CUSTODY

• 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 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.  

Norfolk Public Schools does not honor petitions, notarized statements, or power of attorney.  Power of attorney is only granted to military families.

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:

• Keep the school office informed as to the address of residence and how he or she may be contacted at all times.
• 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.
• 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 apprised 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.

RESIDENCY

For the purposes of enrollment, the local school division determines whether a student meets the residency requirements in accordance with 22.1-3 of the Code, which states that a person of school age shall be deemed to reside in a school division under the following circumstances:

• The student is living with a natural parent or a parent by legal adoption.
• The student has a parent in the military and is living with a noncustodial parent or other person standing in loco parentis, not solely for school purposes, pursuant to a Special Power of Attorney executed by the custodial parent.
• The student's parents are deceased, and the student is living in loco parentis with a person who resides in that locality. 
• The student is living in the locality, not solely for school purposes, as a emancipated minor.
• The student is experiencing homelessness as described in 22.1-3.
• The student is living with another person who resides in the school division, not solely for school purposes, and that individual: (a) is the court-appointed guardian, or has legal custody, of the person; or (b) is acting in loco the parentis pursuant to placement of the person for adoption by a person or entity authorized to do so under 63.2-1200 or (c) is an adult relative providing temporary kinship care a s defined in 63.2-100 when the student's parents are unable to care for him/her.