I.D., on behalf of minor child, I.R. v. Board of Education of the City of Burlington, Burlington County, 7/18/2024, (#275-24)

275-24
OAL Dkt. No. EDU 01364-24
Agency Dkt. No. 364-12/23
New Jersey Commissioner of Education
Final Decision
I.D., on behalf of minor child, I.R.,
Petitioner,
v.
Board of Education of the City of Burlington,
Burlington County,
Respondent.
The record of this matter and the Initial Decision of the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) have
been reviewed and considered. The parties did not file exceptions.
Upon review, the Commissioner concurs with the Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) finding that
petitioner failed to sustain her burden of establishing that minor child I.R. was entitled to attend school
in Burlington pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1. The Commissioner further concurs with the ALJ’s conclusion
that I.R. was, therefore, not entitled to a free public education in the district during that time.
Accordingly, the Initial Decision is adopted, and the petition of appeal is hereby dismissed.
IT IS SO ORDERED.1
ACTING COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
Date of Decision: 	July 18, 2024
Date of Mailing: 	July 24, 2024
1 This decision may be appealed to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:6-
9.1. Under N.J.Ct.R. 2:4-1(b), a notice of appeal must be filed with the Appellate Division within 45 days
from the date of mailing of this decision.

New Jersey is an Equal Opportunity Employer
State of New Jersey
OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
INITIAL DECISION
SUMMARY DECISION
OAL DKT. NO. EDU 01364-24
AGENCY DKT. NO. 364-12/24
I.D. ON BEHALF OF MINOR CHILD I.R.,
Petitioners,
v.
BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CITY
OF BURLINGTON, BURLINGTON COUNTY,
Respondent.
______________________________________
I.D., appearing pro se
Alicia D’Anella, Esq., for respondent (Gorman, D’Anella & Morlok, LLC, attorneys)
Record Closed: May 3, 2024 Decided: June 14, 2024
BEFORE WILLIAM T. COOPER III, ALJ:
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Petitioner I.D. (“petitioner”) filed an appeal with the Department of Education from
the determination of the Board of Education of the City of Burlington (“Board”) that her niece,
I.R., was only residing with I.D. for purposes of attending school, and petitioner failed to

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 01364-24
2
demonstrate economic or family hardship and/or that I.R.’s parents C.A. and A.A. were
incapable of supporting her, as required by N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On December 4, 2023, the Board issued a final Notice of Ineligibility to I.D. stating
that her niece I.R. was ineligible to attend school within the district. The petitioner filed a
notice of appeal on or about December 21, 2023. The Board filed an answer and motion
for summary decision and requested that the Commissioner dismiss the appeal and
assess petitioner the cost of tuition.
The matter was transmitted to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL), where it was
filed as a contested case on January 26, 2024. N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 to -15; N.J.S.A. 52:14F-
1 to -13.
A status conference was conducted on March 14, 2024, and the petitioner was
afforded an opportunity to provide a response to the motion for summary decision by April
12, 2024. No response or opposition to the motion was received from the petitioner.
A hearing on the motion was scheduled for May 3, 2024. The petitioner failed to
appear at the hearing. All notices for the hearing were served properly by the Office of
Administrative Law (OAL). No mailings were returned or unsuccessfully delivered. The
OAL did not receive any contact from the petitioner while this matter was pending.
FACTUAL DISCUSSION
The material facts were uncontroverted, and I FIND as FACT the following:
I.R. previously attended Burlington City High School through the end of the 2022–
2023 school year, which was her junior (eleventh-grade) year. I.R.’s parents, C.A. and
A.A., moved out of the City of Burlington Public School District (“district”) during the 2022–
2023 school year, after purchasing a home in Marlton, New Jersey. As a result, I.R. was
transferred to Cherokee High School for the 2023–2024 school year. Prior to her transfer,

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3
I.R.’s parents requested permission for her to remain in the district through the 2023–
2024 school year. This request was denied.
Families are allowed to enroll students in the district due to economic or family
hardship pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1, and on or about November 28, 2023, I.D., who
is I.R.’s aunt and resides within the district, sought to enroll her niece I.R. in the district
under the provisions of that statute. An application for families seeking to enroll students
in the district due to economic or family hardship was forwarded to I.D. The completed
affidavits were submitted on or about December 1, 2023.
In the affidavits, under the section titled “Explanation of Hardship,” I.R.’s mother,
C.A., provided the following explanation:
[I.R.] is having a hard time adapting to the new school. She’s
being depressed, doesn’t leave the room, crying all day,
claiming her life is ruined ever since we moved, as she doesn’t
want to graduate with students and teachers that she doesn’t
know and the students in the new school isn’t being opened
[sic] to include her.
On December 4, 2023, I.R.’s family was notified that I.R.’s enrollment had been
denied and the family was provided with a Notice of Ineligibility and information on how
petitioners may appeal to the Commissioner of Education. The district concluded that
I.R. was only residing with I.D. for purposes of attending school, and petitioner failed to
demonstrate economic or family hardship as required by N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1 and/or that
I.R.’s parents were incapable of supporting her.
The daily tuition rate for a student in the district during the 2023–2024 school year
is $114.19 per day.

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4
LEGAL ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS
Summary Decision
At any time concurrent with or after the filing of an answer, but prior to transmittal
of a matter to the Office of Administrative Law, any party may apply for summary decision
by way of a motion with proof of service on each other party. N.J.A.C. 6A:3-1.12. A
contested case can be summarily disposed of before a plenary hearing in instances
where the undisputed material facts, as developed on motion or otherwise, indicate that
a particular disposition is required as a matter of law. See In re Robros Recycling Corp.,
226 N.J. Super. 343, 350 (App. Div. 1988). When a motion for summary decision is made
and supported, to prevail, an adverse party must, by responding affidavit, set forth specific
facts showing that there is a genuine issue that can only be determined in an evidentiary
proceeding. N.J.A.C. 1:1-12.5(b).
Here, the petitioner was afforded an opportunity but failed to respond to the motion
filed on or before April 12, 2024. Petitioner also failed to appear for the scheduled motion
hearing on May 3, 2024.
I CONCLUDE that the material facts are undisputed and, as such, this matter is
ripe for summary decision.
Issues
There are two issues here: 1. Did petitioner demonstrate economic or family
hardship as required by N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1 and/or that I.R.’s parents were incapable of
supporting her? 2. Was the determination by the Board that I.R. is not entitled to a free
education in the City of Burlington Public School District arbitrary and capricious?
Analysis
Public schools are required to provide a free education to individuals between the
ages of five and twenty years in certain circumstances, including individuals who are

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 01364-24
5
domiciled within the school district. N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1(a). Domicile has been defined as
the place where a person has his true, fixed, permanent home and principal
establishment, and to which, whenever he is absent, he has the intention of returning.
State v. Benny, 20 N.J. 238, 250 (1955). The domicile of an unemancipated child is the
domicile of the parent, custodian, or guardian. P.B.K. ex rel. minor child E.Y. v. Bd. of
Educ. of Tenafly, 343 N.J. Super. 419, 427 (App. Div. 2001). Thus, a child would routinely
attend school in the district where his or her parents live.
Here, I.R. previously attended Burlington City High School through the end of the
2022–2023 school year, which was her junior (eleventh-grade) year. I.R.’s parents, C.A.
and A.A., moved out of the district during the 2022–2023 school year after purchasing a
home in Marlton, New Jersey. The district concluded that I.R. was not entitled to a free
education in the City of Burlington Public School District because petitioner was unable
to demonstrate either an economic or family hardship or that C.A. and A.A. are unable to
provide care and support to I.R. N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1 requires that the parent or guardian
of a child file a sworn statement with the secretary of the board of education attesting that
the parent or guardian is not capable of supporting or providing care for the child due to
a family or economic hardship, and that the child is not residing with the resident of the
district solely for the purpose of receiving a free public education within the district. With
respect to meeting the threshold for establishing hardship, N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1(b) requires
that parents not only show a “hardship,” but also show that they are incapable of providing
support or care to the child because of that hardship. As set forth below, neither hardship
nor inability to care for I.R. has been demonstrated.
I.R.’s mother, C.A., submitted a sworn statement in support of I.R.’s enrollment as
an “affidavit student” that demonstrates only that I.R. is unhappy at having to transfer to
a new school due to her parents’ relocation. Specifically, C.A. attests that I.R. is “claiming
her life is ruined” and “doesn’t want to graduate with students and teachers that she
doesn’t know.” While I.R.’s unhappiness and disappointment are perfectly
understandable, a student’s displeasure does not meet the legal threshold for family or
economic hardship. Further, even if I.R.’s unhappiness constituted a hardship, the
affidavit is lacking any information regarding C.A. and A.A.’s capability to provide care or
support to I.R. The statute requires the parent to provide “a sworn statement that he is

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 01364-24
6
not capable of supporting or providing care for the child due to a family or economic
hardship,” not merely that a hardship may exist. N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1(b); see also J.B. ex
rel. R.H. v. Bd. of Educ. of Ocean, SB# 26-97 (Sept. 3, 1997),
http://www.nj.gov/education/legal/sboe/1997/jb3.pdf.
Applying the law to the facts and circumstances, I CONCLUDE that I.R. is not
entitled to free public education in the respondent’s district. I CONCLUDE that the
petitioners have failed to satisfy their burden of proof that C.A. and A.A. are incapable of
providing care and support to I.R. or that the family is facing an economic hardship. I
CONCLUDE that the respondent did not act in an arbitrary and capricious manner in
denying enrollment to I.R. I CONCLUDE that summary decision in favor of respondent
is appropriate.
ORDER
It is hereby ORDERED that respondent’s motion for summary decision is
GRANTED. Petitioner’s appeal is DISMISSED.
I hereby FILE this initial decision with the COMMISSIONER OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION for consideration.
This recommended decision may be adopted, modified, or rejected by the
COMMISSIONER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, who by law is authorized
to make a final decision in this matter. If the Commissioner of the Department of
Education does not adopt, modify, or reject this decision within forty-five days and unless
such time limit is otherwise extended, this recommended decision shall become a final
decision in accordance with N.J.S.A. 52:14B-10.

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 01364-24
7
Within thirteen days from the date on which this recommended decision was
mailed to the parties, any party may file written exceptions with the COMMISSIONER OF
THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, ATTN: BUREAU OF CONTROVERSIES AND
DISPUTES, 100 Riverview Plaza, 4th Floor, PO Box 500, Trenton, New Jersey 08625-
0500, marked “Attention: Exceptions.” A copy of any exceptions must be sent to the
judge and to the other parties.
June 14, 2024
DATE WILLIAM T. COOPER III, ALJ.
Date Received at Agency:
Date E-Mailed to Parties:
WTC/am

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 01364-24
8
APPENDIX
Witnesses
For Petitioners
None
For Respondent
None
Exhibits
For Petitioners
None
For Respondent
R-1 Motion for Summary Decision and supporting Affidavit