Real important?

Question

a friend of mine lives in another state. her family had to move there, so she had to follow for the summer. she wants to come back to OUR school to finish her senior year, but the school wants her to pay a lot of money. if she changes her legal place of residence to MY house [where she is staying for school] can she just enroll like a regular student? or is this different for all school districts?

Answer 1

You guessed right - every school district has its own residency policy - in most cases determined by the laws of the State.

I can't speak to your specific school district, but it's unlikely that the school would allow your friend to claim residency (this is a legal status) at your parent's home.

In most places, your legal residence is the home of your parent and/or legal guardian, so unless either your mom or dad wanted to go to court and gain legal guardianship of your friend, or your friend's mom or dad wanted to move in with you for the year, your friend's legal residence will be in her new state. I doubt your mom and dad want to be responsible for providing 50% of more for the support of your friend.

HOWEVER - most school districts have a policy called "senior privilege", or something like that. The senior privilege program allows qualified seniors to finish out their final year of high school, even if they move out of district. Again, the policies differ from district to district, but qualified students must usually have good grades and good attendance, and be on track to graduate in the next graduating class.

Your best bet is to inquire about your district's "senior privilege" rules. Not every district offers such a program, but many do.

I hope that helped. Good luck to you and your friend!