History District Policy
Book:	History District Policy
Section:	J - Students
Title:	School Admissions
Number:	JBC
Status:	Dead
Legal:	O.C.G.A., 20-2-160(a), 20-2-305, 20-2-770, 20-2-772
Adopted:	07/01/1986
Last Revised:	03/16/2007
Last Reviewed:	05/13/2005
Date Killed:	04/17/2008

Policy Detail

Residence Requirements

Unless modified by law a student residing full-time within the Fulton County School System is eligible to attend a Fulton County school under the following criteria:

The dwelling in which the student resides must appear on the tax rolls of Fulton County.

The student resides with his/her parent or legal guardian.

The student resides with a foster parent through placement by the Department of Family and Children Services or a state licensed child placement agency.

The student resides with another person having control or charge of the student, including a family member caring for the student in absence of a parent/guardian. See below for more information.
The enrolling party is acting under the authority of a power of attorney executed by a parent/ guardian serving in the military.

The student is an adult still meeting entrance age requirements (see JBB - "Entrance Age").

The student is an emancipated minor.

The student is homeless (See JBCA - "School Admissions for Homeless Students").

Before enrolling a student, the principal shall verify the following:

The address of the student is within the attendance zone of the school
or the student has written authorization for attendance through the majority to minority transfer program, student hardship transfer
program, magnet school program or other Board approved programs.

The student is residing with a parent or legal guardian /other person having control or charge, or is a foster child, emancipated minor, adult student or homeless student.

Beginning with the 2007-08 school year, persons enrolling a student shall submit notarized Affidavit of Residence (SS-8) upon enrollment and at the beginning of each school year, stating that their student resides in the school attendance zone, or has an approved hardship or other placement, for the school they attend.

All questionable residency situations shall be referred to the school system residency verification staff for further investigation. If proof of residency is delayed, the student will be provisionally enrolled for a period of 30 calendar days. At the end of this 30 day period, if proof of residency has not been provided, the student may be withdrawn. The school will notify the enrolling person at least 10 calendar days prior to the withdrawal of the student.

Students Enrolled by Legal Guardians
If a student is living with a legal guardian, a copy of the court order granting guardianship should be filed with the student's permanent record. Communication to and from the school (e.g., excuses, report cards, conferences, etc.) should be with the guardian.

Students Enrolled by Other Persons Having Control or Charge of a Student
This person must be an adult at least 18 years of age or an emancipated minor at least sixteen years of age residing within the boundaries of Fulton County who is not the parent or guardian of a child or children but stands in loco parentis (i.e., to assume the duties and responsibilities of a parent such as providing food, shelter, clothing or medical care.) The student must live with the enrolling person full-time for one of the following reasons:
· The death, serious illness, or incarceration of a parent or legal guardian;
· The abandonment by a parent or legal guardian of the complete control of the student as evidenced by the failure to provide substantial financial support and parental guidance;
· Abuse or neglect by the parent or legal guardian;
· The physical or mental condition of the parent or legal guardian is such that he or she cannot provide adequate care and supervision of the student;
· The loss or inhabitability of the student’s home as the result of a natural disaster;
· The parent or guardian is unable to provide care and supervision of the student because he or she is serving in the military;
· The student is living in a foster home, group home, or other institution or care facility that is located in the county;
· The parents cannot be located; or
· Other circumstances approved by the school system residency verification staff.

The enrolling party must have control and charge of the student 24 hours per day and 7 days per week. The request to enroll the student cannot be primarily related to attendance at a particular school in the School District, nor may the request be for the purpose of participating in athletics at a particular school, taking advantage of special services or programs offered at a particular school, or for any other similar purpose.

If the person presenting the student for enrollment is not that student’s parent or guardian, the school will require the enrolling person to fully complete a Non-Parental Affidavit (SS-9). After completion of the Non-Parental Affidavit and the provision of appropriate proof of residency in school attendance zone in which the student seeks to enroll the school will enroll the student.

Such persons shall have the same rights for information and involvement as a parent or guardian in matters related to student records, IEP and 504 plans, and medical treatment.

Immigrant Students

The Fulton County School District is not responsible for making determinations regarding visa and immigration status. Schools shall enroll students who meet all age, residency and enrollment requirements. Schools will not inquire about the student’s or the family’s legal status.

Joint Custody

The Student Hardship Committee will consider the written request by the parents of a student to attend a system school for the entire school year even though the student lives at specified times with each parent in different school attendance areas through a court-ordered joint custody agreement. The student may be considered for placement only in a school where the student resides with a parent for at least one-half of the school year. In such circumstances, system school buses are not available to transport the student across school zone lines. The parents must supply the committee with the following information:
· Copy of Court order
· Notarized affidavit signed by both parents containing the parents' addresses, phone numbers and dates of the student's residence with each parent (for example, August through December with father and January through May with mother, Sunday through Wednesday with father and Thursday through Saturday with mother).

The parent must agree to notify the committee if the arrangements for this enrollment ever change. School correspondence such as newsletters and other information will be sent to the parent residing in the school's attendance zone. It will be the responsibility of this parent to share the information with the other parent.

Transfer Students Not in Good Standing

No otherwise qualified student seeking to transfer from another school or school system shall be admitted to the Fulton County School System during the period of that student's suspension or expulsion from another public school system.

The Fulton County School System may admit a student who has been suspended or expelled from a private school during the period of such suspension or expulsion. If, however, the Coordinator of Student Discipline concludes that the grounds for the student's suspension or expulsion from the private school would or might justify long-term suspension or expulsion from the Fulton County School System, the Coordinator of Student Discipline may require a preadmission hearing for the purpose of addressing (1) whether the conduct for which the student was suspended or expelled would justify suspension or expulsion by the Fulton County School System, and (2) whether the terms of the private school suspension or expulsion

should be adopted, rejected, or reduced by the Fulton County School System. Such a preadmission hearing shall be conducted in the same manner as required for
long-term suspensions or expulsions from the Fulton County School System. Before the preadmission hearing, the student (and/or parent) must provide to the Coordinator of Student Discipline the following:

· all available records from the private school documenting the reasons
for and duration of the suspension or expulsion;
· any other conditions regarding the return of the student to the private
school; and
· all available academic, discipline and attendance records from the private
school.

Any student seeking to transfer from another school system in which the student was assigned to an alternative school program through a due process hearing shall be assigned to a corresponding alternative setting, if available, within the Fulton County School System.


Social Security Number

All students are requested to furnish their social security number (Georgia Code 20-2-150) subject to the following conditions:
· No student shall be denied enrollment for declining to furnish or apply
for a social security number or for declining to sign a waiver objecting
to furnishing a social security number.
· Public notice shall be given in any language prevalent in the school
district that social security numbers are requested, but not required,
for enrollment.
· A student's social security number shall be considered a confidential
student record.
· Waiver forms shall be available to parents and students for declining
to furnish a social security number.
· Social security number applications shall be available to parents and
students.

The parent or guardian of a student enrolled without a social security number may be asked in an appropriate family language to voluntarily furnish a social security number.

Immunizations

All students must have a Georgia Certificate of Immunization. (See JGCB for details.)

Ear, Eye, and Dental Screening

All students entering a Georgia school for the first time should have a Certificate of Ear, Eye and Dental Screening. Certificates must be presented from a licensed medical doctor, dentist or qualified representative of a health department, indicating that the student has received an ear, eye and dental screening within the past year. If a student does not have a certificate at the time of enrollment, these examinations must be completed within four months. The Georgia Department of Human Resources requires that form DPH/HIS 14 be used for these screenings. This form can be obtained from the Fulton County Health Department or a private physician-dentist. Students who were previously enrolled in a Georgia public school should have already filed this certificate and should not be required to file a new certificate upon enrollment.

Proof of Date of Birth

Students entering the school system for the first time must submit proof of date of birth to be copied by the school for placement in the permanent record folder. The school will accept evidence in the order set forth below that shows the student’s date of birth:
(i) A certified copy of a birth certificate, certified hospital issued birth record or birth certificate;
(ii) A military ID;
(iii) A valid driver’s license;
(iv) A passport;
(v) An adoption record;
(vi) A religious record signed by an authorized religious official;
(vii) An official school transcript; or
(viii) If none of these items can be produced, an affidavit of age sworn to by the parent, guardian or other person accompanied by a certificate of age signed by a licensed practicing physician, which states that the physician has examined the child and believes that the age as stated in the affidavit is substantially correct.
Parents may be given up to 30 calendar days after the student enrolls to secure proof of birth date. It is the parent's responsibility to pay the fee and postage for obtaining such proof of birth date. (See the Student Services Regulations Manual for directory of state offices of Vital Statistics in the various states and sample forms that can be used to obtain the student's birth certificate.)

The school will notify the enrolling person at least 10 calendar days prior to the withdrawal of the student.

Cross References: