8/14/2019 Washington Examiner: Would-Be Student Seeks Waiver to Attend Classes

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Would-be student seeks waiver to attendclasses

By: Leah Fabel

Examiner Staff Writer

04/19/09 8:22 PM EDT

Most 14-year-olds would welcome the chance to take aleave from middle school, but for Jeff Sukkasem itsbeen two long, miserable years.

After Jeff bounced from California to his parentsnative Thailand, his mother sent him to MontgomeryCounty in 2007 to live with family friends. She wasrecently divorced, and out of a job, and believed thather son, a U.S. citizen, would thrive stateside.

But now, the would-be eighth-grader spends his days educating himself at a Montgomery Countylibrary, the result of a policy forbidding students to attend public school when their parents dontlive in the district.

Lately, Ive been trying to read about math and Algebra, and about outer space, he said. Hecalls novels storybooks and said his favorites were the teen thriller Twilight and the HarryPotter series.

Exceptions to the rule exist for families who can provide a reason abandoned students, forexample, or those whose parents live elsewhere because of a military deployment. But Jeff, whois still in contact with his parents, didnt qualify.

In 2008, the school system had 725 requests for free enrollment from out-of-county students.Each year, on average, about 65 requests are granted. Across the Potomac in Fairfax County,where Virginia law requires more leniency, 339 requests resulted in 329 approvals.

The regulations are the regulations, said Steve Zagami, director of student services for the140,000-student Montgomery school district. He said that if it appeared the student was movedto the county solely for an education, the request is turned down and parents are offered theoption to pay a $12,000 tuition or educate their child elsewhere.

Jeff Sukkasem (Matthew A. Roth/For The Examiner)

8/14/2019 Washington Examiner: Would-Be Student Seeks Waiver to Attend Classes

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This is a wonderful school system wed be very attractive to many families if the policywerent strictly enforced, Zagami said.But for Jeff, whose mother lacks the funds to return him home and whose legal guardian lacksthe funds to pay private tuition, it has meant two years outside the classroom.

He longs for friendships, he said, and often stays awake at night, anxious about how far hesfalling behind.

Its very frustrating for both of us, said Kanya Amornpimonkul, Jeffs guardian, who makesabout $30,000 per year working night shifts at a hotel.

My English is poor, I was never in school here; I dont know what books an eighth-grader issupposed to read, or what is online, or what is for free, she said.

State law leaves it to districts to determine enrollment policies, and Maryland state Sen. NancyKing, D-Montgomery, though sympathetic to Jeffs case, said she believed thats where the

decision belongs.

Once we open that door, its hard to know where to stop, especially in fiscal times like were innow, she said, adding that Montgomerys proximity to the poorly performing District andPrince Georges County schools required it to keep borders tight.

Pat Hoover, a Rockville-based lawyer, is working with the family to appeal the school systemsdecision.

Hes here, hes not going anywhere, and hes not being educated, he said. At some point heshould be grandfathered in something.