News @ 01 Sep 2006 01:44 pm by judyorr
The Daily Southtown published an article today that is so hard to believe, yet it is truly 
happening. A 9 year old that lives within the boundary of Alsip’s Meadow Lane Elementary School is being barred from attending 4th grade this year because her mother does not have a lease to present to the school administration.
Atwoods School District 125 Supt. Thomas Livingston admits that he knows this student really does live where her mother has utility bills and bank statements proving that she lives there, but rules require a lease and she cannot provide one. The mother and the landlord state that this is a month-to-month rental lease so they do not have a hard copy of a lease.
The school says without a lease, the student cannot attend. The law states, however, that if this student was homeless, the school would have to allow her to attend.
The school says that even though it knows this student has resided within the district for over a year, their policy requiring a lease means that they can keep her out of school. But the state constitution says every child is entitled to free public education and this school district is thereby violating the student’s constitutional right. However, the school district must feel their rules should override the state constitution.
Their explanation is that they have these rules to save taxpayers money footed for students attending local schools that should not be because they do not live within school boundaries. However, if this goes to court, taxpayer money will be spent defending the school district who will not be able to win such a lawsuit.
You can read the Internet version of the article here and a another article here.
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[…] This is a quick follow-up story to my post about an Alsip school not allowing a child to enroll without a lease to prove residency. Of course, with all of the publicity caused by the Daily Southtown article, I’m sure it was a pretty quick decision to allow the student to attend school at Meadow Lane Elementary School in Merrionette Park, Illinois. […]