Education Law Requires Sensible Allocation of Costs so as Not to Burden One Particular School District
The Second Department ruled that the Garrision School District was not required to school for free non-resident children living in a private child care facility. Board of Education of the Garrison Union Free School District v. Greek Archdiocese of St. Basil involved a private child care facility known as the Greek Archdiocese Institute of St. Basil (“St. Basil”), which was established in 1944 and primarily houses Greek Orthodox children whose parents are deceased or unable to care for them, and many of the children are disabled. Children are placed there through the efforts of parish priests as opposed to government agencies. St. Basil operated its own School until 1997, at which point the school closed and St. Basil sent its children to schools outside of the Garrision school district on a tuition-paying basis. Permission to place a child at St. Basil’s may be revoked by the child’s parent or guardian and St. Basil had not been appointed guardian for any of the children at issue.
In 2002, St. Basil attempted to enroll its children in the Garrison school district and the was hearing officer determined, which was affirmed by the State Education Commissioner, that no child living at St. Basil at that time was a resident of the Garrison school district.
In 2006, St. Basil received a license from the State to operate a residential child care institution. While St. Basil’s license limited the number of beds to 30, St. Basil can accommodate up to 108 children. As part of the education plan, St. Basil stated that it would pay tuition costs for its children to attend schools outside of the Garrison school district unless it was determined that the Garrison school district was responsible for the costs.
St. Basil’s operating license prompted the Garrison school district to bring this action seeking a judgment that St. Basil’s status as a licensed child care institution did not require the Garrison school district to pay to the costs for educating St. Basil’s children. St. Basil counterclaimed seeking a judgment that the Garrison school district was responsible.
The Court rejected St. Basil’s reliance upon Education Law § 4002(1). Although this section carves out an exception for children in child care institutions to the residency requirement of Education Law § 3202, the Court ruled that this exception did not extend to children who are not residents of the state or who are privately placed in child care institution regardless of residency.
The Court explained that the statute (Education Law § 4002) must be read as a whole and that the remainder of this statute provides a comprehensive tuition payment scheme for resident children who are placed in child care institution by government entities. The Court ruled that Education Law § 4002 is designed to allocate costs sensibly and avert burdening school districts with the cost education non-resident children. The Court concluded that “[a] finding that the plaintiff must provide tuition-free educations to nonresident St. Basil children, who come from all of the country and over whose private placements the plaintiff has no control, would severely penalize the plaintiff and would not comport with legislative intent.”
