These procedures are the District’s Administrative Procedures implementing Board Policy 7:60, Residence. Please see Board Policy 7:60, Residence, for additional information regarding residency.

Prior to enrollment, the parents/guardians of each student must present an original copy of their child's birth certificate.  In addition, at least three (3) items of identification from the below are required:

Please note:  P.O. Box addresses, telephone bills, and cable bills are insufficient as proof of residency.

These items of identification will be reviewed by the District employee interviewing the parents at the time of registration and notation will be made on the Student Registration Form of those items of identification provided by the parents.  The District may further investigate the residency status of a student as part of the enrollment process.  Parents/Guardians are encouraged to plan accordingly.

If a student is living with an individual other than the parent(s), the District may require the parents and/or guardians of the student to complete Affidavits of Residency and produce additional proof of legal residency.  In situations where the student and his/her parent(s) reside with a family member, such as a grandparent or a friend, the person who owns or rents the residence must complete the Student Residency Affidavit at the time of registration.

If a student registers as a homeless individual, the District shall enroll the child even if the child is unable to produce records normally required for enrollment.  The District shall request such information as it deems necessary to determine whether such person meets the definition of a homeless individual, as set out in these Rules and Regulations.

If the District determines that an enrolled student is non-resident: 

The District shall notify the person who enrolled the student of the amount of the tuition to be charged for the non-resident student’s attendance in the District.  The notice shall detail the specific reasons why the Board believes the student is a nonresident of the District, and shall be given by certified mail, return receipt requested. The notice also shall state that, within ten (10) calendar days after receipt of the notice, the person who enrolled the student may request a hearing to review the residency determination.  The notice shall further state that the request for hearing shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the District Superintendent. 

Within ten (10) calendar days after receipt of the request for hearing, the District shall notify, by certified mail, return receipt requested, the person requesting the hearing of the time and place of the hearing, which shall be held not less than ten (10) nor more than twenty (20) calendar days after the notice of hearing is given.

At least three (3) calendar days before the hearing, both parties must disclose to each other all written evidence and testimony that it will submit during the hearing and a list of witnesses that it may call to testify during the hearing. A party who does not disclose the required information is to be prohibited from using it at the hearing without consent of the other party.

The Board of Education or a Hearing Officer designated by the Board of Education will conduct the hearing.  The Board and the person who enrolled the student may be represented at the hearing by representatives of their choice at their own expense.  At the hearing, the person who enrolled the student shall have the burden of going forward with the evidence concerning the student’s residency. 

If a hearing officer is used, the hearing officer, within five (5) calendar days after the conclusion of the hearing, shall send a written report of his/her findings by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Board and to the person who enrolled the student. The person who enrolled the student may, within five (5) calendar days after receiving the findings, file written objections to the findings with the Board by sending the objections by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Superintendent.

Whether the hearing is conducted by the Board or a hearing officer, the Board shall, within 30 calendar days after the conclusion of the hearing, decide whether or not the student is a resident of the District and the amount of any tuition required to be charged under Section 10-20.12a of the School Code as a result of the student’s attendance in the schools of the District. The Board shall send a copy of its decision, within five (5) calendar days of its decision, to the person who enrolled the student. The decision also must inform the person who enrolled the student that he/she may, within five (5) calendar days after receipt of the decision of the Board, petition the Regional Superintendent of Schools to review the Board’s decision, by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Regional Superintendent of Schools and the Superintendent. The decision also must include notification that, at the request of the person who enrolled the student, the student may continue attending school in the District pending the regional superintendent of schools' review of the Board's decision but that tuition shall continue to be assessed under Section 10-20.12a of the School Code during the review period and become due upon a final determination of the Regional Superintendent of Schools that the student is a nonresident.

Within five (5) calendar days after receipt of the petition, the Board must deliver to the Regional Superintendent of Schools the written decision of the Board, any written evidence and testimony that was submitted by the parties during the hearing, a list of all witnesses that testified during the hearing, and any existing written minutes or transcript of the hearing or verbatim record of the hearing in the form of an audio or video recording documenting the hearing. The Board also may provide the Regional Superintendent of Schools and the petitioner a written response to the petition.

Within 10 calendar days after receipt of the documentation from the District, the Regional Superintendent of Schools shall issue a written decision as to whether or not there is clear or convincing evidence that the student is a resident of the District and eligibility to attend school in the District on a tuition-free basis. The Regional Superintendent of Schools’ decision is limited to the documentation submitted to the Regional Superintendent of Schools. The Regional Superintendent of Schools’ decision shall be sent to the Board and the person who enrolled the student and must, with specificity, detail the rationale behind the decision.

If a hearing is requested under Section II(B), the student may, at the request of a person who enrolled the student, continue attending school in the District pending a decision of the Board following the hearing. In addition, if the person who enrolled the student petitions the Regional Superintendent of Schools to review the Board’s decision, that person may request that the student continue attending school in the District pending a final decision of the Regional Superintendent of Schools.

However, attendance of that student in the schools of the District as set forth above shall not relieve any person who enrolled the student of the obligation to pay the tuition charged for that attendance under Section 10-20.12a if the final decision of the Board or the Regional Superintendent of Schools is that the student is a non-resident of the District.  If a student is determined to be a non-resident of the District for whom tuition is required to be charged, the Board shall refuse to permit the student to continue attending school in the District unless the required tuition is paid for the student. 

If the District denies enrollment to a student on the basis of non-residency and the student requests an appeal of such a determination, the student shall not be allowed to enroll in the District on a tuition-free basis during the pendency of the appeal.

If a student is living with an individual other that the parent(s), the District may require the parents and/or guardians of the student to complete Affidavits of Residency and produce additional proof of legal residency.  In situations where the student and his/her parent(s) reside with a family member, such as a grandparent, aunt, or uncle, the person who owns or rents the residence must complete the Student Residency Affidavit (PDF opens in new window) at the time of registration.

The term “homeless children and youths” means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes: 

A.  Children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;  are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations;  are living in emergency or transitional shelters;  are abandoned in hospitals;  or are awaiting foster care placement; 

B.  Children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;

C.  Children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings;  and

D.  Migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are living in circumstances described in “A” through “C” above.

The District is the “school of origin” if the homeless student attended school in the District when last permanently housed or when last enrolled in school.

Enrollment of Homeless Students

A child who is homeless shall be considered a resident of the District if he or she is physically living within the District boundaries.  In addition, pursuant to the Education for Homeless Children Act (105 ILCS 45/1-1 et seq.), a homeless child will be considered a resident of the District if the child attended a school in the District when he/she was last permanently housed or the child was last enrolled in a school in the District. Accordingly, the parents or guardians of a homeless student may choose to enroll their child in the District if a school within the District is in the area where the child is actually living or if the District is the child’s school of origin. The District shall request such information as it deems necessary to determine whether such person meets the indicia of a homeless individual, as set out in these Administrative Procedures.  This information shall be provided to the District within 10 calendar days of the District’s request. The District may require the child’s parent/guardian to complete an Affidavit Verifying Homelessness and the individual who owns the residence where the child and the parent(s)/guardian(s) are residing to complete a Homeless Verification Affidavit. 

Whenever a child and his/her parent/guardian who initially share the housing of another person due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar hardship continue to share the housing, the District may, after the passage of 18 months and annually thereafter, conduct a review as to whether such hardship continues to exist.  

The District may, at the time of review, request information from the parent or guardian to reasonably establish the hardship, and sworn affidavits or declarations may be sought and provided.  If, upon review, the District determines that the family no longer suffers such hardship, it may notify the family in writing and begin the process of dispute resolution as set forth below.  Any change required as a result of this review and determination shall be effective solely at the close of the school year. 

Transportation of Homeless Students
If a homeless student continues to live in the area where the school of origin is located, upon the request of the parent or guardian (or in the case of an unaccompanied youth, the liaison), the District shall transport a student to and from school.  If a homeless child, formerly attending school in the District but currently living in the attendance area of another school district, elects to attend school in the District as the “school of origin,” the student’s parents also may request that transportation be provided between the student’s residence and the school of origin. The District shall work with the school district in which the homeless child is currently living to apportion responsibility for transporting the homeless child to and from school, subject to paragraph 2 below.  If the districts are unable to reach an agreement on the child’s transportation, the responsibility and costs for such transportation will be shared equally by the districts.

If a homeless child, formerly attending school in the District but currently living in the attendance area of another school district, elects to attend school in the District as the “school of origin,” the District or the student’s parents/guardian may request a meeting of the school principal or designee, a teacher of the student, and the parents/guardian, to evaluate whether travel to and from the District is in the best interest of the student and the student’s family.  Such a meeting shall be required if travel to school will be greater than one (1) hour each way.  If the child is eligible for special education services, every effort shall be made by the District to avoid a travel time of greater than one (1) hour each way. 

Homeless Liaison
The District’s Homeless Liaison is Tracy Roehrick and may be contacted at 847-234-9400 or e-mail Tracy Roehrick.  The following are the responsibilities of the Homeless Liaison:

1. Ensure that homeless children and youths are identified by school personnel and through coordination activities with other entities and agencies;

2. Ensure that homeless children and youths enroll in, and have a full and equal opportunity to succeed in, schools of the District;

3. Ensure that homeless families, children, and youths receive educational services for which such families, children, and youths are eligible, including any Head Start and Even Start programs and preschool programs administered by the District, and referrals to health care services, dental services, mental health services, and other appropriate services;

4. Ensure that the parents or guardians of homeless children and youths are informed of the educational and related opportunities available to their children and are provided with meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children;

5. Ensure that public notice of the educational rights of homeless children are youths is disseminated where such children and youths receive services under this Act, such as schools, family shelters, and soup kitchens;

6. Ensure the proper mediation of enrollment disputes; and

7. Ensure that the parent or guardian of a homeless child or youth, and any unaccompanied youth, is fully informed of all transportation services, including transportation to the school of origin, and is assisted in accessing transportation to the school.

Homeless Appeals Procedures
In the event that the District denies enrollment to a homeless student as defined herein, the parent/guardian of the child may appeal the decision to the Homeless Liaison, who is responsible for carrying out dispute resolution.  The Homeless Liaison shall immediately refer the child or parent/guardian to the ombudsperson for homeless children appointed by the Regional Superintendent of Schools and provide the child and his/her parent/guardian with a written statement of the basis for the denial.  The child shall be admitted and transported to the school chosen by the parent/guardian until final resolution of the dispute.  The ombudsperson shall convene a meeting of all parties and attempt to resolve the dispute within five (5) school days after receiving notice of the dispute, if possible.

In accordance with Illinois law, a person who knowingly enrolls or attempts to enroll in the schools of the District on a tuition-free basis a student known by that person to be a non-resident of the District is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor.  This criminal penalty does not apply to a person enrolling a foreign exchange student or the Guardianship Administrator of the Department of Children and Family Services.

In accordance with Illinois law, a person who knowingly or willfully presents to any school district any false information regarding the residency of a student for the purpose of enabling that student to attend any school in that district without the payment of a non-resident tuition charge is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor. 

The administrator shall refer to the appropriate criminal justice office any instances of suspected violations of the above provisions.