S.B., on behalf of minor child, S.F. v. Board of Education of the Morris School District, Morris County, 12/3/19, (#321-19)

New Jersey Commissioner of Education
Final Decision
S.B., on behalf of minor child, S.F.,
Petitioner,
v.
Board 	of 	Education 	of 	the 	Morris 	School
District, Morris County,
Respondent.
Synopsis
Petitioner appealed the determination of the respondent Board that her child, S.F., was ineligible
to receive a free public education in respondent’s school district. 	S.F. divides her time equally
between the Morris County School of Technology and the Morristown High School (MHS). The
Board contended that S.B. and S.F. moved from Morristown to Boonton early in the 2018-19
school year, and from that point forward was ineligible to receive a free public education in the
Morris School District. The Board filed a motion for summary decision, and a counterclaim for
tuition.
The ALJ found, inter alia, that: there are no material facts at issue herein and the case is ripe for
summary decision; pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1(a), public school is free to a minor who is
domiciled within the school district; if a student is not domiciled within the school district, she is
not entitled to attend district schools free of charge, and the Commissioner may assess tuition
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1b; in the instant case, it is uncontroverted that S.B. and S.F. moved
from Morristown to Boonton on September 30, 2018, but S.F. continued to attend MHS for the
remainder of the 2018-19 school year; 	S.F. remains a student at MHS for the 2019-20 school
year; and the respondent Board is entitled to tuition reimbursement for the period of S.F.’s
ineligible attendance. 	The ALJ concluded that S.B. owes the Board $11,290.05 for the period
from October 19, 2018 through June 30, 2019, and an additional amount of $73.70 per day for
each school day S.F. attended school in respondent’s district during the 2019-20 school year.
Upon review, the Commissioner concurred with the findings and conclusions of the ALJ.
However, in reviewing the tuition calculations in the Initial Decision, the Commissioner found
that additional information is necessary in order to accurately calculate the total amount of
tuition due to the Board. 	Accordingly, the Commissioner remanded this matter to the OAL for
calculation of total tuition owed for S.F.’s ineligible attendance, and supplementation of the
record as warranted.
This synopsis is not part of the Commissioner’s decision. It has been prepared for the convenience of the reader. It
has been neither reviewed nor approved by the Commissioner.
December 3, 2019
321-19

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OAL Dkt. No. EDU 05507-19
Agency Dkt. No. 60-3/19
New Jersey Commissioner of Education
Final Decision
S.B., on behalf of minor child, S.F.,
Petitioner,
v.
Board 	of 	Education 	of 	the 	Morris 	School
District, Morris County,
Respondent.
The record of this matter and the Initial Decision of the Office of Administrative
Law (OAL) have been reviewed. The parties did not file exceptions.
Upon such review, the Commissioner concurs with the Administrative Law
Judge’s (ALJ) finding that petitioner failed to sustain her burden of establishing that she was a
domiciliary of Morristown for the majority of the 2018-19 school year, as she admitted moving
to Boonton on or about September 30, 2018. 	The Commissioner further concurs with the ALJ
that the minor child was, therefore, not entitled to a free public education in the District’s
schools, or at the Morris County School of Technology, which S.F. attended part time.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1b, the Commissioner shall assess tuition against
petitioner for the time period during which the minor child was ineligible to attend school in the
district. 	The ALJ noted that the half-time tuition at Morristown High School for the 2018-19
school year was $7,994.50, and the part-time tuition at the Morris County School of Technology
for the same period was $4,550. 	The ALJ prorated the tuition to $11,290.05 for the portion of
the school year in which S.F. was ineligible to attend school in the Morris School District, but it

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is unclear what time period that calculation represents. 	The Initial Decision indicates that the
$11,290.05 represents the prorated tuition for the time period from October 1, 2018 through
June 30, 2019; elsewhere in the decision, however, the time period in question is stated as
October 19, 2018 through June 30, 2019. 	Without the daily tuition rate for the 2018-19 school
year and the number of school days in which S.F. was ineligible to attend school in the district
during that time, the Commissioner cannot calculate the exact tuition amount.
Additionally, the ALJ ordered that petitioner pay $73.70 per day for each school
day since the start of the 2019-20 school year and going forward, but it is unclear whether this
daily tuition rate is comprised of the part-time rates from both of the schools S.F. attended, i.e.,
the Morristown High School and the Morris County School of Technology; 	further, the ALJ
failed to include a calculation for any defined portion of the 2019-20 school year, such as to the
date the record closed or the date of the Initial Decision.
In order to calculate the total tuition owed to the Board in this matter, additional
information is necessary, such as the number of school days on which the minor child attended
school ineligibly during both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years in respondent’s school
district. 	Accordingly, this matter is remanded to the OAL for calculation of tuition due to the
Board, and supplementation of the record as warranted.
IT IS SO ORDERED.1
COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
Date of Decision: 	December 3, 2019
Date of Mailing: 	December 3, 2019
1 This decision may be appealed to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court pursuant to P.L. 2008,
c. 36 (N.J.S.A 18A:6-9.1).

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State of New Jersey
OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
INITIAL DECISION
SUMMARY DECISION
OAL DKT. NO. EDU 05507-19
AGENCY DKT. NO. 60-3/19
S.B. ON BEHALF OF MINOR CHILD S.F.,
Petitioner,
v.
BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE MORRIS
SCHOOL DISTRICT, MORRIS COUNTY,
Respondent.
____________________________________
S.B., petitioner, pro se
Frances L. Febres, Esq., for respondent (Cleary, Giacobbe, Alfieri & Jacobs,
LLC, attorneys)
Record Closed: October 18, 2019 	Decided: October 28, 2019
BEFORE BARRY E. MOSCOWITZ, ALJ:
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
S.F. is a minor and a student in the Morris School District but is domiciled in the
Boonton School District. 	Should public school be free to S.F. in the Morris School
District when she is not domiciled there? 	No. 	Under N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1(a), public

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school shall be free to a minor who is domiciled within the school district, and S.F.
meets no exception under this law.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Petitioner, S.B., is the mother of S.F. Significantly, S.F. is a minor and a student
in the Morris School District who divides her time equally between the Morris County
School of Technology (Morris County VoTech) and Morristown High School. 	On
October 19, 2018, the Morris School District discovered that S.B. had moved from
Morristown, NJ, to Boonton, NJ. 	As a result, on November 1, 2018, the Morris School
District sent S.B. a Notice of Initial Determination of Ineligibility, which afforded S.B. a
hearing before its board of education to determine whether S.F. was entitled to a free,
public education by the Morris School District.
On 	December 	10, 	2018, 	respondent, 	the 	Morris 	School 	District 	Board 	of
Education (Board), held the hearing. 	On March 11, 2019, the Board determined that
S.B. had failed to prove that S.F. lived within the Morris School District; concluded that
S.F. was ineligible to receive a free, public education from it; and, consequently, voted
to remove S.F. from the district. 	On March 14, 2019, the Board issued its Notice of
Final Determination of Ineligibility. 	In its notice, the Board informed S.B. that she may
be assessed tuition.
On March 25, 2019, S.B. appealed the determination.
On April 23, 2019, the Department of Education, Office of Controversies and
Disputes, transmitted the case to the Office of Administrative Law as a contested case
under 	the 	Administrative 	Procedure 	Act, 	N.J.S.A. 	52:14B-1 	to 	-15, 	and 	the 	act
establishing the Office of Administrative Law, N.J.S.A. 52:14F-1 to -23, for a hearing
under the Uniform Administrative Procedure Rules, N.J.A.C. 1:1-1.1 to -21.6.
On April 29, 2019, the case was assigned to me for hearing. 	On May 3, 2019, I
held an initial prehearing conference, during which time the parties advised me that they

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were negotiating a settlement of the case. 	As a result, another prehearing conference
was scheduled for May 17, 2019.
On May 17, 2019, I held the prehearing conference to learn the status of the
settlement negotiations, during which time the parties advised me that they would enter
into 	a 	settlement 	agreement 	within 	the 	next 	thirty 	days, 	so 	I 	scheduled 	another
prehearing conference for June 19, 2019.
On June 19, 2019, before I convened the prehearing conference, the parties
advised me that they could not enter into a settlement agreement and requested an
adjournment of the prehearing conference until the following day, June 20, 2019.
At the prehearing conference on June 20, 2019, the parties informed me that
they could not settle the case, but agreed that it could be resolved through a motion for
summary decision, which the Board represented it would file shortly.
On September 12, 2019, the Board filed its motion for summary decision. 	On
September 25, 2019, more than the ten days N.J.A.C. 1:1-12.2 allows for the filing of
opposition, petitioner emailed this tribunal to request a conference call, which was
scheduled for October 18, 2019. 	On October 18, 2019, before the conference call,
petitioner emailed her opposition, and during the conference call, the Board advised that
it would not submit a response. As a result, I closed the record.
FINDINGS OF FACT
Based on the documents submitted in support of and in opposition to the motion
for summary decision, I FIND the following as FACT for purposes of this motion only:
Petitioner, S.B., is the mother of S.F. S.F. is a minor and a student in the Morris
School District who divides her time equally between the Morris County VoTech and
Morristown High School. 	Before the 2018–19 school year, S.B. and S.F. lived in
Morristown, NJ, at 23 D. Place. S.B. and S.F., however, moved for the 2018–19 school

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year. During the 2018–19 school year, on September 30, 2018, S.B. and S.F. moved to
Boonton, NJ, at 81 D. Avenue. 	Uncontroverted evidence are the fact that on October
19, 2018, mail was returned to the Morris School District from 23 D. Place, Morristown,
NJ, and admissions by S.B. that she and S.F. did, in fact, move to 81 D. Avenue,
Boonton, NJ. 	Indeed, S.B. wrote a letter to the Commissioner of the Department of
Education, dated March 20, 2019, listing her home address as 81 D. Avenue, Boonton,
NJ, and another letter to the Commissioner dated March 25, 2019, stating that she
moved from Morristown to 81 D. Avenue, Boonton, NJ, on September 30, 2018.
Despite having moved from Morristown to Boonton, S.F. continued to attend high
school at Morristown High School for the 2018–19 school year, and she continues to
attend high school at Morristown High School for the 2019–20 school year to this day.
The half-time tuition for general-education attendance at Morristown High School
for the 2018–19 school year is $7,994.50. 	The part-time tuition for attendance at the
Morris County VoTech for the 2018–19 school year is $4,550. 	Thus, the total and
prorated tuition for S.F. to attend Morristown High School and the Morris County
VoTech between October 1, 2018, and June 30, 2019, is $11,290.05.
Meanwhile, the per-diem tuition rate for the 2018–19 school year is $69.69, and
the per-diem tuition rate for the 2019–20 school year is $73.70.
To date, S.B. has made no payments to the Morris School District.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
A party may move for summary decision upon any or all substantive issues in a
contested case. 	N.J.A.C. 1:1-12.5(a). 	The motion for summary decision shall be
served with briefs and may be served with supporting affidavits. 	“The decision sought
may be rendered if the papers and discovery which have been filed, together with the
affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact challenged
and that the moving party is entitled to prevail as a matter of law.” N.J.A.C. 1:1-12.5(b).

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In this case, no genuine issue of any material fact exists, and the Board is
entitled to prevail as a matter of law for the reasons stated below.
Public school shall be free to a minor who is domiciled within the school district,
N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1(a); New Jersey has consistently held that the domicile of the child
follows the domicile of the parent, Shim v. Rutgers, 191 N.J. 374, 399 (2007); and if a
student does not have a right to attend the school district, the Commissioner may
assess tuition, N.J.A.C. 6A:22-6.2.
In this case, S.F. is domiciled in Boonton, NJ, and has been domiciled in
Boonton, 	NJ, 	since 	October 	19, 	2018, 	when 	she 	moved 	with 	her 	mother 	from
Morristown to Boonton. 	Given this circumstance, the Morris School District assessed
S.B. tuition for the time her daughter attended school at Morristown High School and the
Morris County VoTech while she and her daughter were no longer domiciled in
Morristown. 	Accordingly, I CONCLUDE that S.B. owes the Board $11,290.05 for the
period of ineligibility, from October 19, 2018, through June 30, 2019, and $73.70 for
each school day going forward since the start of the 2019–20 school year.
ORDER
Given my findings of fact and conclusions of law, I ORDER that S.B. owes the
Board $11,290.05 for the period of ineligibility, from October 19, 2018, through June 30,
2019, and $73.70 for each school day going forward since the start of the 2019–20
school year.
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 is authorized by law
to make a final decision in this case. 	If the Commissioner of the Department of

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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 under N.J.S.A. 52:14B-10.
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.
October 28, 2019
DATE 	BARRY E. MOSCOWITZ, ALJ
Date Received at Agency: 	October 28, 2019
Date Mailed to Parties:
dr