I was worried about this too. My son is going into second grade so he's already at the school, but my daughter is starting kindergarten this year and I was worried about having to fill out the forms with an address that is outside of the school district. School starts on Tuesday and what I'm doing is just putting our new address on the forms because we're supposed to close in a couple weeks anyway. But if you have to prove residency, that would be a problem. I know that the post office said they would deliver mail to the address if we put a mailbox there, but if they require an electric bill or something to prove residency, that wouldn't work. Good luck, a move is hard enough without having to change schools!

Angie

Yeah, just put up a mailbox at your new build.

Michelle, unfortunately we didn't do that, so the school knows we are not "sleeping" at the house. However, we approached them this week and asked them for an exception since we will be applying for our TCO in a few weeks. They want us to pay 1600 / month tuition.

btw we never tried to hide that we are doing construction and have been upfront from the start.

Our school board recently established a protocol to allow families moving into the district to start school. But I think that you need to be able to provide a date when you will take occupancy. Perhaps that is what is holding you up. They still require tuition, but will refund it once you prove you live there. I think that's to cover their bases just incase you DON'T move in.

So, ask your school if they will refund the tuition when you move in, since you are already paying taxes. If they say yes, get it in writing.

That's what I offered them, but they haven't responded yet.

bpathome which state are you in?

We just had to show the school the sales contract with the builder in order for the kids to start school.

hedricksfamily92 were you living outside of town during your build?

Different town, different school district. My youngest was starting kindergarten so I waited the six weeks until we moved in for him to start school since it was only half day school for him. The others started as soon as the school paperwork was complete.

Hendricksfamily, I don't know what our state regs are, this was a local school board action.

I registered my kids for school using the construction address. We have a mailbox there and I did have to provide proof of residency. I used my course of construction insurance policy and the closing documents for the construction loan.

They start Tues.

We live out of district now so we have to transport until December when our house is done.

This will totally depend on where you are. Our district is so full of children, that they have kicked out all inter-district transfers. Anyone buying any of the many homes being built in the area has to have their certificate of sale/occupancy. Not just a contract. Your only choice is to assume they will take her since your son it there (and not ask) or risk asking. Good luck!

The OP said they were paying taxes, so they must own the lot. I don't think a public school can deny your child's enrollment if you own the property, even if you don't live there during construction.

That's what they are doing chispa

I think you have to show residency, not ownership.

When I was a child, we moved into an unfinished house the night before I started first grade JUST SO I could start school in "my district".

Today I teach at a school with an enrollment problem. Specifically, we have good schools here, but just over the county line -- a matter of some 5-6 miles -- is another county with some of the worst schools in the state. Every year we have many students trying to use their aunt's address, etc. to enroll in our schools. We are overcrowded, and it's not fair to the taxpayers of our county, so we've had to crack down. To enroll a child, the parents must show two things:

- A bill of sale, mortgage papers, or rental lease for a home in our district.

AND

- A utility bill (or evidence that the utilities are about to be cut on) in the parent's name for that house.

I'd think that since you're building, you'd be able to show paperwork to prove that you own the land, are in the process of building. I agree with the above poster who says that you don't mention how far along you are -- less said the better. I assume you have electricity to the house now? Surely the builders need it.

Clearly you're not trying to scam anyone. I think you're fine.

We have been paying taxes. Our mail bounced back to the school in January 2015, so they told us to pay or leave. We left, because paying 1600/month is too much on top of the 14k taxes we are already paying on that house. Fast forward to now, I approached the school and explained that we've made great progress and are at the end, but need a little bit of time to get our coo and they still said pay tuition. Can I move in without getting a temporary certificate of occupancy if that's what it takes?

I had some buyers who purchased a new house with the builder I worked for who took possession middle of Sept. They were moving cities and were going to rent short term anywhere in the city just so their daughter could start the school year with all the other kids. The school district refused to let the kid start at the school as their short term rental wasn't in their district. They also said if her child was to start at a different school in our city that she couldn't transfer into the school. The school district went crazy and was unwilling to help these parents even though their new house was blocks from the school. Even with a fully accepted purchase agreement, a possession date letter confirming residence, letters from lawyers the school refused to help the parents. It was mind boggling how unwilling this school district was over such a simple matter.

Yes, in theory we could have put the kids into the new school this month, but opted not to.
The district's proof of residency policy states 'If in the process of building or purchasing a home, you
must provide a sworn statement from the builder/realtor confirming you will reside in the
home within 90 days of entry.'

It's just a very long drive at the butt crack of dawn to get the highschooler there on time, the other kids would have over an hour of wait time until their school starts, and then we'd have the opposite wait time in the afternoons. 12 hour days for 2½ months vs starting mid semester wasn't a difficult choice.
We've been to the open houses at the new schools, and they are aware that our kids will be starting late October.

abick

Just enroll the kids. What are they going to do? Come by and inspect indoors? No. If the house is substantially complete, how could they know you don't have a COO?

We couldn't get a waiver even though we owned our land, so we had to find a rental in our district. I think it's sad that a school that charges $1600 a month in tuition cares so little about it's students that it would make a student move half way through the yet for no legitimate reason. I would ask for a conference with the principal and do some research on how switching schools negatively affects children. Encorage them to reconsider their money-hungry policy and maybe, I don't know, have their students as their main priority.

Pretty common that you have to show proof of residency and for school districts to be very strict about it. We had to deal with this during our build so we found a rental that fed into our children's school. Maybe you can find a short term rental or apartment within your boundaries.

mbntn74, paying taxes and utility bills isn't residency?

Got a tent?

Abick2, it is not. You could live elsewhere and pay for a home, but not live there. Or, you own a rental property where utilities are included, but live else where. I suppose, too, that just building a house doesn't show your commitment to living in it, you could be building it for sale. But, you should be able to show that your current house is on the market, or the various bills and GW threads showing your commitment to making this house your own ;)

Having a sincere conversation with the school, though, well, one would think that human factors would come into play? But not always, I guess.

No humans at our new school unfortunately, so I ended up putting him in the old one until we finish our build.

Wow! It just blows my mind. I'm really sorry!

i even offered to give them a refundable "security deposit" check in case we don't move in. Still, said no. Makes me not want to move there at all.

Don't let that sour your new life that's coming in the next couple of months. Not worth it. Take it as an opportunity to teach your children flexibility. Handle it with grace and they will learn a ton. Bestow the experience with negativity then they will internalize that.

words I often need to tell myself, to remind me that they are watching and learning about life and how to handle it, from me.

I realize you may just be venting here in a safe space, but a a new home, a new school, and a new life deserves all the excitement and positive energy you've been putting into it.

Bureaucracy, it is what it is, and it has its rules.

Public School Students Are The New Inmates In The American Police State