Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) A student is eligible to attend a school
district if the student is domiciled within the school district.
1. A
student is domiciled in the school district when the student is the child of a parent or guardian whose
domicile is located within the school district.
i. When a student's parents
or guardians are domiciled within different school districts and there is no court order or written agreement
between the parents designating the school district of attendance, the student's domicile is the school
district of the parent or guardian with whom the student lives for the majority of the school year. This
subparagraph shall apply regardless of which parent has legal custody.
ii. When a student's physical custody is shared on an equal-time,
alternating week/month or other similar basis so the student is not living with one parent or guardian for a
majority of the school year and there is no court order or written agreement between the parents designating
the school district of attendance, the student's domicile is the present domicile of the parent or guardian
with whom the student resided on the last school day prior to the October 16 preceding the application date.
(1) When a student resided with both parents or guardians, or with neither
parent or guardian, on the last school day prior to the preceding October 16, the student's domicile is that
of the parent or guardian with whom the parents or guardians indicate the student will be residing on the
last school day prior to the ensuing October 16. When the parents or guardians do not designate or cannot
agree upon the student's likely residence as of that date, or if on that date the student is not residing
with the parent or guardian previously indicated, the student shall attend school in the school district of
domicile of the parent or guardian with whom the student actually lives as of the last school day prior to
October 16.
(2) When the domicile of a student with disabilities
as defined at N.J.A.C. 6A:14, Special Education, cannot be determined pursuant to this section, nothing in
this section shall preclude an equitable determination of shared responsibility for the cost of the student's
out-of-district placement.
iii. When a student is
living with a person other than a parent or guardian, nothing in this section is intended to limit the
student's right to attend school in the parent or guardian's school district of domicile pursuant to this
chapter.
iv. No school district shall be required to provide
transportation for a student who resides outside the school district for all or part of the school year
unless transportation is based upon the home of the parent or guardian domiciled within the school district
or otherwise required by law.
2. A student is
domiciled in the school district when the student has reached the age of 18 or is emancipated from the care
and custody of a parent or guardian and has established a domicile within the school district.
3. A student is domiciled in the school district when the student has come
from outside the State and is living with a person domiciled in the school district who will be applying for
guardianship of the student upon expiration of the six-month "waiting period" of State residency required
pursuant to N.J.S.A.
2A:34-54 ("home state" definition) and 65.a(1). However, a student may
later be subject to removal proceedings if application for guardianship is not made within a reasonable
period of time following expiration of the mandatory waiting period, or if guardianship is applied for and
denied.
4. A student is domiciled in the school district when the
student's parent or guardian resides within the school district on an all-year-round basis for one year or
more, notwithstanding the existence of a domicile elsewhere.
5. A
student is domiciled in the school district if the Department of Children and Families is acting as the
student's guardian and has placed the student in the school district.
(b) When a student's dwelling is located within two or more school
districts, or bears a mailing address that does not reflect the dwelling's physical location within a
municipality, the school district of domicile for school attendance purposes shall be the municipality to
which the majority of the dwelling's or unit's property tax is paid.
1.
When property tax is paid in equal amounts to two or more municipalities and there is no established
assignment for students residing in the affected dwellings, the school district of domicile for school
attendance purposes shall be determined through assessment of individual proofs of eligibility provided
pursuant to 6A:22-3.4.
2. This
provision shall not preclude the attendance of currently enrolled students who were permitted to attend the
school district prior to December 17, 2001.
(c)
Nothing in this section shall exclude a student's right to attend the school district of domicile although
the student is qualified to attend a different school district pursuant to
N.J.S.A.
18A:38-1.b.1 or the temporary residency (less than one year) provision at
N.J.S.A.
18A:38-1.d.