Every school day, Chastity R. Hise or her husband, James R. Hise, drives the 3 miles from their home to drop their two children off at Linwood Holton Elementary School in the city’s North Side.

And at the end of the day, one of the Hises is there to drive the children home.

The Hises have been making the commute with their children for more than three years.

Mrs. Hise also is an enthusiastic booster of Holton Elementary on social media and currently serves as president of the Holton Elementary Parent-Teacher Association.

There’s just one problem.

The Hises sold their city property in 2014, and since 2015 have resided in the 6100 block of Chamberlayne Road in Henrico County, according to court documents.

That would make their children ineligible to attend Holton Elementary unless they pay tuition to Richmond Public Schools to enroll their children.

No evidence could be found in school records that the Hises have paid tuition.

Richmond lists its tuition as $6,626 a year for students who attend a city school but do not live in the city.

The Hises declined to talk to a Free Press reporter who stopped by their residence.

But they appear to be an example of the lax enforcement of attendance policies in Richmond Public Schools.

In RPS’ most recent budget, the line item for revenue from tuition payments was listed as zero, meaning no income was anticipated. That also was the case for the 2018 fiscal year that ended June 30.

While some parents suggest the Hises are not unusual in wanting their children to continue in the school where they were enrolled before the family’s move, there is little data on how often this happens.

When it comes to enrollment and attendance issues, much of Richmond’s focus has been on truancy and chronic absenteeism among students who live in the city.

According to a 2016 University of Virginia study, one in five Richmond students misses 18 or more days of school, the definition of chronic absenteeism. Among high school students, one in three students are chronically absent, and in the senior year, two of every five students are chronically absent.

Earlier this year, the Richmond School Board waived its attendance policy to enable at least 300 students who were chronically absent to graduate.

As a result, parents like the Hises can slip through the cracks.

School Board member Kenya Gibson, who represents the 3rd District in which Holton Elementary is located, confirmed that she was told about the Hises’ situation. “It is my practice in situations like the one described to refer the information to the administration’s Pupil Services team,” Ms. Gibson stated Tuesday in a response to a Free Press query. “If it is ever the case that rules are being broken, it’s my hope that it is rectified.”