San Francisco Unified School District and County Office of Education
Board Policy 5111.1
District Residency
This Board Policy applies to the San Francisco Unified School District and the County Office of Education.
The Governing Board desires to admit all students who reside within district boundaries or who fulfill the district residency requirements through other means as allowed by law. The Superintendent or designee shall develop procedures to facilitate the receipt and verification of students’ proof of residency.
(cf. 5116 – School Attendance Boundaries)
The Superintendent or designee shall annually notify parents/guardians of all existing attendance options available in the district, including, but not limited to, all options for meeting residency requirements for school attendance. (Education Code 48980)
(cf. 5116.1 – Intradistrict Open Enrollment)
(cf. 5117 – Interdistrict Attendance)
(cf. 5145.6 – Parental Notifications)
The Superintendent or designee shall require parents/guardians to provide documentation of the student’s residency upon admission to a district school. A copy of the document or written statement offered as verification of residency shall be maintained in the student’s mandatory permanent record. (5 CCR 432)
(cf. 5111 – Admission)
(cf. 5125 – Student Records)
Background
Students who are residents of San Francisco have priority in school assignment above all students who live outside of San Francisco. On March 9, 2010, the Board of Education adopted a Student Assignment Redesign Policy that offers certain priorities in school assignment that are based on a student’s residential address. Residence fraud has the potential to undermine the fairness of the student assignment process and to defeat the goals of the Student Assignment Redesign policy. Additionally, San Francisco voters have authorized over million annually in operating funds as well as over 0 million in bond initiatives that are meant to serve San Francisco residents. This policy seeks to preserve and prioritize the use of these funds for San Francisco residents.
When establishing a student’s residency for enrollment purposes, the Superintendent or designee shall not inquire into a student’s citizenship or immigration status.
A student’s enrollment may be denied when the submitted documentation is insufficient to establish district residency. In any such case, the Superintendent or designee shall notify the parent/guardian in writing, including specific reasons for the denial.
Residency
A minor’s residence is presumed to be the legal residence of the parent(s) or guardian(s) who have physical custody of the minor. In order to be enrolled in SFUSD, the student’s parent/legal guardian must continually reside in San Francisco at the time of application and for the entire period of enrollment in SFUSD.
Definition of Residency
For the purpose of this policy, a resident is an individual who is a full time occupant of a dwelling located in San Francisco and who, on any given day, is likely to be at their stated address when not at work or school. In determining the place of residence the following rules shall be observed:
- It is the place where one remains when not called elsewhere for labor or other special or temporary purpose, and to which he/she returns in seasons of repose.
- There can only be one residence.
- A residence cannot be lost until another is gained.
- The residence of the parent/guardian with whom an unmarried minor child maintains his/her place of abode is the residence of such unmarried minor child.
- The residence can be changed only by the union of act and intent.
If the parents are separated and live at different addresses, the pupil must physically reside with the parent who residence is in San Francisco for at least 50% of the time during the regular school year.
Temporary residence in San Francisco, solely for the purpose of attending a SFUSD school, shall not be considered residency. A person who owns property in San Francisco, but does not reside in San Francisco, is not considered a resident.
This residency policy does not apply to homeless students.
Verification of Residency
The Superintendent or designee may annually verify, at the Superintendent’s discretion, the student’s residency and retain a copy of the document(s) offered as verification of residency in the student’s mandatory permanent record.
If the Superintendent or designee reasonably believes or has a reasonable suspicion that the parent/guardian of a student has provided false or unreliable evidence of residency, the Superintendent or designee is authorized to make reasonable efforts to determine whether the student meets District residency requirements.
In order to verify residency, SFUSD reserves the right to request additional documents and/or to conduct an investigation. Because residency can change for students and their families during the school year, SFUSD may verify residency at any time, or may require proof of continued residency at such intervals (e.g. monthly, quarterly, annually) as may be deemed appropriate, including in transitional grades.
The District may utilize District staff or private investigators to conduct residency investigations as the Superintendent or designee deems reasonably appropriate.
Investigations
- Circumstances upon which the District may initiate an investigation
A residency investigation may be conducted in instances where the Superintendent or designee is able to identify specific, articulable facts supporting the belief that the parent or legal guardian of the pupil has provided false or unreliable evidence of residency. (Education Code 48204.1, 48204.2).
Such circumstances may include but is not limited to the following situations:
- Families reported through the District’s Residency Fraud tip line;
- Families who have submitted incomplete, suspicious or contradictory information, including without limitation proofs of address;
- Families whose District correspondence has been returned by postal authorities due to invalid address and/or expired forwarding orders;
- Families whose information is found to be inconsistent after a residency audit. Residency audits will be conducted at random as workload and resources permit with priority for such audits to be for oversubscribed schools.
- Investigatory Methods
Investigatory methods may include home visits, to/from home or school surveillance, verification of enrollment information, review of student and public records, including available social media, interviews of persons who may have knowledge of the student’s residency, and collection of images with technology used in open and public view. Surreptitious photographing or video-recording of pupils who are being investigation is prohibited. (Education Code 48204.2)
- Investigators
Investigations may be conducted by District employees and/or licensed private investigators. District employees and licensed private investigators will truthfully identify themselves as such during the course of the investigation. (Education Code 48204.2)
Before hiring a licensed private investigator, the District will make reasonable efforts to determine whether the pupil resides in the District. (Education Code 48204.2)
Revocation of Enrollment
If the Superintendent or designee reasonably determines in their discretion that a student’s enrollment and/or school placement is based on a false claim of residency, address, guardianship/caregiver, or any other false information, the student’s enrollment will be revoked.
Appeal of Denial or Revocation of Enrollment
If the Superintendent or designee, upon investigation, determines that a student does not meet district residency requirements and denies the student’s enrollment in the district, he/she shall provide the student’s parent/guardian an opportunity to appeal that determination. (Education Code 48204.2)
The Superintendent or designee shall send the student’s parent/guardian written notice specifying the basis for the district’s determination. The letter will inform the parent/guardian that the student does not meet the residency requirements for enrollment or attendance, list the suspected address outside of San Francisco, and include a summary of the evidence used to support the determination. This notice shall also inform the parent/guardian that he/she may, within 14 calendar days, appeal the decision and provide new evidence of residency. The District’s letter and all other related correspondence will be provided in the family’s home language. The student’s enrollment shall be terminated on the 15th calendar day after receipt of the notice.
The Superintendent or designee may request that the parents submit additional information and residency documentation to substantiate their claim. The burden shall be on the parent/guardian to show why the district’s determination to deny or revoke enrollment should be overruled. (Education Code 48204.2)
A student who is currently enrolled in the district shall be allowed to remain in attendance at his/her school pending the results of the appeal. A student who is not currently enrolled in the district shall not be permitted to attend any district school unless his/her appeal is successful.
In an appeal to the Superintendent or designee of a determination that district residency requirements were not met, the Superintendent or designee shall review any evidence provided by the parent/guardian or obtained during the district’s investigation and shall make a decision within 14 calendar days of receipt of the parent/guardian’s request for the appeal. The student shall be allowed to remain enrolled in the District pending the outcome of the appeal. The Superintendent or designee’s decision on the appeal shall be final.
Families who are determined to have violated this policy shall be charged for the time and expenses that the District incurs to complete its investigation. If enrollment has been revoked, an interdistrict permit to attend school in San Francisco will not be granted for one year after revocation.
In addition to recovering investigation costs, the District reserves the right to pursue additional civil and criminal legal action against individuals who have submitted false information to the District to obtain enrollment in an SFUSD school, including without limitation prosecution of a claim for violation of Government Code 12650 et seq. for false claims violations. The Board delegates to the General Counsel the authority to settle false residency claims.
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
220 Prohibition of discrimination
35160.5 Intradistrict open enrollment
35351 Assignment of students to particular schools
46600-46611 Interdistrict attendance permits
48050-48054 Nonresidents
48200-48208 Compulsory education law, especially:
48204 Residency requirements
48204.1-48204.2 Evidence of residency
48300-48316 Student attendance alternatives, school district of choice program
48350-48361 Open Enrollment Act transfers
48645.5 Former juvenile court school students, enrollment
48852.7 Education of homeless students; immediate enrollment
48853.5 Education of foster youth; immediate enrollment
48980 Notifications at beginning of term
52317 Regional occupational program, admission of persons including nonresidents
FAMILY CODE
6550-6552 Caregivers
GOVERNMENT CODE
6205-6210 Confidentiality of residence for victims of domestic violence
CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 5
432 Retention of student records
UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 42
11431-11435 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
COURT DECISIONS
Katz v. Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District, (2004) 117 Cal.App.4th 47
Please note that compare references, or “cf”, refer to CSBA model policies and do not necessarily indicate that the San Francisco Unified School District has adopted the referenced policy.