Michael Bittinger is an 18 year old senior at Tippecanoe High School. He had previously been enrolled under an open-enrollment program since being in Kindergarten. Last spring, the school board, voted to close open enrollment for the 2020-2021 school year. Michael discovered he could stay at Tipp for his senior year under school board policy 5111. He was allowed to enroll under this policy contingent on providing proof he met the requirements. After a month of submitting everything the school district asked for, he received a letter from the superintendent stating he had not provided enough evidence and that he had only five days to leave the district.

This is what the policy states,

"A student shall be entitled to attend school in this District free of any tuition obligation under the following circumstances:

Students between the ages of eighteen (18) and twenty-two (22) who support themselves by their own labor, live apart from their parents, reside in the District, and have not successfully completed the District's high school program or their I.E.P."

Michael has presented (even with his lawyer) that he is 18 years old, lives apart from his parents, and supports himself through documentation of having a signed lease agreement for residency in the district, pay stubs (including his pay while attending U.S. Army basic training over the summer as a member of the National Guard split-training option), his banking accounts, and various receipts. 

Continued community support of Michael is present through protests, emails, and phone calls to the Board of Education. Although Michael is not having an issue with supporting himself to get through his senior year, he needs our support to continue to fight this with legal representation. 

You can follow much of this through the hashtag #keepbittyintippcity