We have a student who became homeless this school year, so School A became her school of origin. The family relocated to another attendance area (School B). In January, the student decided to leave school of origin (School A) per parent request and enroll in the school of her attendance area (School B). The student now wants to return to School A. Is School A still her school of origin? What if the student now has secure housing in School B’s attendance area?

Answer: Our team looked at this from two different perspectives and ultimately concluded that it depends on the interpretation of “the school attended when permanently housed”. We looked at school A as the school the student last attended when permanently housed before losing housing, which would make school A the school of origin. We also looked at school B as the school the student last attended when (now) permanently housed, which would mean A is no longer a school of origin. We think both are legally defensible.

But, our conversation kept coming back to what’s in the best interest of the student. If the interpretation is that school A is a school of origin, is transferring at this point in the year in the best interest of the student? The student would only have school of origin rights at school A until the end of this school year, assuming the student remains permanently housed in B.

In this case, it seems like either way you interpret the law, best interest will be key.

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