We moved from Travis County to Hays County mid-year last October. We moved 5 miles from our previous address. I kept my daughter in the AISD middle school after she pleaded with me not to enroll her in Hays ISD middle school. It was an easy drive, so I didn't tell the school. After over one year, the school now knows that we don't live at the same address and want proof of our current address. What do we do? Will we be forced to pull her out of school and enroll her in Hays ISD? Anyone with experience with this? My daughter will be devastated!
The school says that my daughter can stay and finish out the year, but it would cost me $3,050ish dollars to be paid up front. Ugh! They weren't mad or accuse me of stealing...they just want the money. So, we have some decisions to make. Thanks to all that gave me CONSTRUCTIVE advice....
Yes you will have to move her to Hayes ISD. Tax dollars are the reason. Be glad they don't charge you tuition when you pull her out. Good Luck!
Not to scare you but "sneaking" into a school is actually a misdemeanor -falsification of records. But rarely prosecuted. If the school has openings they may let you stay and charge "tuition" but most likely you will be forced to pull her out of AISD as your tax dollars are now going elsewhere.
Hmmm... while I am sure you meant well and only want your daughter to be happy, what kind of message does this send to your daughter about honesty and the importance of following the rules? You need to do the right thing here. While I doubt you'll ever be prosecuted, you are committing a crime by sending your child to a school where you do not pay taxes. Seems like it would have made more sense to weigh this BEFORE you moved.
A middle school child is very egocentric and will always think it will be the end of the world if they have to endure any kind of change. This would be a great opportunity to teach her about dealing with change, how to make new friends, how to step out of her comfort zone, etc.
To answer your question, yes, you will be forced to pull her out if you do not pay the money. And for the record, I would send my child to Hays over AISD any day. It is a really great school district.
You have to do the right thing. Sending your child to a school where you do NOT pay taxes is stealing. It's getting the services you should be paying for but aren't. The school will not care that it was an easy drive.
Sorry to be blunt---there is no way to sugar coat it.
There will be consequences for this. Be truthful.
It's a little late, but if it were me, I would've made the school part of my decision when it was time to move. We moved 4 times from the time I was in kinder thru high school grad'n.
Every time, I thought I was going to be devastated!!! I thought my world was ending. In reality, it was hard the first few weeks, but I made so many different friends and had so many different experiences by moving.
That's the long term picture.
If these are two different school districts, then the old school district has every right to bill you the taxable amount it would cost for your child to attend the school, kick her out, or both. They literally can take you to court and demonstrate that you weren't paying taxes in the district while your child was receiving an education funded by the taxpayers of the district, which is pretty easy to do.
Sounds like you might end up paying some extra taxes because you can't just go to the school district of your choice.
We are in the Plano ISD (TX). You can apply to go to a different school within the PISD for a fee but you cannot just go to a different ISD becuase you want to.
You and your daughter may learn a big lesson here.
You can apply to attend AISD. Of course there is a process and they could deny the request.
You may want to think about the bigger lesson for your daughter. Teach her to make new friends while keeping the old one's, step out of her comfort zone, try new things, etc.
In addition, while you mean well and want to honor her wishes what is being taught in regards to following rules?
We have open enrollment in MN; not sure about TX. I did a super quick Google and the 1st link I got mentioned "limited" open enrollment in TX. So you might want to dig a little deeper.
Anyway, we live in the Twin Cities but our kids started school at a south suburban school district. All we had to do was sign a form that the school we chose submits to the state so that the $$$ the urban school WOULD have gotten for our kids gets transferred. The only hitch is this: The school you choose doesn't have to accept you. They cannot discriminate but they can decline you if they are full. Oh! One other small thing about open enrollment...We have to provide transportation. We are too far outside the district boundaries to use their busing.
My son was going to a school that was a 6 minute drive from our house. The built a new school that is a 5 minute drive from our house and he was required to go to the new school. They were both in the same neighborhood and the same distance away. It doesn't matter. In Texas you have to show proof of residence every year for the district/school you're in. You're going to have to transfer her to the new school. I haven't heard of any type of open enrollment in Texas unless she's going to a charter school.
Good luck!
You can apply for a transfer. Most schools approve the transfer, and you have to pay a fee. I'm not certain, but I think the fee is the yearly school taxes for that district.
I know that changing schools is difficult for a child. Most don't want to leave a place they are familiar with or leave their friends. But that doesn't mean kids should automatically get their way. Because you didn't move far she can keep her old friends and make new ones at a new school. She'll also learn a valuable lesson about adjusting to new places and people.
Personally I would investigate both schools then choose the one that is best. Look at extracurricular activities, test scores, teacher to student ratio, and the number of violent incidents at each campus. Find information about the school board and decisions they've made. Search online for websites that allow parents to post their opinion of the school and the teachers and read the comments. Changing schools isn't easy, but it's important that she receive a good education.
I do have one question: what was your daughter's reason for not wanting to change schools? I'm assuming it is because she doesn't want to leave her friends, but maybe there is more to it. If she has a valid reason, that should be taken into consideration when making your decision about the two schools.
Can't speak for Texas, but here you can do an interdistrict transfer, and they will usually accept kids in circumstances like yours.
Your child can only attend in the district that is your child's permanent address.
They have all sorts of ways of keeping track and investigating.
My sister tried this and boy did they come down on her..
"Prepare the child for the path, not the path for the child." This is a good opportunity to prepare your child and let her see that you will be there for her.
I don't know if this is still true, but when I was in Jr high and high school, kids were able to attend our school rather than thier own school in thier district because they did not provide the programs they wanted to participate in. So, for example, many kids would sign up for band because the smaller schools did not have it. A friend had to go to a school that provided a sign language interpreter. Does your daughter participate in a sport, activity or have a special need that you could present? I know that Hays is smaller than Austin ISD, so you may be able to take advantage of this loop hole. Good luck.
