Any child who is being enrolled in the St. Louis Public Schools for the first time shall be accompanied by a parent or guardian, who shall provide a birth certificate or notarized statement that the child is of the age required for admission. School authorities shall require that the child complies with the immunization laws of the state and city. Homeless children without adequate immunizations shall be enrolled, but referred immediately to the Homeless Coordinator for assistance in obtaining necessary immunizations.

The parent, guardian, or other person having control or charge of the child shall also provide, upon enrollment, a sworn statement or affirmation indicating whether the child has been expelled from school attendance in any school in the state or in any other state for an offense in violation of school board policies relating to weapons, alcohol or drugs, or for the willful infliction of injury to another person. This document shall be maintained as a part of the student's scholastic record. Any person making a materially false statement shall be guilty upon conviction of a Class B misdemeanor.

A child is required to attend school in the school attendance zone in which the child resides except when the child has been enrolled in or assigned to a different school pursuant to the Desegregation Settlement Agreement, express regulations or policies of the board, or when otherwise required by law. Examples of such exceptions are children who attend special education, magnet or other alternative schools; homeless children, children who have been given permissive, hardship, administrative, and adjustment transfers.

In order to register a student, the parent or guardian of the student or the student himself or herself shall provide proof of residency in the district or proof that the person registering the student has requested a waiver within the last forty-five days as provided in section 2 of this regulation. This requirement shall not apply to a student who:

1. is a homeless child;

2. attends as part of the Desegregation Settlement Agreement ;

3. is a ward of the state;

4. was placed in a residential care facility due to mental illness or developmental disability;

5. attends school pursuant to sections 167.121 and 167.151 of the Missouri Statutes;

6. is placed in a residential facility by a juvenile court;

7. has a disability identified under state eligibility criteria if the student is in the district for reasons other than assessing the district's educational program;

8. attends a regional or cooperative alternative education program or an alternative education program on a contractual basis.

In instances where there is reason to suspect that admission of the student will create an immediate danger to the safety of other students and employees of the board, the superintendent or designee may convene a hearing within five working days of the request to register to determine whether or not the student may register.

B. Request for Waiver

Any person seeking to register may request a waiver from the Board of Education of the proof of residency requirement based on hardship or good cause. Upon such a request, the board shall convene a hearing as soon as possible, but not later than forty-five days after receipt of the waiver request, or the waiver request shall be granted. The board may grant the waiver, or reject the request for the waiver in which case the student shall not be allowed to register. In no case shall athletic ability be a valid basis of hardship or good cause for the issuance of a waiver.

Any person aggrieved by a decision of the board on a request for a waiver as provided hereunder may appeal such decision to the Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis.

C. Penalty

In addition to any other penalties authorized by law, the board may file a civil action to recover the costs of school attendance for any student who was enrolled in the St. Louis Public Schools and whose parent, military guardian or legal guardian filed false information to satisfy the registration requirements set forth herein.

D. Students Charged with or Convicted of Certain Crimes

No pupil shall be readmitted or enrolled to a regular program of instruction if:

(1) Such pupil has been convicted of; or

(2) An indictment or information has been filed alleging that the pupil has committed one of the acts enumerated in subdivision (4) below to which there has been no final judgment; or

(3) A petition has been filed pursuant to section 211.091, RSMo, alleging that the pupil has committed one of the acts enumerated in subdivision (4) below to which there has been no final judgment; or

(4) The pupil has been adjudicated to have committed an act which if committed by an adult would be one of the following:

(a) First degree murder under section 565.020, RSMo;

(b) Second degree murder under section 565.021, RSMo;

(c) First degree assault under section 565.050, RSMo;

(d) Forcible rape under section 566.030, RSMo;

(e) Forcible sodomy under section 566.060, RSMo;

(f) Statutory rape under section 566.032, RSMo;

(g) Statutory sodomy under section 566.062, RSMo;

(h) Robbery in the first degree under section 569.020, RSMo;

(i) Distribution of drugs to a minor under section 195.212, RSMo;

(j) Arson in the first degree under section 569.040, RSMo;

(k) Kidnapping, when classified as a class A felony under section 565.110, RSMo.

Nothing in this Regulation shall prohibit the readmittance or enrollment of any pupil if a petition has been dismissed, or when a pupil has been acquitted or adjudicated not to have committed any of the above acts. This provision shall not apply to a student with a disability, as identified under state eligibility criteria, who is convicted or adjudicated guilty as a result of an action related to the student's disability. Nothing in this provision shall be construed to prohibit the district from enrolling a pupil in an alternative education program if the district determines such enrollment is appropriate.

References

Legal: Mo. Rev. Stat. Sections 167.020, 167.121, 167.151, 167.171, 167.181
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 2001, 42 U.S.C. §11432

Regulation approved: June 26, 1990

Revised: January 14, 1997

Revised: December 07, 1999

Revised: July 24, 2001

Revised: September 10, 2002

Revised: October 12, 2004