Sending a Child to School Who Doesn't Live in the School District

Check Legal Restrictions

• Before looking at other school districts, check your state regulations for school attendance. In some states, a school that fails its yearly evaluation, has substandard facilities or is rated as being a dangerous school is obligated to pay tuition to other schools for your child and other qualifying students. It is also obligated to pay tuition if your child needs special accommodations that it does not have. If you fail to meet the guidelines for school-paid tuition, you might have to pay tuition to the school district you select. In some areas, transfers are simply not allowed.

Apply to the School District

• Select a school district that has the accommodations you want for your child. This might be better academics, a safer school, a location near your childcare or job or offer special accommodations for your child's needs. Some states allow parents who live in one district and work in another to place their child in the district where they work; others might have childcare accommodations. Fill out the paperwork using only factual information that is 100% accurate and correct. Do not try to finagle or falsify information to get your child into your preferred district. You can be arrested for fraud, theft of tuition or both.

Charter Schools and Private Schools

• If your application to transfer your child to another public school district is not accepted, you might be able to send your child to a charter school or a private school. Charter schools are publicly funded academic centers that follow specific guidelines. Private schools are schools that are owned and operated by individuals or sometimes owned and operated by religious organizations. Before enrolling your child, do your homework carefully. Check to see if the school met its annual yearly proficiency check. Talk to parents who have their child enrolled in the school. Examine the school's tuition rates and the number of students who enter, and succeed, in college.

Home Schooling or Tutoring

• If none of these solutions meet your child's needs, you might consider home schooling or hiring a qualified tutor. Check your state's regulations before deciding whether or not to do this, and consider your own ability to manage your child's education. Individual instruction can be very efficient and beneficial to your child or it can be detrimental. The best home instruction uses professionally prepared education modules that include proficiency exams at the end of each academic year. One of the difficulties with home instruction is that it can potentially limit social contacts for your child, another is that he might not receive needed instruction to succeed in college or on the job.