Cecil County Public Schools Policies
Book:
Cecil County Public Schools Policies
Section:
J - Students
Title:
SCHOOL ADMISSIONS - Enrollment of Students
Number:
JEC
Status:
Active
Legal:
A
NNOTATED
C
ODE OF
M
ARYLAND--
E
DUCATION: 4-120; 4-205; 7-101
A
NNOTATED
C
ODE OF
M
ARYLAND--
F
AMILY
L
AW
A
RTICLE: 5-507
Adopted:
02/08/1972
Last Revised:
11/01/2004
Last Reviewed:
04/19/2010
Policy Detail
R
ELATED
E
NTRIES:
JEC-RA, JEC-RB, JECC, JECD-RA
OFFICE: ASSOCIATE SUPERINTENDENT FOR EDUCATION SERVICES
SCHOOL ADMISSIONS
ENROLLMENT OF STUDENTS
I. Cecil County Public Schools will admit each student between the age of five (5) and twenty-one (21) without the payment of tuition provided that the student meets one or more of the following criteria:
A. Lives with a parent or legal guardian who is a
bona
fide
resident of Cecil County.
B. Is emancipated by the court or is of majority age and is a
bona
fide
resident of Cecil County.
C.
Has been placed in a foster home or residential facility in Cecil County by a state agency, a student placement agency licensed under Section 5-507 of the Family Law Article or pursuant to an order of the court;
D. Lives with a person ("qualified
caretaker") other than a parent or legal guardian who is a
bona
fide
resident of Cecil County. The parent or legal guardian must be a bona fide resident of Cecil County. To qualify as a "qualified
caretaker" a resident must have reached the age of majority and agree to take responsibility for the child in question;
E. Lives with a family member or relative who is a resident of Cecil County other than the parent or legal guardian as defined in Section 4-122.1 ED. “Informal Kinship Care” Annotated Code of Maryland. The parent or legal guardian must be a bona fide resident of Maryland;
F. Lives with a qualified caretaker who is a resident of Cecil County and the parent or guardian is not a resident of Maryland or does not qualify under “Informal Kinship Care” provisions and the parent or legal guardian has relinquished legal guardianship to the qualified caretaker through the court.
II. A student is a
bona
fide
resident for school enrollment purposes provided the primary purpose for the student's presence in Cecil County is not to attend school.
Bona
fide
residency will be determined on a case by case basis; the burden of establishing
bona
fide
residency is on the student and his/her caretaker or parents or legal guardians.
A. The factors which will be considered in determining that the primary purpose for the student's presence in Cecil County is
not
to attend school include but are not limited to:
1. Death, serious illness or incarceration of the child's parents or legal guardians;
2. Abandonment of the student;
3. Child abuse or neglect;
4. Physical or mental condition of the student's parents or legal guardians such that they cannot provide for the care and supervision of the student in an adequate fashion;
5. Deteriorating or unstable family relationships or other conditions in the home of the student's parents or legal guardians having a detrimental effect on the student;
6. Family or child established as homeless;
7.
Financial circumstances of the student's parents or legal guardians making it a hardship for them to provide adequately for the student's care and supervision;
8.
The student's parents or legal guardian present documents that show they will be moving into the county within the semester for which enrollment is sought;
9.
Any other pertinent factors.
B. The factors which will be considered to show the primary purpose for the student's presence in Cecil County is to attend school are:
1 Presence in Cecil County solely for improved quality of education;
2. Presence in Cecil County solely because of adverse conditions in or dissatisfaction with the student's prior school system;
3. Parents or legal guardian placing the student with caretaker only for the convenience of the parents;
4. Presence in Cecil County as a result of being suspended on an extended basis or expelled from former school.
III. The Cecil County Board of Education shall use the following procedure to determine whether the student is a
bona
fide
resident of Cecil County:
A. The caretaker and the student's parents or legal guardians shall provide the school with information to establish the student's
bona
fide
residence in Cecil County. Such information shall be reviewed by the Director of Student Services.
B. The Director of Student Services, within a reasonable amount of time, shall notify the student, the caretaker, and the parents or legal guardians in writing of the determination as to whether the student is a
bona
fide
resident of Cecil County. They shall be advised of their right to appeal the decision of the Director of Student Services to the Superintendent of Schools. The Superintendent of Schools shall respond to said appeal in a reasonable amount of time and shall advise the student, caretaker and the
parents or
guardians, of their right to appeal his determination to the Board of Education within (30) days in accordance with Section 4-205 of the Education Article.
C. The Board of Education shall hear the appeal by conducting a hearing in which the interested parties are afforded the rights to representation by counsel and recordation of the hearing, the opportunity to inspect the student's personnel file as related to residency prior to the hearing, the opportunity to examine and cross-examine witnesses and a written decision based upon the testimony of the witnesses and documents produced. If the decision of the Board is that the student is not a
bona
fide
resident, the Board shall make specific findings as per the factors set forth in paragraph II and shall advise the student, the caretaker, the parents or legal guardians of their right to appeal to the State Board of Education.
IV. Payment of Tuition:
A. Upon the finding by the Director of Student Services, the Superintendent of Schools, the Cecil County Board of Education or the State Board of Education that the student is a
bona
fide
resident of Cecil County, the student shall be admitted to the Cecil County Public Schools without payment of tuition.
B. During the pending review process set forth in paragraph III A to C, above, through the issuance of a decision by the Board of Education, the student shall be admitted to the Cecil County Public Schools without payment of tuition.
C. If an appeal is taken to the State Board of Education from the Cecil County Board of Education's decision, the student will be allowed to remain enrolled in Cecil County Public Schools, pending appeal (1) provided that tuition for the school year or part thereof retroactive to the first day of the student's attendance is paid within thirty days of the issuance of the Board of Education's decision, or (2) without the payment of tuition if the caretaker's net household income is less than two (2) times the federal poverty income guidelines. For purposes of this section, the student shall be included as a member of the household.
D. If the State Board of Education reverses the decision of the Cecil County Board of Education, any and all tuition paid pursuant to paragraph IV C above shall be refunded.
V. Cecil County Public Schools, through the procedure set forth above, may review a student's status each school year to determine whether there has been a change in the student's status or sooner if the school system becomes aware that the student's circumstances have changed.
VI. A qualified caretaker will not be required to obtain legal guardianship of a child who is a bona fide resident of Cecil County
for tuition-free admission to school. However, if the qualified
caretaker does not obtain legal guardianship of the student, the parents or legal guardian, where possible shall provide written authorization for the qualified
caretaker to exercise all responsibilities attendant to the education of the student, including but not limited to having access to the student's educational records, giving consent in educational and school-related matters concerning the student, including disciplinary actions and proceedings, and giving consent for emergency medical treatment in the event that the student is injured while on school premises or under the supervision of school employees. In any event the caretaker shall acknowledge that said caretaker is a person responsible for the student and for dealing with the matters set forth in this paragraph.
VII. No provision of this policy negates the right of the Cecil County Public Schools to levy a tuition fee for students attending Cecil County Public Schools while not a
bona fide
resident.
