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All Coweta County Schools are taking
affidavits of residency for currently enrolled students through
the end of the school semester, on December 18.
Students who have not had affidavits completed by December 18
will be disenrolled from school, and must reenroll to begin the
second semester, which begins on January 3, 2008.
To avoid that inconvenience, all schools are urging parents to
provide the affidavits to each of their children’s schools
before the beginning of the Christmas and New Year holidays.
The affidavits are being required by the United States
Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, to meet the terms
of a federal court Consent Decree entered into on November 9,
2006.
Under the 2006 agreement, all parents, legal guardians, or other
lawful custodians of students attending the Coweta County School
System must sign under oath and deliver to the school his or her
student is attending:
1. A notarized Affidavit of Residence, AND
2. Two items from the following list for address verification:
a. property tax records which indicate the location of the
residence;
b. mortgage documents or a security deed which indicates the
location of the residence;
c. an apartment or home lease or rent receipt indicating the
current address;
d. a current utility bill for electricity or utility application
for electricity showing the current address;
e. a voter precinct identification card or other voter
documentation indicating the current address.
Every school provides Notary Public service free of charge to
help parents fulfill the requirement.
Some parents, legal guardians, or other lawful custodians who do
not reside in their own home due to unavoidable or emergency
situations have already completed a 2007-08 Affidavit of
Residence and provided the school district with two items for
address verification at our Jackson Street Central Office. No
other documentation is needed at this time from these persons.
It is the second year that parents must submit the Affidavits of
Residency. The Consent Decree reached last year in federal court
mandates that schools collect the affidavits annually, as a part
of a two-year review of the school system’s compliance with the
terms of the 1973 federal desegregation order.
At the end of the two-year period, if the court finds that all
areas of compliance have been met, then the school system may be
awarded “unitary status,” which would remove Coweta County
Schools from the review of the U.S. Justice Department. The
school system must carefully document school system policies,
school assignment, student transfers, hiring practices,
educational opportunities and other matters (27 items in all)
during this period. |
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