Understanding Public School Residency Requirements. A Guide for Advocates

Parents, guardians, caregivers and school administrators will sometimes disagree over whether a student may enroll in or continue to attend a public school based on the student's place of residence. The information in this manual is designed to help parents, guardians and caregivers understand New Jersey's public school residency rules and to inform them of their legal rights. While school districts make the initial determinations regarding a student's right to attend a given school, regulations adopted by the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) provide extensive procedural protections to ensure that students are not denied enrollment without the opportunity for a fair hearing and that a student's education is not disrupted pending resolution of a residency dispute.