ATLANTA — Hundreds of Fulton County high school students were not in class today, after learning the district has withdrawn them from Westlake High unless they can verify they live in that school zone.
Parents who spoke to 11Alive said it's hard enough to get kids motivated to even go to school - but it's been even harder on their families now that these students have been told they can't go back.
"Everybody’s being treated as though we are breaking a law," Jo'Nae Rhodes said
Rhodes said her children have been at Westlake High since 2020, until she unexpectedly got a text from her daughter last week.
"It was like, 'Hey - come get us, I think we've just been removed from school!' Out the blue,” said Rhodes.
Rhodes said her two daughters were among 350 students withdrawn from Westlake last week for not having proper residency documentation. But she said it doesn't make sense.
"They ask for utilities, they ask for the lease, I gave them all of that. That’s a requirement to get into the school," said Rhodes.
The Fulton County school district wouldn’t speak to 11Alive on camera, instead pointing to three letters sent to families at Westlake starting back in November.
The first informed them of an upcoming residency audit because of overcrowding and the required documentation. The second, in December, informed families the district still didn’t have proper documentation.
The final on Jan/ 10 warned, without proof of residency, the student would be withdrawn the next day.
Rhodes said she thought she'd sent in the right documents
"No, 'hey this is not good enough.' It was, 'hey you got your stuff, we write your name on a list, that was it.' Next thing I know, my kids got kicked out of school," said Rhodes.
On Monday, she was back at the district office trying again, again paying a past due bill that had been turned in, which could have caused confusion.
"It looks like the bill is past due so I might not be there or live there because I have a past due bill, so I went and paid the bill today - so hopefully that will give me some type of forward progress," said Rhodes.
Asked if parents like Rhodes could still turn in the correct documentation, Fulton County Schools said that if parents have and submit the proper verification, their kids will be able to return to school.