Establishing Residency for Hamptons Schoolchildren, No Simple Task

As news of a heats up, East Hampton Patch took a look at local residency requirements, which is especially important since is underway in local schools.

New York law says that a person over 5 years old and under 21 years old is entitled to attend public school in the district where that person resides, but to establish that means keeping track of your paperwork.

Registering kindergartners at the on Gingerbread Lane, Amanda Hayes, the central registrar for the , said a homeowner would need to show a Town of East Hampton tax bill. Meanwhile renters must provide a copy of the lease or rental agreement. If renting from the actual homeowner, one needs to provide an "Affidavit of Landlord," signed and notarized by the landlord. If that is not available, a parent must provide an "Affidavit of Lessee," signed by the lease holder and lessee along with a copy of the lease agreement.

"The bottom line," said East Hampton Interim Superintendent Rich Burns, "is that we want to make sure they are residents."

Superintendent Michael Hartner cited similiar criteria in Springs. To establish residency, parents must bring in a copy of their most recent tax bill. If they are renters, they are asked to fill out a two-part affidavit; one part for the landlord, the second for the tenant. The affidavit must also be notarized.

Whether renters or homeowners, Hartner said, parents are also asked to supply a utility bill, a child's birth certificate and required medical records.

While these regulations may seem straightforward, problems do arise.

, who grew up in Springs and whose children have been in since they started school, has been renting the same home for the past five years without a lease. According to Simons, her circumstances changed when her fiance and his children came to live with her.

At that time, she said, "We gave them utility bills, tenant affidavits, and a sworn letter from the children's mother stating they would be living with us. The school also demanded proof of custody, even though we explained that this was a sudden arrangement and hadn't yet gotten through the court process. The mother gave us a letter stating the same."

As the situation escalated, the district also questioned the residency status of Simons' children.

"The sticking point for them," Simons said, "was the lack of a lease (which is not required by New York State Law, if you have utility bills, etc.). They then wanted a sworn statement from my landlord, which I couldn't get immediately because I explained that he was out of the country and wanted to meet with us regarding the new children in my home. In the meantime, they left the children hanging, not legally able to attend school ... ."

Simons is now relocating to Montauk.

At the , superintendent and principal Jack Perna said a parent is asked to provide either a New York State Driver's License (with a street address, not a P.O. Box), an automobile registration form (with a street address), a Federal Income Tax Form or a signed lease showing that parents are tenants of property in Montauk.

While there is no set standard to determine residency, one legal expert said that certain standards have grown up through case law; cases that have been cited in court rooms and by the New York State Commission of Education. That includes one important criteria is if the student intends to remain in the district "an indefinte time" or for the "foreseeable future."

Residency questions can also arise when parents, because of divorce or other factors, live in different districts.

In an ongoing dispute, their children's residency in Wainscott. Ward, who lives in Springs, and Osborn, a Wainscott resident, claim the children divide their time equally between parents and that the determination should rest with the family.

"The rule," said Burns, "is where you rest your head at night the majority of the time."

In Springs, Hartner referenced the same rule.

"Those are tough cases," he said, adding that it is sometimes necessary for an investigator to go to a house and observe, "where the kids are coming out of each morning."

In Montauk, Perna said, "If it was a student here and the parents split and one of them moved out of the district, I would go by whatever the parents decided if they split their time equally between parents."