Councilor wants tighter controls to keep out-of-city students out of Boston Public Schools
Families living outside the city are fraudulently sending their children to Boston Public Schools, thus taking away seats from in-district kids currently on waiting lists, according to City Councilor Annissa Essaibi-George.
BPS officials said during a public hearing on Tuesday that there is only one residency investigator for the 57,000 students enrolled within the school system. Families only have to demonstrate their residency once—when they first enter the school system.
“It’s really important to me that Boston families realize that I appreciate and the district appreciates that those seats are for Boston kids and that we're making sure that they are accessible for Boston families,” Essaibi-George said. “One family... that fraudulently takes a seat is one kid that doesn't have access to that program.”
BPS received between 100 and 150 tips last year concerning students who are attending district schools although they live outside the city, according to Carolyn MacNeil, BPS ombudsperson. Of those tips, 22 students were removed from their schools.
Read more: http://www.metro.us/boston/city-councilor-looks-to-enforce-stricter-residency-regulations-for-bps/zsJpka---v3v4vR83CEzPo/