtual. You can do a virtual home visit with the school’s enrollment team now, in order to show residency, but school doesn’t start until August 31, so if you will have a more permanent residence then wait until then to do the home visit and enroll your child in THAT neighborhood school. I don’t think you’ll get reported to CPS because no one knows your child is supposed to be IN school - for all anyone knows you’re homeschooling him/her or you’ve just moved or whatever. No reason to stress!

[Anonymous]

Can My School DC answer this or? At least they used to be good at answering the phone.

[Anonymous]

Technically you are homeless and can apply under the following circumstances. Call them in the morning.

https://dcps.dc.gov/service/homeless-children-and-youth-services-dcps

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Technically you are homeless and can apply under the following circumstances. Call them in the morning.

https://dcps.dc.gov/service/homeless-children-and-youth-services-dcps

You are not homeless. The definition is a child without a regular, fixed, and adequate nighttime residence. You have adequate nighttime residence. By choice, it is not permanent. Your situation is that you do not have a permanent residence in DC. It is different.

You are not a resident. You can get up tomorrow and move to Maryland (or anywhere) by your choice.
If you want to be a resident and enroll your children in public school, you need a longer term address. AirBnB by definition is short term. You can not claim it as residency for voting - for registering your car - for utility bills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In order to enroll you need to show car registration +driver's license with your DC address, or a utility bill (not phone) with the residence address in your name, or the lease. I doubt you have any of these documents if you are in a temporary Airbnb. I really don't think you can enroll your child at this stage even if you want to.

OP - I don't and I won't by the time school starts, so I am really facing a catch 22. I guess that, technically, we are homeless. Except we are not poor, and I do not want to reap benefits that are put in place for kids who need them, but I also do not want to get in trouble for having an unenrolled 6 year old, nor do I want him to miss the first days, zoom or in person. The inbound school for the AirBnB is great, but we can't afford to buy in bounds here and the commute may not be the best (we are WFH now). Additionally, I have a younger child, who I would not want to risk being unable to enroll in Kindergarten in the same school as her brother next year.

Since you are not a resident- you will not get in trouble. Do not worry about that. If all the things above are a priority for you, find a permanent place to live. You need a lease.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In order to enroll you need to show car registration +driver's license with your DC address, or a utility bill (not phone) with the residence address in your name, or the lease. I doubt you have any of these documents if you are in a temporary Airbnb. I really don't think you can enroll your child at this stage even if you want to.

OP - I don't and I won't by the time school starts, so I am really facing a catch 22. I guess that, technically, we are homeless. Except we are not poor, and I do not want to reap benefits that are put in place for kids who need them, but I also do not want to get in trouble for having an unenrolled 6 year old, nor do I want him to miss the first days, zoom or in person. The inbound school for the AirBnB is great, but we can't afford to buy in bounds here and the commute may not be the best (we are WFH now). Additionally, I have a younger child, who I would not want to risk being unable to enroll in Kindergarten in the same school as her brother next year.

Since you are not a resident- you will not get in trouble. Do not worry about that. If all the things above are a priority for you, find a permanent place to live. You need a lease.

We did start paying DC taxes but the pay stub address is our work address. So I do have one document that meets the primary list of residency requirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Technically you are homeless and can apply under the following circumstances. Call them in the morning.

https://dcps.dc.gov/service/homeless-children-and-youth-services-dcps

You are not homeless. The definition is a child without a regular, fixed, and adequate nighttime residence. You have adequate nighttime residence. By choice, it is not permanent. Your situation is that you do not have a permanent residence in DC. It is different.

You are not a resident. You can get up tomorrow and move to Maryland (or anywhere) by your choice.
If you want to be a resident and enroll your children in public school, you need a longer term address. AirBnB by definition is short term. You can not claim it as residency for voting - for registering your car - for utility bills.

I think the "and" there changes the meaning. The residence may be perfectly adequate, but it is not regular, or fixed. So, look, I'm not saying OP should enroll in other benefits for homelessness, but yes, she should enroll her child with the procedures in place for those who don't have a longterm, "fixed" residence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Technically you are homeless and can apply under the following circumstances. Call them in the morning.

https://dcps.dc.gov/service/homeless-children-and-youth-services-dcps

You are not homeless. The definition is a child without a regular, fixed, and adequate nighttime residence. You have adequate nighttime residence. By choice, it is not permanent. Your situation is that you do not have a permanent residence in DC. It is different.

You are not a resident. You can get up tomorrow and move to Maryland (or anywhere) by your choice.
If you want to be a resident and enroll your children in public school, you need a longer term address. AirBnB by definition is short term. You can not claim it as residency for voting - for registering your car - for utility bills.

I think the "and" there changes the meaning. The residence may be perfectly adequate, but it is not regular, or fixed. So, look, I'm not saying OP should enroll in other benefits for homelessness, but yes, she should enroll her child with the procedures in place for those who don't have a longterm, "fixed" residence.

Taken to the extreme - any family could rent an AirBNB and enroll in any school in the district.