• A court order or proof of custody cannot be required of a natural parent for the enrollment of a student who is living with him/her. Therefore, physical custody is not required for enrollment.
• Court orders that prevent a natural parent from having contact with their children will restrict their ability to enroll them and/or interact with them at school.   
• All relatives (not natural parents) must have documentation of physical custody or supporting kinship care documents in order to enroll of students that have been placed in their care. A final court order must be provided to the Department of Student Support Services before enrollment.
• Norfolk Public Schools will accept a, “Military Power of Attorney” only. Matching military orders are required for their implementation. Those with temporary custody through the Military Power of Attorney should take the documentation directly to the school for enrollment of the student. 

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Absent a court order to the contrary, noncustodial parents have certain rights to participate in their child’s activities and be on their child’s contact list.  See Virginia Code section 5534-4.3 and School Board Policy KP (see below).  It is the responsibility of the custodial parent to provide a copy of any relevant court order to the school.

22.1-4.3. Participation by and notification of noncustodial parent

Unless a court order has been issued to the contrary, the noncustodial parent of a student enrolled in a public school or day care center (i) shall not be denied the opportunity to participate in any of the student’s school or day care activities in which such participation is supported or encouraged by the policies of the school or day care center solely on the basis of such noncustodial status and (ii) shall be included, upon the request of such noncustodial parent, as an emergency contact for the student’s school or day care activities.

For the purposes of this section, “school or day care activities” shall include, but shall not be limited to, lunch breaks, special in-school programs, parent-teacher conferences and meetings, and extracurricular activities. It is the responsibility of the custodial parent to provide the court order to the school or day care center.

KP. Parent Involvement in Education

The custodial parent has the responsibility to:

1. Keep the school office informed as to the address of residence and how he or she may be contacted at all times.
2. On the Norfolk schools registration form, list the current address and phone number of the noncustodial parent, unless such address is unknown and the parent signs a statement to that effect, or unless a court order restricts the educational and/or contact rights of the parent.
3. Provide a copy of any legal document which restricts the educational or contact rights of the noncustodial parent.

The noncustodial parent has the responsibility to keep the school office apprized of changes in his or her current phone number and address.  Further, the noncustodial parent may make timely requests to participate in parent-teacher conferences.