Committee advances bill to create misdemeanor for falsified school-enrollment documents

A Senate committee advanced a committee substitute to Bill 2802 that would add a lesser included misdemeanor for parents who falsify residency documents to enroll children in a school district where they do not live. Sponsor Senator Rhodes said the substitute is meant to provide "some threat of enforcement" without pushing existing felony-level penalties that prosecutors rarely pursue.

Rhodes told the committee: "This just adds up under that section. It allows you to be charged with a misdemeanor," arguing the change makes enforcement more realistic than the current option of a large fine or lengthy prison term. The sponsor also proposed replacing language requiring schools to "expel the child" with wording that the child "shall not be eligible for enrollment" in the district so the child would not carry an expulsion on their record.

Opponents cautioned the measure still criminalizes parents and could harm single-parent families. Senator Barnett asked, "So how can you blame the child for the parents making that determination?" and warned families could suffer financially or lose custody if a parent faces fines or jail time. Senator England said she sympathized with families but intended to vote against the bill, calling the proposal "punishing parents who are trying to make a better opportunity for their children."

The committee adopted the eligibility amendment (changing "expel" to "not eligible") and ultimately voted to report the committee substitute as "title sufficient, do pass." The transcript records the committee's voice votes as "The ayes have it" for the committee substitute.