Understanding ‘School Of Record’ – Is There Such A Thing As Partial or Dual Enrollment Involving A Public and A Private School?
(Written with assistance from California Department of Education)
The short answer is no. A public school will always be given recognition over private schools as a child’s education provider in the eyes of the state.
If a student is taking classes from a traditional public school or a charter school, then the student must be enrolled in that school. When enrolled in a public or charter school, the state has full authority over that child’s education because the parents have given the state full authority and responsibility (See Fields v. Palmdale 2005). The Public school will not yield authority to any private school that the child takes a class from. A private school may offer a class to a child that happens to be enrolled in a public school, but that doesn’t change the school of record for that child.
When considering this question, a key phrase to remember is “school of record” which simply means the school that the child is enrolled in for purposes of fulfilling the legal requirements for their mandatory attendance. If a child is enrolled in a public school (either traditional, charter or other) that school is considered the “school of record” for that child and therefore is responsible for their education. It also means that the school is also the entity contacted by government authorities to verify that the child is not truant.
A public school, whether traditional or not, will be quick to establish whether a student is theirs or not and will not allow for “educational custody” so-to-speak to ever be shared.
One of the issues involved in this question is where is funding coming from for this student’s education. This is not just a matter of where does funding come from for each class. It is not that simple. The issue is that if a public school has a student enrolled, then they are being funded by the state for that child’s education (everything required for that child to be taught by the school under the law). As for any school, a public school must account for each of those requirements for each student. Therefore they are required to oversee the education happening in each required school class so that they can ensure that they comply with the law. This would include the law that says:
“No public money shall ever be appropriated for the support of any sectarian or denominational school, or any school not under the exclusive control of the officers of the public schools; nor shall any sectarian or denominational doctrine be taught, or instruction thereon be permitted, directly or indirectly, in any of the common schools of this State.” (California Constitution Art IX Sec. 8)
What this tells us is that when a student is enrolled in a school, that school is responsible for providing the student’s entire education and must oversee and account for every part.
Some private schools allow individual students to take a class without enrolling. The law doesn’t allow for this to be done with public schools (including charters). Public schools are only allowed to provide classes to enrolled students for which the school is responsible to provide a full education under the state’s authority.
Some charter schools do contract with outside entities to provide some of their classes or teachers, however, all these outside entities legally fall under the authority of that charter school and many public school laws because the funding is public school funding. In those cases, the classes that are contracted out become part of and subject to the charter school and its requirements.
To learn more about some of the limitations of charter schools and traditional public schools, visit our article containing some of the laws and regulations: https://fpmca.org/california-chart-schools-what-the-law-says-pertaining-to-religious-instruction/
Additional Resources
The following are some resources that have been provided by the California Department of Education (CDE) and can be found at the CDE’s website.
Here are some summaries of educational models. The main thing is to recognize what is the school of record for the student – where is the student enrolled full time?
Public Schools:
— Regular In-Person Public School – School of record = public school – Student enrolled full-time; school directed and administered curriculum and instruction; all responsibility for records and attendance and operation is on the school or school district – School district and CDE oversight. – https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/
— Regular In-Person Public School – Independent Study Option – School of record = public school – All the same as a regular in person public school, but with the student participating in an independent study at home program – School district and CDE oversight. – https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/eo/is/index.asp
— Charter In-Person Public School – School of record = Charter School – Student enrolled full-time; school directed and administered curriculum and instruction; all responsibility for records and attendance and operation is on the school or school district – School district and CDE Charter Division/CDE oversight. – https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ch/
— Charter Public Home School – School of record = Charter School – Student enrolled full-time; school directed and administered curriculum and instruction; all responsibility for records and attendance and operation is on the school or school district; usually online most of the week with a meeting or meetings with the teacher each week – School district and CDE Charter Division/CDE oversight. https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ch/
Private Schools
(Private school affidavits (PSA) required) – https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ps/privateschools.asp – as a note, curriculum and supplemental instruction can come from one or multiple sources:
— Regular Private Schools (Online or In-person) – PSA – School of record = private school – Student enrolled full-time; school directed and administered curriculum and instruction; all responsibility for records and attendance and operation is on the private school.
— Home School Options (private school) – https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ps/homeschool.asp:
—-Private Home School Coop (Multifamily) – PSA – School of record = individual home school – coop directed and administered curriculum and instruction; all responsibility for records and attendance and operation is on the individual parent.
—-Regular Home School (single family) – PSA – School of record = individual home school – parent directed and administered curriculum and instruction; all responsibility for records and attendance and operation is on the individual parent.
—-Regular Home School (single family) – No PSA (instructor holds current teaching credential) – School of record = individual home school – parent/instructor directed and administered curriculum and instruction; all responsibility for records and attendance and operation is on the individual parent.
(This page is not intended to be, nor does it constitute the giving of legal advice.)