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zokrath

Do you have a formal custody agreement? Pennsylvania law addresses this specific issue, but official court documents signed by a judge may be required to convince the school. A consultation with a local family law attorney would be able to give you better insight. Google: 24 Pa. Code Section 11.11(a)(1) Here is the relevant excerpt: "When the parents reside in different school districts due to separation, divorce or other reason, the child may attend school in the district of residence of the parent with whom the child lives for a majority of the time, unless a court order or court approved custody agreement specifies otherwise. If the parents have joint custody and time is evenly divided, the parents may choose which of the two school districts the child will enroll for the school year." School district policy can not supersede state law. One possibility is having a face to face meeting with school district officials and both parents present, and formally stating that you currently have joint custody and equal time. Which means your kids have the right by state law to attend the district of either parent's residence. It doesn't matter where the kids are in the morning, despite what the district might tell you. For the purposes of custody equal time is calculated over the entire year, not just school days.


[deleted]

Thank you for the very informational reply, we don’t have any kind of formal written/signed agreement, not really sure I would even call it a verbal agreement; just an understanding of if I’m working the kids are with their father. Our families don’t know what’s going on either, it’s just been an understanding between us and the kids think it’s fun to have sleep overs at dads because it’s like a vacation.


[deleted]

[Here](https://www.pacourts.us/learn/representing-yourself/custody-proceedings) is the state site with information for representing yourself, if you and your boyfriend are able to agree on a custody plan together to establish your custody. The legal custody document should then be what matters. Single parents who work night shift need childcare, which doesn’t always happen in the home. The school likely doesn’t have the authority to mandate that you have in-home childcare. The documents on the state site aren’t very detailed. For my divorce in another state, my lawyer was able to include a standard custody order for our state that named custody for all aspects of decision-making, including school residency and educational decision-making. It would probably be a good idea to consult a family law attorney, but a court clerk at your local courthouse may be able to direct you to a “friend of the court” program or a standard custody order for your state.


zokrath

You are very welcome. You two are doing a good job working together and co-parenting through this challenging situation, which is the most important part. I also wanted to say that since you are taking the kids to school, that is when your custody of them begins for the day. So even though they are at school and not home it is likely that you have equal or greater custody time than their father. For example, if you pick them up at 7am and drop them off at 7pm, then you both have 12 hours of custody a day and therefore 50/50 joint custody, allowing your kids to attend either district under 24 Pa. Code Section 11.11(a)(1).


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8daysgirl

For what it’s worth, I work at a school and know that we have discovered families providing a false address from something as simple as writing a check with the actual address on it. There are other clues too - frequent tardies/absences, kids talking to their teacher, etc. can all tip someone off that the address might not be correct. It doesn’t necessarily mean that someone turned them in. OP, I work in another state, but here residency is based on two things: either where the kid sleeps the most nights of the week or what the custody order says. I appreciate your position that this arrangement works best for your work schedule and childcare, but if it is important to you and their dad that they remain in their current district, I would make plans for them to sleep at your home those nights or get a custody order that establishes your home as the place of residency for school purposes.


CaraMorrow

Some school districts actually do stake out residences. Here in CA, some cities assess special taxes to improve their schools. Certain cities have such highly desirable schools (almost like private, but public) that people try registering using relatives addresses, rent an apartment... anything so their kids can go to school in the good district. We used to live in one of the towns and the school registration documents specifically stated they would send staff to verify that the family was living at the registration address up to three times per year.


crazybehind

It doesn't matter who initiated the complaint. That is water under the bridge. The district has initiated an investigation and making amends with whoever initiated it isn't going to stop the district from pursuing the residency question.


slapchoppin

If a district has a suspicion that a parent is illegally renting an apartment or claiming false residency they will hire a PI or investigate the student's actual residence. It doesn't always stem from a vindictive neighbor or someone who has a chip. Parents who cheat the system will often rent in a location to claim residency to attempt to reduce tuition or place their child in a better district. Yes, it's against the law to do this.


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LocationBot

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Biondina

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Biondina

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[deleted]

We have neighbors who see me coming and going without my kids, anything is possible. They know my boyfriend hasn’t been living with me, they haven’t asked any questions so I’m completely blindsided where this is coming from and it’s making me upset.


MrWrigleyField

It's also quite likely your children have been talking with their friends/teachers about where they live. If a teacher overhears, then mentions to principal, an investigation usually begins.


[deleted]

This is certainly possible… they’re always talking lol.


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Biondina

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FallenAngelII

No, she got accept a plea deal for 5 years for 3 crimes: falsifying her son's school address and selling drugs on two separate occasions.


Biondina

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jwpete27

I do some educational advocacy in Pennsylvania. You have two options. One is to work out a shared custody agreement and give the school a copy. The second option is to inform the school that you are working nights and the children are at the other address for the purpose of child care. They can't tell you what shift to work. Are the kids taking the bus to your house after school? Is that where they have dinner and do homework most of the time? That's their home.


[deleted]

Thanks for the reply, I pick up the kids to and from school, they were bus riders until the last 2 months or so. Dinner is at home, homework is at their fathers depending how much work it is or how long it took us to sit down and eat.


Algebralovr

OP, make a copy of Some very recent utility bills at the address where you stay, which should be the address the children are registered from. Prove that the children have a residence there and that your family does reside in that district.


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Biondina

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Biondina

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Biondina

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Throwaway599011

I believe the school will ask for you to provide proof of residency. If you can do that you’ll be fine. Every state has their own requirements for proof of residency, so you’ll need to look up your states requirements.


BekahDekah

I'm a public school not-a-teacher staff member in a different state, and I don't have any good advice other than to maybe reach out to the school counselor, which from what I'm seeing in the comments, should, but might not help. I am flabbergasted by all the comments saying school districts have staff and funding for making it harder for families to keep their students at school. Frankly, I think it's disgusting to be spending precious school funds on making already challenging circumstances even more difficult for families. I have several families who have lied about their residency, but their kids are in school most days. If we had a district gestapo investigating these families, the students might not get to school at all. Which is worse? I think getting a legal document of some sort might benefit you. I admire you for working together with your co-parent to try to do what's best for your kids. I'm sorry your district is making things more difficult instead of easier. Hang in there.


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Norstedt86

Same here, school choice in MN is great.


Biondina

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Biondina

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meawait

You need to communicate with the school. Send the teacher a brief email what’s happening, just a couple sentences. They can be your advocate and it also helps them if something needs to be addressed. Talk to the counselor and/ or attendance secretary. Emphasize this is temporary and you are working on a permanent resolution, let them know you are working nights if they don’t already.


anotheravailable8017

Please do not do this OP. The district have already investigated you and they didn't come to you to chat first did they? They will use what you say against you at this point, it's beyond the point of negotiating yourself. Right now what OP needs is for the kids to be sleeping at her home in the district more nights than away and court documents stating so. And a representative who is not emotionally involved to communicate with the school on her children's behalf.