STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
RIDE No. 24-072-A
STUDENT R. DOE, by his mother,
Ms. Doe,
Petitioner
v.
EAST PROVIDENCE SCHOOL
DEPARTMENT,
Respondent
DECISION AND ORDER
Held: High school student's appeal of school district's decision to disenroll him at the conclusion of the current semester was denied as the evidence supported the district's conclusion that the student was not a resident of the district for school attendance purposes pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-64-1.
January 9, 2025
On November 4, 2024, Petitioner, STUDENT R. DOE ("R. Doe"), by his mother, Ms. Doe, filed a petition (the "Petition") with the Commissioner and requested a hearing to challenge the decision by Respondent, EAST PROVIDENCE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT (the "EPSD"), to disenroll R. Doe from East Providence High School ("EPHS") on the ground that he did not reside in the City of East Providence for school attendance purposes pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws §16-64-1.
I. Jurisdiction and Burden of Proof
The Commissioner has jurisdiction over this mater under R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-64-6, and as in most cases, the petitioner — here R. Doe — has the burden of proof.[1]
II. The Facts
An evidentiary hearing was conducted by the undersigned Hearing Officer on December 18, 2024. Ms. Doe appeared pro se, whereas EPSD and the West Warwick School Department (the "WWSD") were represented by legal counsel (Attorneys Matthew T. Oliverio and Taino J. Palermo, respectively). Sworn testimony was offered and/or elicited by/from Ms. Doe; the EPSD Attendance Officer (Mark Petrella); Ms. Doe's boyfriend/partner (Helder Lopes); and Mr. Lopes' mother (Maria DeMonte Andrade Lopes). The following is a summary of the testimony and of the documentary evidence introduced at the hearing.
A. R. Doe's History in West Warwick
1. R. Doe resided with Ms. Doe in West Warwick, Rhode Island – most recently at 76 Country Drive – and attended schools operated by the WWSD from kindergarten through April of the 2023-2024 school year, when R. Doe's was a high school freshman.[2]
2. The three-bedroom residence at 76 Country Drive in West Warwick is, and was at all relevant times, owned by Ms. Doe and her boyfriend (Mr. Lopes).
B. The Alleged Move to East Providence and R. Doe's Enrollment at EPHS
3. Ms. Doe enrolled R. Doe at EPHS in May of 2024, when he was in the ninth grade. See transcript of the December 18, 2024, hearing ("Tr.") at 21.
4. As proof of residence in East Providence, Ms. Doe provided the EPSD with a lease agreement dated April 15, 2024, for 242 Central Avenue in East Providence, which is a multi-story building owned and also occupied by Mr. Lopes' mother (Ms. Lopes). Ms. Doe also provided the EPSD with a recent utilities bill with her name on it referring to "242 Central Avenue, number 3," and a recent account statement from Santander Bank that included her name and the 242 Central Avenue address. See Tr. at 21, 68-69.
5. Ms. Lopes initially informed the EPSD that she and R. Doe resided with Mr. Lopes in the third-floor apartment of 242 Central Avenue, see id. at 22, and although the proffered lease provided for monthly rent of $1,200, see Respondent's Exhibit 3, Ms. Doe testified that "we don't give her [Ms. Lopes] full cash because we take care of the house." Id. at 31.
6. Ms. Doe testified that "at some point" in 2024 she and R. Doe began staying in the basement apartment at 242 Central Avenue East Providence "on and off," while also "commuting a lot to West Warwick," because her boyfriend, "has to do a lot of work, like, construction work, at his Mom's house." See Tr. at 8, 33.[3]
7. She described her boyfriend's work in East Providence as "[l]ike construction work and the work that he does, like in houses, like small jobs," as a "handyman." See id. at 34. At the same time, she testified that she stayed in East Providence "occasionally," which she defied as meaning "[a]lmost all the time," adding that "the only reason I have the house [in West Warwick] is I have an older son . . . who stays there with his girlfriend." Id. at 10.[4]
C. The EPSD Investigation and Ms. Doe's Responses
8. According to Mr. Petrella, the EPSD normally inquires further as to residency when leases are proffered as proof of residence, especially when, as in this case, they are accompanied by a utility bill and bank account with very recent dates. See id. at 69-70.
9. Mr. Petrella testified that he visited 242 Central Avenue in East Providence on May 16, 2024, and was informed by Ms. Lopes that neither Ms. Doe nor R. Doe resided at the premises. See id. at 70-71. In addition, Mr. Petrella testified that he visited 242 Central Avenue on May 13 and 16, and May 22, 2024, and did not observe Ms. Doe, R. Doe or Mr. Lopes, or their vehicles, at the location. See id. at 81.
10. Ms. Doe was thus informed before the end of the 2023-2024 school year that although R. Doe could complete his freshman year at EPHS, he would be disenrolled thereafter unless Ms. Doe provided satisfactory proof of residence in East Providence. See id. at 72.
11. In reliance upon Ms. Doe's claim that she had purchased a residence in East Providence, R. Doe was enrolled in the Tenth Grade at EPHS at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, and on October 2, 2024, Ms. Doe informed the EPSD that she and R. Doe now resided at 9-11 Apulia Street in East Providence (and sent the EPSD a copy of her mortgage statement as evidence), a claim which she then repeated in a text to Mr. Petrella on October 5, 2024. See id. at 76-78.
12. Ms. Doe did in fact purchase the residence located at 9-11 Apulia Street in East Providence on or about June 16, 2024. See id. at 72-73.[5] However, the premises was subject to a month-to-month tenancy, and Ms. Doe never resided there. Indeed, it is unclear whether Ms. Doe ever intended to reside at 9-11 Apulia Street. See id. at 26-28.
13. Thus, according to Mr. Petrella, when he visited the premises at 9-11 Apulia Street on various occasions in October and November of 2024, neither Ms. Doe, R. Doe, Mr. Lopes or their vehicles were ever present at the location. See id. at 44, 74-75.
14. As a result, on October 10, 2024, Ms. Doe was advised by EPSD, in writing, that it had concluded that R. Doe did not reside in East Providence for school attendance purposes and R. Doe would be dis-enrolled from EPHS at the end of this semester. See Respondent's Exhibit 9.
15. On October 30, 2024, Ms. Doe sent an email to the EPSD and claimed that she actually resided at 242 Central Avenue, and sent a copy of the aforementioned lease as evidence. See Tr. at 77-78 and Respondent's Exhibits 3 and 8.
16. Mr. Petrella testified that he then revisited 242 Central Avenue on November 7, 18, 20, 25 and 26, 2024, and never observed Ms. Doe, R. Doe or Mr. Lopes at the location, and only once observed a vehicle belonging to Mr. Lopes at the address. See Tr. at 62-63.
17. However, Mr. Petrella testified that on November 20, 2024, he observed Mr. Lopes transporting R. Doe from 76 Country Drive in West Warwick to EPHS. See id. at 46.
18. Ms. Doe listed her West Warwick residence for sale on or about December 2, 2024. See Respondent's Exhibit 1.[6] However, Ms. Doe remains registered to vote in West Warwick, see Respondent's Ex. 2, and the address on Ms. Doe's car registration continues to be her West Warwick address. See id. at 17, 35-36.
D. Mr. Petrella's Opinion
19. When asked to give his opinion as to R. Doe's residency for school purposes, Mr. Petrella, who has extensive experience in surveillance as a former member of the Cranston Police Department's Drug Enforcement Task Force, see id. at 68, testified that:
There is no indication to me with all of the surveillance that I have done, that Ms. [Doe and R. Doe] have ever stayed at 242 Central Ave., especially not the third floor because we know Ms. Lopes' brother lived there in May. And now these two unknowns live there now. The conflicting statements I have gotten from Ms. Doe as to living at Central, 242 Central Avenue, third floor, no, it's the basement; living at 9-11 Apulia Street, first floor, no, it's not the first floor, it's the basement. And actually seeing Mr. Lopes and [R. Doe] exit 76 Country Drive at about 6:50 in the morning on a school day leads me to believe they do not, have not, ever lived at 242 Central Avenue and they do reside at 76 Country Drive. See id. at 85-86.
E. The Statements by R. Doe and Mr. and Ms. Lopes
20. R. Doe was a suspect in an alleged larceny at EPHS involving some Apple Air Pods, which their internal tracking system indicated were located at "76 Country Dr. in West Warwick." When R. Doe was asked as part of the investigation into the incident where he resided, R. Doe responded by saying that he "rents an apartment on Apulia Street but stays with his grandmother at another location in East Providence and also stays with his father in West Warwick, R.I., at said address, on the weekends." See Respondent's Exhibit 10 (EPSD Incident Report).[7]
21. Contrary to the testimony of Ms. Doe that she and R. Doe moved to East Providence to be closer to Mr. Lopes' construction work, see ¶¶ 6-7, supra at 4, Mr. Lopes himself testified that his employment involved design work for an architectural engineering firm located in Franklin, Massachusetts. See id. at 58-59.
22. In addition, it does not appear from their testimony that either Mr. Lopes or his mother knew that a lease for 242 Central Avenue even existed, see id. at 54, 102-103, and Ms. Lopes denied Ms. Doe's claim that she and/or Mr. Lopes did work for Ms. Lopes in lieu of paying rent. See id. at 104.
23. Finally, Ms. Doe testified that she used the basement apartment at 242 Central Avenue in East Providence "for her own self," as well as for "the kids" to stay there, which included Mr. Lopes, her oldest son, who occupied the third-floor apartment, her "oldest nieces," as well as R. Doe, see id. at 99-100, and she said that Ms. Doe stays there overnight only "once a month." See id. at 101.
III. Positions of the Parties
1. R. Doe
Ms. Doe argues that she and R. Doe are residents of East Providence for school attendance purposes under R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-64-1 since "at some point" in 2024 they relocated to a basement apartment at 242 Central Avenue in East Providence — a building owned by her boyfriend's mother — in order to be closer to the construction work performed by her boyfriend, who worked as a "handyman." She explained that when she had told the EPSD that she and R. Doe resided at 9-11 Apulia Street in East Providence, it was then her intention to do so, but she then changed her mind. As to her initial claim that she resided in the third-floor apartment at 242 Central Avenue, as opposed to her eventual claim that she resided with R. Doe in the basement apartment, this was explainable since, she argued, they intended to move into the third-floor apartment in the future.
2. The EPSD
The EPSD relied upon the investigation and conclusion of its Attendance Officer, Mr. Petrella, who concluded that neither M. Doe nor R. Doe ever resided at 242 Central Avenue in East Providence, but rather, at all relevant times resided at 76 Country Drive in West Warwick. This conclusion was based upon his surveillance at the parties' alleged residence in East Providence, the contradictory statements of Ms. Doe, the conflicting statements of Ms. Lopes regarding the alleged lease and Ms. Doe's occupation of her basement apartment, and finally, the fact that he observed Mr. Lopes driving R. Doe to EPHS from 76 Country Drive in West Warwick.
IV. Decision
R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-64-1 provides, in pertinent part, that, "[e]xcept as provided by law or by agreement, a child shall be enrolled in the school system of the city or town where he or she resides" and "[a] child shall be deemed to be a resident of the city or town where his or her parents reside." Id.
This case boils down to witness credibility, and the credibility of Ms. Doe's claim that she and R. Doe resided at all relevant times in a basement apartment at 242 Central Avenue in East Providence was severely undermined by the fact that:
(1) At various times, she informed the EPSD and its Attendance Officer that she and R. Doe resided in the third-floor apartment at 242 Central Avenue as well as at 9-11 Apulia Street, whereas they never resided at either location. See ¶¶ 5, 11 and 23, supra at 3, 4-5 and 7;
(2) The reason Ms. Doe stated she and R. Doe had relocated from West Warwick to East Providence, i.e., to be nearer to her boyfriend's construction work as a “handyman,” was flatly refuted by her boyfriend, who testified that he was employed performing design work for an architectural engineering firm located in Franklin, Massachusetts. See ¶ 7, supra at 4; and perhaps most significantly,
(3) Ms. Doe's claim that she was a permanent resident with R. Doe in the basement apartment at 242 Central Avenue was squarely refuted by the testimony of the owner of the property, who knew nothing about the lease Ms. Doe proffered to the EPSD and testified that Ms. Doe resided in the apartment only “once a month.” See ¶¶ 22-23, supra at 7.
By contrast, the unimpeached testimony of the EPSD Attendance Officer regarding his surveillance of the parties and the statements made to him by Ms. Doe, see ¶¶ 9, 13, 15-17, supra at 4-5, support the conclusion of the EPSD that R. Doe was not a resident of East Providence for school attendance purposes under R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-64-1.
Footnotes
[1] R.I. Gen. Laws §16-64-6 provides, in pertinent part, that “[w]hen a school district or a state agency charged with educating children denies that it is responsible for educating a child on the grounds that the child is not a resident of the school district or that the child is not the educational responsibility of the state agency, the dispute shall, on the motion of any party to the dispute, be resolved by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education or the commissioner's designee who shall hold a hearing and determine the issue.” Id.
[2] Ms. Doe separated from R. Doe’s birth father, who apparently resides in West Warwick.
[3] According to both Ms. Doe and Mr. Lopes, the apparent discrepancy between Ms. Doe’s initial claim that they occupied an apartment on the third floor, as opposed to the basement apartment, was explained by the fact that although they resided in the basement apartment, they eventually intended to move into the third floor. See id. at 25, 54. In fact, the third-floor apartment was occupied at all relevant times by Ms. Lopes’ elder son. See id. at 102, 106.
[4] Ms. Doe’s older son is twenty-four years of age.
[5] Indeed, in the Petition, Ms. Doe claimed that she “even purchased a home in the school district . . . in an effort to keep [R. Doe in EPHS].” See Petition at 2.
[6] This listing was made either on the same day, or one day before, the prehearing telephone conference that was conducted by the undersigned Hearing Officer on December 3, 2024.
[7] In fact, according to Mr. Petrella, when asked about the location of the Air Pods, R. Doe responded that they were “at his father’s house at 76 Country Drive in West Warwick,” see id. at 83, and according to Mr. Petrella, when questioned in connection with the incident, R. Doe initially “did not know the address that he stayed at, he did not even know the name of Apulia Street, he did not know the numerical of the home on Central Avenue. The only one he did know was the 76 Country Drive in West Warwick.” Id. at 79-80.
V. Order
For all of the above reasons, Student's Doe's petition challenging the finding of the EPSD that Student Doe does not reside within the District for school attendance purposes is denied and dismissed, and Student Doe may be disenrolled from EPHS at the conclusion of the present semester, i.e., at the conclusion of school on Friday, January 24, 2025.
ANTHONY F. COTTONE, ESQ.,
Hearing Officer for the Commissioner
ANGÉLICA INFANTE-GREEN,
Commissioner
DATED: January 9, 2025