There is usually a date (like May something), where they will let you finish the year. If you are in the same school district, some Principals will let the child stay for a year if it is the last one at that school (eg 6th or 12th) AND you are still living in the same overall school district (eg staying in Fairfax County or Arlington County). But it has to be done above board and not sneakily. If they find out, most will allow the student to finish out the day.

The question of what happens if you move mid-year will be highly dependent upon your school system, and on whether you move within the same system or move to another one. On the summer move, I don't know of any schools that don't have strict policies on out-of-boundary attendance that would bar you from continuing, and many have policies that would allow them to assess you "tuition" in the thousands to tens of thousands per child depending on the length of time when your child was attending schools while living outside the jurisdiction.

Oh, and in some school systems, people watch like hawks for boundary violators so they can report them.

How strict are public schools around here with regards to moving mid year? Can your child finish out the year? Also, what happens if you move in the summer but you don't have to show proof of residency every year? In other words, can you get away with going back to school in your original school district for one more year? What happens if you get caught doing this? Asking for a friend...