HARRISBURG – Lawmakers in Harrisburg are advancing a bill that would protect students involved in school district residency disputes. House Bill 663 would stipulate that, in the event of a residency dispute, a school district would not be permitted to remove a child from school until the dispute has been fully resolved and it has been determined which school district should correctly enroll the child. Bill sponsor, Lehigh County Rep. Jeanne McNeill said when residency disputes between school districts occur, it can take weeks or more for such disputes to be fully resolved. However, current law forces these students involved to be removed from the school by the school district they’d been attending until the dispute is resolved. The measure would prohibit school districts from withdrawing a student until a parent has exhausted all options to prove their residency or has declined to dispute the district’s decision. The bill unanimously passed the PA House and has been sent to the state Senate.
REP. JEANNE MCNEILL