WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia sued six Maryland parents Thursday, accusing them of lying about their addresses so they could send their children to District schools for free.
The parents, which include three present or former city government employees, are being sued for $320,000 total in three separate civil lawsuits, one for each set of parents, according to the District's Office of the Attorney General.
“When non-residents defraud District taxpayers and take seats in schools from District students, we hold them accountable,” the District's attorney general, Karl Racine, said in a news release.
At least 21 others have been sued last year and earlier this year for the same residency issues and is seeking $2.5 million in unpaid tuition, according to the Attorney General's Office.
• Danielle and Christopher Anderson of Upper Marlboro are accused of sending their child to a charter school and two other public schools from 2008 to 2016. Both are District employees.
The District is seeking to recover more than $137,000.
• Michelle Osegueda-Williams and Donald Williams of Huntingtown are accused of sending their child to school for part of the 2004-05 school year and from 2006 to 2013.
The District is seeking to recover almost $109,000.
• Claudine Tchapchet and Habib Aziz Jah of Accokeek and Hyattsville, respectively, are accused of sending their three children to District schools from 2011 to 2014. Tchapchet used to work for D.C. Public Schools.
The District is seeking to recover more than $82,000.
Parents, guardians or other eligible caregivers who are District residents are allowed to send their children to the District’s traditional public or public charter schools for free. Others can apply for admission but must pay non-resident tuition, which typically costs $10,000 to $14,000 a year.
And if a school has a waiting list, non-residents generally aren't admitted.
The parents are accused of lying about their residency repeatedly on official forms, using District addresses where others lived and signing sworn statements saying they lived in the District of Columbia, Racine said.