17 Year Old Refuses to Move Out of State with Family

My question involves juvenile law in the State of: Illinois

I currently live in Chicago with my 3 sons 19, 17 and 17 and have legal custody of my 7 year old niece. My company has offered me a great position in Atlanta, this is something that would benefit the family as a whole as I am a single mother. One of 17 year olds is refusing to move. He is a senior in high school and will be 18 in November. He has already talked to friends and states that he can stay with them and that the parents just stated I would need to talk to them about it. I don't want to force him to move, yet how can I leave him here alone? Can he stay here legally? What are my options?

No one would ever encourage you to break the law. Even if he attains the age of 18, he might run into problems staying enrolled in IL. As the move will likely be complicated, you could elect to transfer temporary custody to a friend, to avoid an interruption of his schooling during the move process.

I am sorry, what law am I breaking?

He will be prohibited from continuing to attend school in IL as a matter of law at some point presumably.

No that is not correct, he can continue school here in Illinois, as a resident living in the school district (with his friends) he can go to any school that the area is zoned for.

There are really two trains of thought here.

1) You're the parent - he's the child. Your word is God. He doesn't get to make such decisions.

2) He's almost 18 - if you force him to move, you could well risk alienating him for a LOT longer than the months it would take changing custody.

IF you're his sole custodial parent, you can of course hand over POA or whatever the school district needs, so he can remain in school in Illinois.

Look into transferring temporary guardianship to someone in IL. You might have to fill out specific documents, or it might be as simple as writing a note containing the necessary information.

Another problem could be medical insurance. Will your new company insure him out of state? You might want to check into that as you might be leaving him without medical coverage if you move.

As a note, I have been the guardian of a teenage boy in a similar situation for more than 3 years, so I have some experience with the legal headaches and the logistics of this.

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Quoting fieryred

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One of 17 year olds is refusing to move. He is a senior in high school and will be 18 in November.

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I think what disagreeable was trying to get at is that whether a child qualifies to enroll in a specific school district usually flows from where the parents reside. The consequence of enrolling in an improper school district is that, if they're aware that you're not qualified to enroll, they can decline enrollment based on space and can charge tuition. That may not be an issue in your case either because your son is already enrolled in his senior year, or because the school district's policies allow minors living apart from their parents to enroll based upon their own place of domicile (as you suggest). There have been some high profile cases of schools seeking the prosecution of parents for enrolling children without living in the district, so that may be the source of disagreeable's concern.

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Quoting fieryred

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Can he stay here legally? What are my options?

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A parent can agree to allow a minor to live in a safe, appropriate environment, and with some older teens that can even mean living independently. As you note, you would have to speak to the friend's parents to see what they're willing to take on. They may want a power of attorney so that they can talk to teachers, authorize medical care and the like. It may be beneficial to go through the court and have them appointed as guardians, as that may enable them (for example) to place the child on their health insurance.

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Quoting Disagreeable

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He will be prohibited from continuing to attend school in IL as a matter of law at some point presumably.

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That is not correct. He would not be prohibited from remaining in school if he continues to live in IL. Just because he parent moved to another state after the school year started doesn't mean that he would be illegally remaining in school.

I will address the health insurance question only.

Unless the friend's parent's insurer is remarkably and much more than usually agreeable, there would have to be a court-ordered guardianship before they would be permitted to put him on their insurance, and even then it's not a 100% guarantee. You could certainly include him on yours but you would need to ensure that your network included both Illinois and Georgia. This is definitely something you will want to clarify before you make a final decision.

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Quoting cbg

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I will address the health insurance question only.

Unless the friend's parent's insurer is remarkably and much more than usually agreeable, there would have to be a court-ordered guardianship before they would be permitted to put him on their insurance, and even then it's not a 100% guarantee. You could certainly include him on yours but you would need to ensure that your network included both Illinois and Georgia. This is definitely something you will want to clarify before you make a final decision.

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Of course a private policy for the child is also an option.

I said presumably. Would you care to link the State Board of Education rules for enrollment that support your contention there is definitely not going to be a violation of school rules by leaving the 17 yr old behind or him being in violation at 18, not living where the parents do?

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Quoting llworking

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That is not correct. He would not be prohibited from remaining in school if he continues to live in IL. Just because he parent moved to another state after the school year started doesn't mean that he would be illegally remaining in school.

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Quoting Disagreeable

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I said presumably. Would you care to link the State Board of Education rules for enrollment that support your contention there is definitely not going to be a violation of school rules by leaving the 17 yr old behind or him being in violation at 18, not living where the parents do?

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*sigh* she won't.

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Quoting CourtClerk

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*sigh* she won't.

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I know we used to go "round and round" on another site about the same issue.

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Quoting llworking

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Of course a private policy for the child is also an option.

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True but that's likely to be more costly than including him on a group policy that's already in effect.

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Quoting Disagreeable

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I said presumably. Would you care to link the State Board of Education rules for enrollment that support your contention there is definitely not going to be a violation of school rules by leaving the 17 yr old behind or him being in violation at 18, not living where the parents do?

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Its very simple...the boy's residency will not have changed. He would be remaining a resident of the school district. He is not required to be in the physical custody of his parents if his parents choose to place him in the physical custody of a responsible party. His residency does not change because his parent's residency changes.

It also would not be state laws but school district rules that would apply. Schools receive their funding allotments for students after "count day" and therefore students are allowed to finish the school year.

State law determines how they must proceed. Some laws, such as in OH, require the student be living with their parent or be self supporting. Here, you go dig through them and see if you can climb back out of the hole you fell into:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs...p?ChapterID=17

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Quoting llworking

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Its very simple...the boy's residency will not have changed. He would be remaining a resident of the school district. He is not required to be in the physical custody of his parents if his parents choose to place him in the physical custody of a responsible party. His residency does not change because his parent's residency changes.

It also would not be state laws but school district rules that would apply. Schools receive their funding allotments for students after "count day" and therefore students are allowed to finish the school year.

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Quoting Disagreeable

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State law determines how they must proceed. Some laws, such as in OH, require the student be living with their parent or be self supporting. Here, you go dig through them and see if you can climb back out of the hole you fell into:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs...p?ChapterID=17

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While it's great you brought up the whole thing, this might be a smidge easier to wade through...

http://www.isbe.net/pdf/guidance_reg.pdf

LOL, I was curious I already found the disclaimer for temporarily transferring custody from here:
http://www.isbe.net/pdf/guidance_reg.pdf We must have both been looking at it at the same time.

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If an adult has been granted short-term guardianship, then the pupil is a resident of the district in which
that adult lives,
as long as the pupil is not living with the adult for access to the educational programs of
the district
. An adult’s written appointment of short-term guardianship is sufficient to enroll a student
under 105 ILCS 5/10-20.12b of the School Code. The adult is required to obtain a court order granting
permanent guardianship within 60 days of enrollment of the pupil; however, failure to do so shall not be
grounds to disenroll the pupil

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It appears illegal for both the child to stay temporarily and at age 18. The first link does provide fraud is a misdemeanor so that would get the parent and the 18 year old child. Each under the correct circumstance.

Here is the one they say is a catchall that should apply at 18:

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(v)
If the pupil lives with an adult who has accepted responsibility for the pupil and provides a fixed
nighttime abode for the pupil, then the pupil is a resident of the district in which that adult lives,
as long
as the pupil is not living with the adult for access to the educational programs of the district
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I know I apologize to all for getting snarky. As you know I just finished a 30 - 40 post back n forth on another forum over a simple matter of another poster making a simple error they did not want to admit and they continued demeaning and harassing me through 2 threads, until I stopped being polite about their error.

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Quoting Dogmatique

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While it's great you brought up the whole thing, this might be a smidge easier to wade through...

http://www.isbe.net/pdf/guidance_reg.pdf

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Quoting Disagreeable

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State law determines how they must proceed. Some laws, such as in OH, require the student be living with their parent or be self supporting. Here, you go dig through them and see if you can climb back out of the hole you fell into:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs...p?ChapterID=17

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So, you are saying that children in foster care or children who are in the custody of a relative (a couple of examples) are not allowed to go to school in Ohio because they aren't in the custody of their parents or self supporting?

I am not going to read through the entire code to find something that won't back up what you are saying.

You are not a very sharp crayon. I have already posted the applicable references proving I was correct and you were wrong. We are not dealing with a child in foster care or custody of a relative for other reasons not related to school attendance.

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Quoting llworking

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So, you are saying that children in foster care or children who are in the custody of a relative (a couple of examples) are not allowed to go to school in Ohio because they aren't in the custody of their parents or self supporting?

I am not going to read through the entire code to find something that won't back up what you are saying.

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Quoting llworking

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That is not correct. He would not be prohibited from remaining in school if he continues to live in IL. Just because he parent moved to another state after the school year started doesn't mean that he would be illegally remaining in school.

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Illinois Legal Aid was kind enough to provide a summary addressing the issue:

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Quoting Residency and School Enrollment

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The student’s “residency” is usually that of the parent or other qualified adult with whom the child lives. Some Children who are not residents may also enroll in the district’s schools, for example, students experiencing homelessness. For more information on the rights of homeless children see the Related Articles.

Your "residence" is the place where you actually live and intend as your home. A person cannot have more than one residence at a time. You do not have to have lived in a school district for any amount of days, weeks, or months to establish residency or permanent residency.

All Illinois children have the right to finish the entire school year in the school he or she lawfully started at, even if they move to another district. A child does not have to stay at the same address every minute or day of the week and eat all their meals at that location in order to be a resident. Many children stay with grandparents on a weekend or have visitation with a non-custodial parent.

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Consistent with that assertion, the ISBE provides a FAQ to help explain state law,

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Quoting A student begins the school year at District A. During the school year, the parents move to District B, but they want their child to continue at District A. Can the student complete the year at District A and District A claim the attendance?

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Yes. The student, in this example, can cont inue to attend Distri ct A and be claimed by District A for GSA, as long as the parents did not en roll the student in District B . However, after completion of that school year, th e student is no longer a resident of District A and the parent must enroll the student in District B or the student becomes non- claimable. If the parents choose to conti nue sending the student to the original school district after completion of the school year, they will be required to pay out-of-district tuition to District A.

Statutory Citation: 105 ILCS 5/10-20.12a

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They also provide a plain English summary here.

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Quoting llworking

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It also would not be state laws but school district rules that would apply. Schools receive their funding allotments for students after "count day" and therefore students are allowed to finish the school year.

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In this context, it would be state law that would apply to the extent that state law preempts a local rule that is more restrictive or, if we're talking about criminal fraud, because the state penal code would define the criminal act.

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Quoting llworking

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So, you are saying that children in foster care or children who are in the custody of a relative (a couple of examples) are not allowed to go to school in Ohio because they aren't in the custody of their parents or self supporting?

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Without shifting the discussion to Ohio, Illinois broadly allows a child living with a guardian or other custodian to enroll in the school district in which the child resides provided the purpose of the child's residence is "for reasons other than to have access to the educational programs of the district". The Illinois Code specifically allows for foster children to be enrolled in schools based upon their placement. See subsection (b) of the aforementioned statute.