Section 3313.64 | Entitlement to attend school; district of attendance.
(A) As used in this section and in section 3313.65 of the Revised Code:
(1)(a) Except as provided in division (A)(1)(b) of this section, "parent" means either parent, unless the parents are separated or divorced or their marriage has been dissolved or annulled, in which case "parent" means the parent who is the residential parent and legal custodian of the child. When a child is in the legal custody of a government agency or a person other than the child's natural or adoptive parent, "parent" means the parent with residual parental rights, privileges, and responsibilities. When a child is in the permanent custody of a government agency or a person other than the child's natural or adoptive parent, "parent" means the parent who was divested of parental rights and responsibilities for the care of the child and the right to have the child live with the parent and be the legal custodian of the child and all residual parental rights, privileges, and responsibilities.
(b) When a child is the subject of a power of attorney executed under sections 3109.51 to 3109.62 of the Revised Code, "parent" means the grandparent designated as attorney in fact under the power of attorney. When a child is the subject of a caretaker authorization affidavit executed under sections 3109.64 to 3109.73 of the Revised Code, "parent" means the grandparent that executed the affidavit.
(2) "Legal custody," "permanent custody," and "residual parental rights, privileges, and responsibilities" have the same meanings as in section 2151.011 of the Revised Code.
(3) "School district" or "district" means a city, local, or exempted village school district and excludes any school operated in an institution maintained by the department of youth services.
(4) Except as used in division (C)(2) of this section, "home" means a home, institution, foster home, group home, or other residential facility in this state that receives and cares for children, to which any of the following applies:
(a) The home is licensed, certified, or approved for such purpose by the state or is maintained by the department of youth services.
(b) The home is operated by a person who is licensed, certified, or approved by the state to operate the home for such purpose.
(c) The home accepted the child through a placement by a person licensed, certified, or approved to place a child in such a home by the state.
(d) The home is a children's home created under section 5153.21 or 5153.36 of the Revised Code.
(5) "Agency" means all of the following:
(a) A public children services agency;
(b) An organization that holds a certificate issued by the Ohio department of job and family services in accordance with the requirements of section 5103.03 of the Revised Code and assumes temporary or permanent custody of children through commitment, agreement, or surrender, and places children in family homes for the purpose of adoption;
(c) Comparable agencies of other states or countries that have complied with applicable requirements of section 2151.39 of the Revised Code or as applicable, sections 5103.20 to 5103.22 or 5103.23 to 5103.237 of the Revised Code.
(6) A child is placed for adoption if either of the following occurs:
(a) An agency to which the child has been permanently committed or surrendered enters into an agreement with a person pursuant to section 5103.16 of the Revised Code for the care and adoption of the child.
(b) The child's natural parent places the child pursuant to section 5103.16 of the Revised Code with a person who will care for and adopt the child.
(7) "Preschool child with a disability" has the same meaning as in section 3323.01 of the Revised Code.
(8) "Child," unless otherwise indicated, includes preschool children with disabilities.
(9) "Active duty" means active duty pursuant to an executive order of the president of the United States, an act of the congress of the United States, or section 5919.29 or 5923.21 of the Revised Code.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in section 3321.01 of the Revised Code for admittance to kindergarten and first grade, a child who is at least five but under twenty-two years of age and any preschool child with a disability shall be admitted to school as provided in this division.
(1) A child shall be admitted to the schools of the school district in which the child's parent resides.
(2) Except as provided in division (B) of section 2151.362 and section 3317.30 of the Revised Code, a child who does not reside in the district where the child's parent resides shall be admitted to the schools of the district in which the child resides if any of the following applies:
(a) The child is in the legal or permanent custody of a government agency or a person other than the child's natural or adoptive parent.
(b) The child resides in a home.
(c) The child requires special education.
(3) A child who is not entitled under division (B)(2) of this section to be admitted to the schools of the district where the child resides and who is residing with a resident of this state with whom the child has been placed for adoption shall be admitted to the schools of the district where the child resides unless either of the following applies:
(a) The placement for adoption has been terminated.
(b) Another school district is required to admit the child under division (B)(1) of this section.
Division (B) of this section does not prohibit the board of education of a school district from placing a child with a disability who resides in the district in a special education program outside of the district or its schools in compliance with Chapter 3323. of the Revised Code.
(C) A district shall not charge tuition for children admitted under division (B)(1) or (3) of this section. If the district admits a child under division (B)(2) of this section, tuition shall be paid to the district that admits the child as provided in divisions (C)(1) to (3) of this section, unless division (C)(4) of this section applies to the child:
(1) If the child receives special education in accordance with Chapter 3323. of the Revised Code, the school district of residence, as defined in section 3323.01 of the Revised Code, shall pay tuition for the child in accordance with section 3323.091, 3323.13, 3323.14, or 3323.141 of the Revised Code regardless of who has custody of the child or whether the child resides in a home.
(2) For a child that does not receive special education in accordance with Chapter 3323. of the Revised Code, except as otherwise provided in division (C)(2)(d) of this section, if the child is in the permanent or legal custody of a government agency or person other than the child's parent, tuition shall be paid by:
(a) The district in which the child's parent resided at the time the court removed the child from home or at the time the court vested legal or permanent custody of the child in the person or government agency, whichever occurred first;
(b) If the parent's residence at the time the court removed the child from home or placed the child in the legal or permanent custody of the person or government agency is unknown, tuition shall be paid by the district in which the child resided at the time the child was removed from home or placed in legal or permanent custody, whichever occurred first;
(c) If a school district cannot be established under division (C)(2)(a) or (b) of this section, tuition shall be paid by the district determined as required by section 2151.362 of the Revised Code by the court at the time it vests custody of the child in the person or government agency;
(d) If at the time the court removed the child from home or vested legal or permanent custody of the child in the person or government agency, whichever occurred first, one parent was in a residential or correctional facility or a juvenile residential placement and the other parent, if living and not in such a facility or placement, was not known to reside in this state, tuition shall be paid by the district determined under division (D) of section 3313.65 of the Revised Code as the district required to pay any tuition while the parent was in such facility or placement;
(e) If the department of education has determined, pursuant to division (A)(2) of section 2151.362 of the Revised Code, that a school district other than the one named in the court's initial order, or in a prior determination of the department, is responsible to bear the cost of educating the child, the district so determined shall be responsible for that cost.
(3) If the child is not in the permanent or legal custody of a government agency or person other than the child's parent and the child resides in a home, tuition shall be paid by one of the following:
(a) The school district in which the child's parent resides;
(b) If the child's parent is not a resident of this state, the home in which the child resides.
(4) Division (C)(4) of this section applies to any child who is admitted to a school district under division (B)(2) of this section, resides in a home that is not a foster home, a home maintained by the department of youth services, a detention facility established under section 2152.41 of the Revised Code, or a juvenile facility established under section 2151.65 of the Revised Code, and receives educational services at the home or facility in which the child resides pursuant to a contract between the home or facility and the school district providing those services.
If a child to whom division (C)(4) of this section applies is a special education student, a district may choose whether to receive a tuition payment for that child under division (C)(4) of this section or to receive a payment for that child under section 3323.14 of the Revised Code. If a district chooses to receive a payment for that child under section 3323.14 of the Revised Code, it shall not receive a tuition payment for that child under division (C)(4) of this section.
If a child to whom division (C)(4) of this section applies is not a special education student, a district shall receive a tuition payment for that child under division (C)(4) of this section.
In the case of a child to which division (C)(4) of this section applies, the total educational cost to be paid for the child shall be determined by a formula approved by the department of education, which formula shall be designed to calculate a per diem cost for the educational services provided to the child for each day the child is served and shall reflect the total actual cost incurred in providing those services. The department shall certify the total educational cost to be paid for the child to both the school district providing the educational services and, if different, the school district that is responsible to pay tuition for the child. The department shall deduct the certified amount from the state basic aid funds payable under Chapter 3317. of the Revised Code to the district responsible to pay tuition and shall pay that amount to the district providing the educational services to the child.
(D) Tuition required to be paid under divisions (C)(2) and (3)(a) of this section shall be computed in accordance with section 3317.08 of the Revised Code. Tuition required to be paid under division (C)(3)(b) of this section shall be computed in accordance with section 3317.081 of the Revised Code. If a home fails to pay the tuition required by division (C)(3)(b) of this section, the board of education providing the education may recover in a civil action the tuition and the expenses incurred in prosecuting the action, including court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. If the prosecuting attorney or city director of law represents the board in such action, costs and reasonable attorney's fees awarded by the court, based upon the prosecuting attorney's, director's, or one of their designee's time spent preparing and presenting the case, shall be deposited in the county or city general fund.
(E) A board of education may enroll a child free of any tuition obligation for a period not to exceed sixty days, on the sworn statement of an adult resident of the district that the resident has initiated legal proceedings for custody of the child.
(F) In the case of any individual entitled to attend school under this division, no tuition shall be charged by the school district of attendance and no other school district shall be required to pay tuition for the individual's attendance. Notwithstanding division (B), (C), or (E) of this section:
(1) All persons at least eighteen but under twenty-two years of age who live apart from their parents, support themselves by their own labor, and have not successfully completed the high school curriculum or the individualized education program developed for the person by the high school pursuant to section 3323.08 of the Revised Code, are entitled to attend school in the district in which they reside.
(2) Any child under eighteen years of age who is married is entitled to attend school in the child's district of residence.
(3) A child is entitled to attend school in the district in which either of the child's parents is employed if the child has a medical condition that may require emergency medical attention. The parent of a child entitled to attend school under division (F)(3) of this section shall submit to the board of education of the district in which the parent is employed a statement from the child's physician certifying that the child's medical condition may require emergency medical attention. The statement shall be supported by such other evidence as the board may require.
(4) Any child residing with a person other than the child's parent is entitled, for a period not to exceed twelve months, to attend school in the district in which that person resides if the child's parent files an affidavit with the superintendent of the district in which the person with whom the child is living resides stating all of the following:
(a) That the parent is serving outside of the state in the armed services of the United States;
(b) That the parent intends to reside in the district upon returning to this state;
(c) The name and address of the person with whom the child is living while the parent is outside the state.
(5) Any child under the age of twenty-two years who, after the death of a parent, resides in a school district other than the district in which the child attended school at the time of the parent's death is entitled to continue to attend school in the district in which the child attended school at the time of the parent's death for the remainder of the school year, subject to approval of that district board.
(6) A child under the age of twenty-two years who resides with a parent who is having a new house built in a school district outside the district where the parent is residing is entitled to attend school for a period of time in the district where the new house is being built. In order to be entitled to such attendance, the parent shall provide the district superintendent with the following:
(a) A sworn statement explaining the situation, revealing the location of the house being built, and stating the parent's intention to reside there upon its completion;
(b) A statement from the builder confirming that a new house is being built for the parent and that the house is at the location indicated in the parent's statement.
(7) A child under the age of twenty-two years residing with a parent who has a contract to purchase a house in a school district outside the district where the parent is residing and who is waiting upon the date of closing of the mortgage loan for the purchase of such house is entitled to attend school for a period of time in the district where the house is being purchased. In order to be entitled to such attendance, the parent shall provide the district superintendent with the following:
(a) A sworn statement explaining the situation, revealing the location of the house being purchased, and stating the parent's intent to reside there;
(b) A statement from a real estate broker or bank officer confirming that the parent has a contract to purchase the house, that the parent is waiting upon the date of closing of the mortgage loan, and that the house is at the location indicated in the parent's statement.
The district superintendent shall establish a period of time not to exceed ninety days during which the child entitled to attend school under division (F)(6) or (7) of this section may attend without tuition obligation. A student attending a school under division (F)(6) or (7) of this section shall be eligible to participate in interscholastic athletics under the auspices of that school, provided the board of education of the school district where the student's parent resides, by a formal action, releases the student to participate in interscholastic athletics at the school where the student is attending, and provided the student receives any authorization required by a public agency or private organization of which the school district is a member exercising authority over interscholastic sports.
(8) A child whose parent is a full-time employee of a city, local, or exempted village school district, or of an educational service center, may be admitted to the schools of the district where the child's parent is employed, or in the case of a child whose parent is employed by an educational service center, in the district that serves the location where the parent's job is primarily located, provided the district board of education establishes such an admission policy by resolution adopted by a majority of its members. Any such policy shall take effect on the first day of the school year and the effective date of any amendment or repeal may not be prior to the first day of the subsequent school year. The policy shall be uniformly applied to all such children and shall provide for the admission of any such child upon request of the parent. No child may be admitted under this policy after the first day of classes of any school year.
(9) A child who is with the child's parent under the care of a shelter for victims of domestic violence, as defined in section 3113.33 of the Revised Code, is entitled to attend school free in the district in which the child is with the child's parent, and no other school district shall be required to pay tuition for the child's attendance in that school district.
The enrollment of a child in a school district under this division shall not be denied due to a delay in the school district's receipt of any records required under section 3313.672 of the Revised Code or any other records required for enrollment. Any days of attendance and any credits earned by a child while enrolled in a school district under this division shall be transferred to and accepted by any school district in which the child subsequently enrolls. The state board of education shall adopt rules to ensure compliance with this division.
(10) Any child under the age of twenty-two years whose parent has moved out of the school district after the commencement of classes in the child's senior year of high school is entitled, subject to the approval of that district board, to attend school in the district in which the child attended school at the time of the parental move for the remainder of the school year and for one additional semester or equivalent term. A district board may also adopt a policy specifying extenuating circumstances under which a student may continue to attend school under division (F)(10) of this section for an additional period of time in order to successfully complete the high school curriculum for the individualized education program developed for the student by the high school pursuant to section 3323.08 of the Revised Code.
(11) As used in this division, "grandparent" means a parent of a parent of a child. A child under the age of twenty-two years who is in the custody of the child's parent, resides with a grandparent, and does not require special education is entitled to attend the schools of the district in which the child's grandparent resides, provided that, prior to such attendance in any school year, the board of education of the school district in which the child's grandparent resides and the board of education of the school district in which the child's parent resides enter into a written agreement specifying that good cause exists for such attendance, describing the nature of this good cause, and consenting to such attendance.
In lieu of a consent form signed by a parent, a board of education may request the grandparent of a child attending school in the district in which the grandparent resides pursuant to division (F)(11) of this section to complete any consent form required by the district, including any authorization required by sections 3313.712, 3313.713, 3313.716, and 3313.718 of the Revised Code. Upon request, the grandparent shall complete any consent form required by the district. A school district shall not incur any liability solely because of its receipt of a consent form from a grandparent in lieu of a parent.
Division (F)(11) of this section does not create, and shall not be construed as creating, a new cause of action or substantive legal right against a school district, a member of a board of education, or an employee of a school district. This section does not affect, and shall not be construed as affecting, any immunities from defenses to tort liability created or recognized by Chapter 2744. of the Revised Code for a school district, member, or employee.
(12) A child under the age of twenty-two years is entitled to attend school in a school district other than the district in which the child is entitled to attend school under division (B), (C), or (E) of this section provided that, prior to such attendance in any school year, both of the following occur:
(a) The superintendent of the district in which the child is entitled to attend school under division (B), (C), or (E) of this section contacts the superintendent of another district for purposes of this division;
(b) The superintendents of both districts enter into a written agreement that consents to the attendance and specifies that the purpose of such attendance is to protect the student's physical or mental well-being or to deal with other extenuating circumstances deemed appropriate by the superintendents.
While an agreement is in effect under this division for a student who is not receiving special education under Chapter 3323. of the Revised Code and notwithstanding Chapter 3327. of the Revised Code, the board of education of neither school district involved in the agreement is required to provide transportation for the student to and from the school where the student attends.
A student attending a school of a district pursuant to this division shall be allowed to participate in all student activities, including interscholastic athletics, at the school where the student is attending on the same basis as any student who has always attended the schools of that district while of compulsory school age.
(13) All school districts shall comply with the "McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act," 42 U.S.C.A. 11431 et seq., for the education of homeless children. Each city, local, and exempted village school district shall comply with the requirements of that act governing the provision of a free, appropriate public education, including public preschool, to each homeless child.
When a child loses permanent housing and becomes a homeless person, as defined in 42 U.S.C.A. 11481(5), or when a child who is such a homeless person changes temporary living arrangements, the child's parent or guardian shall have the option of enrolling the child in either of the following:
(a) The child's school of origin, as defined in 42 U.S.C.A. 11432(g)(3)(C);
(b) The school that is operated by the school district in which the shelter where the child currently resides is located and that serves the geographic area in which the shelter is located.
(14) A child under the age of twenty-two years who resides with a person other than the child's parent is entitled to attend school in the school district in which that person resides if both of the following apply:
(a) That person has been appointed, through a military power of attorney executed under section 574(a) of the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994," 107 Stat. 1674 (1993), 10 U.S.C. 1044b, or through a comparable document necessary to complete a family care plan, as the parent's agent for the care, custody, and control of the child while the parent is on active duty as a member of the national guard or a reserve unit of the armed forces of the United States or because the parent is a member of the armed forces of the United States and is on a duty assignment away from the parent's residence.
(b) The military power of attorney or comparable document includes at least the authority to enroll the child in school.
The entitlement to attend school in the district in which the parent's agent under the military power of attorney or comparable document resides applies until the end of the school year in which the military power of attorney or comparable document expires.
(G) A board of education, after approving admission, may waive tuition for students who will temporarily reside in the district and who are either of the following:
(1) Residents or domiciliaries of a foreign nation who request admission as foreign exchange students;
(2) Residents or domiciliaries of the United States but not of Ohio who request admission as participants in an exchange program operated by a student exchange organization.
(H) Pursuant to sections 3311.211, 3313.90, 3319.01, 3323.04, 3327.04, and 3327.06 of the Revised Code, a child may attend school or participate in a special education program in a school district other than in the district where the child is entitled to attend school under division (B) of this section.
(I)(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this section or section 3313.65 of the Revised Code, a child under twenty-two years of age may attend school in the school district in which the child, at the end of the first full week of October of the school year, was entitled to attend school as otherwise provided under this section or section 3313.65 of the Revised Code, if at that time the child was enrolled in the schools of the district but since that time the child or the child's parent has relocated to a new address located outside of that school district and within the same county as the child's or parent's address immediately prior to the relocation. The child may continue to attend school in the district, and at the school to which the child was assigned at the end of the first full week of October of the current school year, for the balance of the school year. Division (I)(1) of this section applies only if both of the following conditions are satisfied:
(a) The board of education of the school district in which the child was entitled to attend school at the end of the first full week in October and of the district to which the child or child's parent has relocated each has adopted a policy to enroll children described in division (I)(1) of this section.
(b) The child's parent provides written notification of the relocation outside of the school district to the superintendent of each of the two school districts.
(2) At the beginning of the school year following the school year in which the child or the child's parent relocated outside of the school district as described in division (I)(1) of this section, the child is not entitled to attend school in the school district under that division.
(3) Any person or entity owing tuition to the school district on behalf of the child at the end of the first full week in October, as provided in division (C) of this section, shall continue to owe such tuition to the district for the child's attendance under division (I)(1) of this section for the lesser of the balance of the school year or the balance of the time that the child attends school in the district under division (I)(1) of this section.
(4) A pupil who may attend school in the district under division (I)(1) of this section shall be entitled to transportation services pursuant to an agreement between the district and the district in which the child or child's parent has relocated unless the districts have not entered into such agreement, in which case the child shall be entitled to transportation services in the same manner as a pupil attending school in the district under interdistrict open enrollment as described in division (H) of section 3313.981 of the Revised Code, regardless of whether the district has adopted an open enrollment policy as described in division (B)(1)(b) or (c) of section 3313.98 of the Revised Code.
(J) This division does not apply to a child receiving special education.
A school district required to pay tuition pursuant to division (C)(2) or (3) of this section or section 3313.65 of the Revised Code shall have an amount deducted under division (C) of section 3317.023 of the Revised Code equal to its own tuition rate for the same period of attendance. A school district entitled to receive tuition pursuant to division (C)(2) or (3) of this section or section 3313.65 of the Revised Code shall have an amount credited under division (C) of section 3317.023 of the Revised Code equal to its own tuition rate for the same period of attendance. If the tuition rate credited to the district of attendance exceeds the rate deducted from the district required to pay tuition, the department of education shall pay the district of attendance the difference from amounts deducted from all districts' payments under division (C) of section 3317.023 of the Revised Code but not credited to other school districts under such division and from appropriations made for such purpose. The treasurer of each school district shall, by the fifteenth day of January and July, furnish the superintendent of public instruction a report of the names of each child who attended the district's schools under divisions (C)(2) and (3) of this section or section 3313.65 of the Revised Code during the preceding six calendar months, the duration of the attendance of those children, the school district responsible for tuition on behalf of the child, and any other information that the superintendent requires.
Upon receipt of the report the superintendent, pursuant to division (C) of section 3317.023 of the Revised Code, shall deduct each district's tuition obligations under divisions (C)(2) and (3) of this section or section 3313.65 of the Revised Code and pay to the district of attendance that amount plus any amount required to be paid by the state.
(K) In the event of a disagreement, the superintendent of public instruction shall determine the school district in which the parent resides.
(L) Nothing in this section requires or authorizes, or shall be construed to require or authorize, the admission to a public school in this state of a pupil who has been permanently excluded from public school attendance by the superintendent of public instruction pursuant to sections 3301.121 and 3313.662 of the Revised Code.
(M) In accordance with division (B)(1) of this section, a child whose parent is a member of the national guard or a reserve unit of the armed forces of the United States and is called to active duty, or a child whose parent is a member of the armed forces of the United States and is ordered to a temporary duty assignment outside of the district, may continue to attend school in the district in which the child's parent lived before being called to active duty or ordered to a temporary duty assignment outside of the district, as long as the child's parent continues to be a resident of that district, and regardless of where the child lives as a result of the parent's active duty status or temporary duty assignment. However, the district is not responsible for providing transportation for the child if the child lives outside of the district as a result of the parent's active duty status or temporary duty assignment.
Last updated October 4, 2021 at 3:23 PM
Available Versions of this Section
- September 29, 2013 – House Bill 59 - 130th General Assembly [ View September 29, 2013 Version ]
- September 29, 2017 – Amended by House Bill 49 - 132nd General Assembly [ View September 29, 2017 Version ]
- September 30, 2021 – Amended by House Bill 110 - 134th General Assembly [ View September 30, 2021 Version ]
- October 3, 2023 – Amended by House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly [ View October 3, 2023 Version ]
- January 1, 2025 – Amended by House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly [ View January 1, 2025 Version ]