No Paper Residency Documents Needed for Returning OSD Students

By Alyssa Schnugg
News editor
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

Parents with children already attending Oxford School District schools will no longer have to provide paper documents to prove residency when re-enrolling students.

On Monday, the Oxford School District Board of Trustees voted to approve changes to the district’s policy for enrolling new and current students.

Previously, parents and guardians had to provide proof of residency for their children, even if the student had attended Oxford schools the year prior, every year the child returned to school. They had to present a lease or mortgage paperwork, a driver’s license, a utility bill and/or several other forms of verification.

For the upcoming 2020-2021 school year, parents/guardians of returning students will only need to re-enroll their students online during the enrollment period. It is a requirement for all students enrolling in OSD schools, whether new or returning, to be registered online. If someone does not have internet access, they can go to the district office where they will be assisted with the online enrollment process.

If a family changed their address since the previous school year, they will be required to show proof of residency.

New students to the district must provide documents to prove residency; however, those requirements are reduced as well.

Prior to Monday’s vote to change the policy, a parent had to provide either (List A) a mortgage document, property deed, property tax documentation or an application form for homestead exemption; (List B) and at least two of either a utility bill, personal visit by school officials, valid Mississippi driver’s license or ID card, valid vehicle registration or any other document that established residency.

Now, new students will need to provide one document from list “A” and just one from list “B.”

“Given where we are with social distancing requirements, if we tried to register 4,500 kids and have them bring in paperwork, we’d have a disaster on our hands,” said Superintendent Brian Harvey. “We were already looking at this before (COVID-19) happened but I think it just makes sense.”