Runaway in private school

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NM

What would a private school have to do in (in New Mexico) order to enroll a runaway (15 year old New Mexico resident) as a student without incurring any legal problems? Please note that the current federal law removing barriers for enrolling homeless students only applies to public schools.

thanks

Private schools, seeing as they're private, can do pretty much whatever they want as far as deciding who does/doesn't get enrolled in their private institution.

Do you have more details to provide?

Are there any details that are relevant? We are not a boarding school.

I was mostly worried about laws regarding "harboring a runaway."

moezee said:

Are there any details that are relevant? We are not a boarding school.

I was mostly worried about laws regarding "harboring a runaway."

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You need the parents' or legal custodian's permission if you are the school. Without that, you can face legal problems.

Because of the McKinney-Vento law (federal law), public schools do not need parental consent to enroll students. We still need parental consent?

Public schools are also not harboring anybody.

This is from the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty:

New Mexico: There is no specific law referring to the harboring of runaway youth. It is, however, a crime to contribute to the delinquency of a minor. Harboring a runaway may fall within this category. N.M. Stat. Ann. § 30-6-3 (2001).

Could a school be accused of contributing to the delinquency of a minor simply by enrolling him or her?

You could. And is the runaway from your state or from across state lines?

The runaway is from New Mexico.