D.E., on behalf of minor children, A.E., E.E., C.E., and R.E. v. Board of Education of the Borough of Oakland, Bergen County and Board of Education of the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District, Bergen County, 7/12/2023, (#207-23)

207-23
New Jersey Commissioner of Education
Final Decision
D.E. and J.E., on behalf of minor child, R.E.,
Petitioners,
v.
Board 	of 	Education 	of 	Ramapo 	Indian 	Hills
Regional School District, Bergen County,
Respondent.
Synopsis
Petitioners filed a pro se petition challenging the determination of the respondent Board that their minor child
was not eligible to receive a free public education in the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional School District. The
Board sought reimbursement of tuition from petitioners, asserting that R.E. was not domiciled within any of
the municipalities in the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional School District (District) between October 13, 2022 and
the end of the 2022-2023 school year. Petitioners did not appear at the May 22, 2023 hearing in this matter
and offered no explanation for their failure to appear. The record closed on June 2, 2023 after the filing of the
Board’s post-hearing brief.
The ALJ found, inter alia, that: pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1, public schools are free to any persons over five
and under twenty five years of age who are domiciled within the school district; pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:22-
6.2., if a student does not have a right to attend the school district, the Commissioner may assess tuition; in
this case, R.E. had been attending Indian Hills High School while petitioners resided in Oakland, one of the
municipalities served by the respondent district, prior to the 2022-2023 school year; however, the family left
Oakland in September 2021 due to a foreclosure and petitioners subsequently moved in with relatives in
Hawthorne; the Board recognized R.E. as homeless during the 2021-2022 school year and permitted R.E. to
remain enrolled at Indian Hills High School pursuant to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act; the
Board contends that petitioners continue to reside in Hawthorne; in October 2022 the Bergen County
Executive County Superintendent determined that the petitioners and R.E. had become domiciled in
Hawthorne and were entitled to a free education in Hawthorne schools for the remainder of the school year;
nonetheless, R.E. continued to attend Indian Hills High School; petitioners failed to appear at a hearing in this
matter on May 22, 2023 and offered no explanation for their failure to appear. 	The ALJ concluded that
petitioners had abandoned their appeal. 	Accordingly, the ALJ dismissed the petition, granted the Board’s
counterclaim for tuition, and ordered petitioners to reimburse the Board for tuition at a rate of $107.92 per
day for the period beginning October 13, 2022 to the date R.E. was disenrolled from the District.
Upon review, the Commissioner concurred with the ALJ findings and conclusions and adopted the
Initial Decision of the OAL as the final decision in this matter. The Commissioner determined that there were
155 school days between October 13, 2022 and the end of the 2022-2023 school year and ordered petitioners
to reimburse the Board in the amount of $16,727.60 for the period of R.E.’s ineligible attendance in the
Ramapo Indian Hills Regional School District.
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.

OAL Dkt. No. EDU 01738-23
Agency Dkt. No. 322-11/22
New Jersey Commissioner of Education
Final Decision
D.E. and J.E., on behalf of minor child, R.E.,
Petitioners,
v.
Board of Education of Ramapo Indian Hills
Regional School District, Bergen 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 petitioners abandoned their appeal and failed to sustain their burden of establishing that they
were domiciled within any of the municipalities in the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional School District
(District) between October 13, 2022 and the end of the 2022-2023 school year. The Commissioner
further concurs with the ALJ’s conclusion that R.E. was, therefore, not entitled to a free public
education in the District during that time.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1b, the Commissioner shall assess tuition against petitioners for
the time period during which R.E. was ineligible to attend school in the District. The statute
specifically provides that the Commissioner may order tuition “computed on the basis of 1/180 of
the total annual per pupil cost to the local district multiplied by the number of days of ineligible
attendance.” N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1b (emphasis added). A certification submitted by the District’s
207-23

2
Business Administrator indicates that the per diem tuition rate is $107.92. However, that
certification does not provide the number of days of ineligible attendance, nor did the ALJ make any
findings of fact on that issue. Although that information should have been provided during the OAL
proceedings, because the Business Administrator’s certification included a copy of the District’s
calendar for the 2022-2023 school year, the Commissioner is able to make a finding regarding the
number of days of ineligible attendance without the need for a remand to the OAL. The
Commissioner finds that there were 155 school days between October 13, 2022 and the end of the
2022-2023 school year. Therefore, the Board is entitled to tuition reimbursement in the amount of
$16,727.60 for the period from October 13, 2022 through the end of the 2022-2023 school year,
during which time R.E. was ineligible to attend school in the District.
Accordingly, the Initial Decision of the OAL is adopted as the final decision in this matter.
Petitioner is directed to reimburse the Board in the amount of $16,727.60 for the time period from
October 13, 2022 through the end of the 2022-2023 school year, for tuition costs incurred during
the period in which R.E. was ineligible to attend school in the District. The petition of appeal is
hereby dismissed.
IT IS SO ORDERED.1
ACTING COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
Date of Decision:
Date of Mailing:
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.
July 12, 2023
July 13, 2023

New Jersey is an Equal Opportunity Employer
State of New Jersey
OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
INITIAL DECISION
OAL DKT. NO. EDU 01738-23
AGENCY DKT. NO. 322-11/2
D.E. AND J.E. ON BEHALF OF R.E.,
Petitioners,
v.
RAMAPO INDIAN HILLS REGIONAL BOARD
OF EDUCATION, BERGEN COUNTY,
Respondent.
No appearance by D.E. and J.E., petitioners, pro se
Caitlin W. Lundquist, Esq., for respondent (Busch Law Group, attorneys)
Record Closed: June 2, 2023 	Decided: June 22, 2023
BEFORE SUSANA E. GUERRERO, ALJ:
STATEMENT OF THE CASE AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Petitioners, parents of minor child R.E., challenged the respondent Board of
Education’s residency determination. 	In its counterclaim, the respondent Board of
Education of the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District (Respondent,

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 01738-23
2
Ramapo Indian Hills) seeks reimbursement of tuition from petitioners, asserting that R.E.
was not domiciled within the school District during the 2022–2023 school year.
This matter was transmitted to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL), under
caption D.E. on behalf of minor children, A.E., E.E., C.E., and R.E. v. Board of Education
of the Borough of Oakland, Bergen County and Board of Education of the Ramapo Indian
Hills Regional High School District, Bergen County, under OAL docket number EDU
11519-22, where it was filed on December 21, 2022. At the initial prehearing telephone
conferences, the parties requested that the matter be bifurcated since the petitioners’ four
children attended two different school districts. By order dated March 1, 2023, I bifurcated
the matter and ordered that the matter against the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High
School District proceed under D.E. and J.E. on behalf of minor child R.E. v. Board of
Education of the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District, Bergen County, with
OAL docket number EDU 01738-23, and that D.E. and J.E. on behalf of minor children,
A.E., EE., and C.E. v Board of Education of the Borough of Oakland, Bergen County
proceed under OAL docket number EDU 11519-22.
The petitioners failed to participate in scheduled telephone conferences. A hearing
was initially scheduled for April 28, 2023, but adjourned. On or around April 28, 2023, the
parties were notified that a peremptory hearing date was scheduled for May 22, 2023. As
the petitioners did not appear for the hearing, an ex parte hearing took place at the OAL
in Newark, New Jersey on that date, and the record remained open to allow the
respondent an opportunity to submit a post-hearing brief. The record closed on June 2,
2023, when the post-hearing brief was filed.
FINDINGS OF FACT
Having reviewed and considered the uncontested testimony of Thomas Lambe,
School Business Administrator and Board Secretary for Ramapo Indian Hills Regional
High School District, at the hearing, the documentary evidence presented at the hearing,
the petition, counterclaim, and post-hearing briefs submitted, I FIND the following FACTS
in this matter:

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 01738-23
3
The petitioners did not appear for the hearing, and there is no indication that they
did not receive notice of the hearing. 	The petitioner never called or wrote to the OAL
explaining their failure to appear for the prehearing conferences or the hearing. I therefore
FIND that the petitioners have abandoned their appeal.
Ramapo Indian Hills is a regional public school district consisting of two high
schools serving students from Oakland and two other towns in Bergen County. Prior to
the 2022–2023 school year, the petitioners and their children, including R.E., resided in
Oakland and attended the Oakland school district schools and Ramapo Indian Hills.
Specifically, R.E. has been attending Indian Hills High School, one of the two high schools
in the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional School District. The petitioners, and R.E., left
Oakland in or around September 1, 2021, apparently due to a foreclosure, and moved in
with relatives in Hawthorne, a town outside the Ramapo Indian Hills School District.
During the 2021–2022 school year, Ramapo Indian Hills considered R.E. homeless and
allowed R.E. to remain enrolled at the high school for the entire school year. The District
asserts that R.E. continues to reside in Hawthorne. 	There is no evidence that the
petitioners or R.E. were ever domiciled in Oakland, or in any of the other towns within the
regional school district, during the 2022–2023 school year.
When the petitioners represented at the start of the 2022–2023 school year that
they were still not residing in Oakland, in or around September 16, 2022, the Executive
County Superintendent was asked to make a homeless determination for R.E. By letter
dated October 13, 2022, the Executive County Superintendent determined that R.E. and
R.E.’s siblings were not homeless and that they were domiciled in Hawthorne and entitled
to a tuition-free education in the Hawthorne School District for the remainder of the school
year. R.E., however, continued to attend Indian Hills High School throughout the 2022–
2023 school year.
Lambe sent the petitioner a letter dated October 28, 2022 informing them that,
given the Executive County Superintendent’s decision, R.E. should register as a student
in the Hawthorne School District and that R.E. cannot continue to attend school at Indian
Hills High School. Lambe informed the petitioners that they may request a hearing before
the Board to challenge this determination. 	He also informed them that they may be

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 01738-23
4
responsible for a tuition assessment at the rate of $148.49 per day for each day of
ineligible enrollment. 	Lambe described this tuition rate as that applying to students,
including R.E., who are receiving special education services.
The parents requested a hearing before the Board but failed to appear. 	On
November 14, 2022, the Board voted to disenroll the students from the District based on
their non-resident status. On November 15, 2022, the Board sent the petitioners a letter
advising that R.E. is not entitled to a tuition-free education in the District and that since
they did not appear for the Board hearing, R.E. was to be disenrolled effective twenty-
one days from the date of this notice. The petitioners were also informed that they would
be assessed tuition at the rate of approximately $107.92 for each day during the period
of ineligibility and prorated from the date of enrollment. 	According to Lambe, this rate
reflects the “regular tuition rate,” that applies to students who are not classified.
Petitioners filed the subject petition challenging the Board’s decision on or about
November 20, 2022. In that petition, D.E. acknowledged that the family does not reside
in Oakland.
During the 2022–2023 school year, R.E. attended school at Indian Hills High
School. 	The respondent seeks tuition reimbursement retroactive to October 13, 2022,
the date that the Executive County Superintendent determined that R.E. was not eligible
for a tuition-free education at Ramapo Indian Hills.
At 	the 	conclusion 	of 	the 	hearing, 	the 	respondent 	was 	asked 	to 	submit 	a
Certification prepared by Lambe with the per-diem tuition rate applicable to a general
education student attending school in the District. In that Certification, Lambe confirmed
that the per pupil tuition rate was $107.92 per day for the 2022–2023 school year, which
is the same rate reflected in the November 15, 2022 letter.

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 01738-23
5
LEGAL ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS
Any child between the ages of five and twenty years old is entitled to a free public
education in the district in which he is a resident. N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1(a); N.J.A.C. 6A:22-
3.1(a). A student is a resident of a school district if his parent or guardian has a permanent
home in the district such that “the parent or guardian intends to return to it when absent
and has no present intent of moving from it, notwithstanding the existence of homes or
residences elsewhere.” 	N.J.A.C. 6A:22-3.1(a)(1). 	A student may attend school in a
district in which he is a non-resident, with or without payment of tuition, at the discretion
of the school district. N.J.S.A. 18A:38-3(a); N.J.A.C. 6A:22-2.2.
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 that of his or her parent, custodian or guardian. P.B.K. o/b/o
minor child E.Y. v. Board of Ed. of Tenafly, 343 N.J. Super 419, 427 (App. Div. 2001).
Where the local board determines that a child is not properly domiciled in its district,
N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1(b)(2) provides a right of appeal to the parents.
Here, the respondent produced the District’s School Business Administrator and
Board Secretary, Lambe, who testified and provided a signed certification concerning
R.E.’s residency status and results of the residency determination, her attendance at
Indian Hills High School, and the per pupil cost to attend in the 2022–23 school year. 	I
accept his testimony as fact.
N.J.A.C. 6A:22-6.2(a) authorizes the Commissioner of Education to assess tuition
for non-resident students. It states:
If in the judgement of the Commissioner the evidence does
not support the claim of the resident, he shall assess the
resident tuition for the student prorated to the time of the
student’s ineligible attendance in the school district. 	Tuition
shall be computed on the basis of 1/180 of the total annual
per pupil cost to the local district multiplied by the number of

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 01738-23
6
days of ineligible attendance and shall be collected in the
manner in which orders of the Commissioner are enforced.
Here, the petitioners have failed to appear for the scheduled hearing, without
explanation, and there is no testimony or other evidence challenging the District’s
residency determination or tuition cost. 	I CONCLUDE that since the petitioners have
abandoned their appeal, their Petition should be dismissed.
Based upon the facts adduced at the hearing and Lambe’s Certification, I
CONCLUDE that the petitioners and R.E. were not domiciled within the Ramapo Indian
Hills Regional School District during the 2022–2023 school year, and that R.E. is not
entitled to a free public education there. I also CONCLUDE that the Board is entitled to
reimbursement, retroactive to October 13, 2022, for tuition calculated at the rate of
$107.92 per day. October 13, 2022 is the day when the Executive County Superintendent
determined that R.E. was not a homeless student, that she was domiciled in Hawthorne,
and that she was not eligible for a tuition-free education in the District. The $107.92 daily
rate is the rate applicable to a general education student attending school in the District,
and it is the rate used to calculate the total annual per pupil cost to the District. Despite
the fact that R.E. may receive special education services, for purposes of seeking tuition
reimbursement from a non-resident student, the District is only entitled to reimbursement
based on the per pupil cost, not any additional special education costs that are not
included in that figure.
ORDER
It is hereby ORDERED that the petitioners’ residency appeal is DISMISSED as a
consequence of their failure to appear at the hearing without providing any explanation
for the non-appearance, and that R.E. be disenrolled from the District. 	It is further
ORDERED that respondent’s counterclaim seeking tuition reimbursement is GRANTED.
It is further ORDERED that the petitioners reimburse the respondent, at a daily tuition rate
of $107.92, for the period beginning October 13, 2022 to the date R.E. is disenrolled from
the District.

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 01738-23
7
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.
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 22, 2023
DATE 	SUSANA E. GUERRERO, ALJ
Date Received at Agency:
Date Mailed to Parties:
jb

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 01738-23
8
APPENDIX
Witnesses
For Petitioners:
None
For Respondent:
Thomas Lambe
Exhibits
For Petitioner:
None
For Respondent:
R-1 	Letter from Executive County Super intendent to Board’s Superintendent, October
13, 2022
R-2 	Notice of initial Determination of Eligibility, October 28, 2022
R-3 	Email correspondence with petitioner regarding Board hearing, November 2022
R-4 	Board Resolution approving R.E.’s disenrollment, November 14, 2022
R-5 	Notice of Final Ineligibility Determination, November 15, 2022, with enclosures