Back in 2010, in the thick of state budget issues, the Beverly Hills Unified School District voted to kick out hundreds of out-of-town students (aka Andrea Zuckermans, to '90s kids). Now that the state is flush and the BHUSD has millions to spend fighting a regional subway, they've voted to double down and start charging families with kids who attend their schools against the residency rules; the Beverly Hills Courier called it their "most ambitious district residency policy to date" (it passed the school board 4-1). The rules have been updated to say that the district can seek "any and all damages, including compensatory damages, consequential damages,
punitive damages, and liquidated damages" from "parents, guardians or others who intentionally misrepresent the student's residency in order to gain admittance to the district." Costs listed include "investigation costs." BHUSD has done the math, calculating that one student costs $78 per school day to educate, but that "total amount of liquidated damages" to the district is $150 per day per non-resident student. The policy notes that "The district may recover the cost of educating the student during the time he or she was not a legal resident of the district by a civil action"; if a court decides that "liquidated damages" part doesn't hold up, "the district is entitled to actual damages, costs and fees." The policy also says that the district can turn any of their findings over to the LA County District Attorney "for further action" or to law enforcement "for criminal investigation."
The president of the school board estimated that the district uncovers residency fraud "at least once a month." He says the policy is meant to be "a deterrent."
· Beverly Hills Tells Out-of-Town Students to Scram [Curbed LA]
· Beverly Hills News – BHUSD To Crack Down On Students Living Out Of City [BH Courier]
· Bev Hills Has Used $3 Million in School Repair Funds to Lose a Fight Against the Purple Line Subway [Curbed LA]
Loading comments...