Family Says Kids Belong In Coppell ISD; District Says "No"
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COPPELL (CBS11) - Fighting for their children to go to school, a Coppell family feels the school district is stalking them to prove they do not belong.
Ismail Alabudi said Coppell ISD has hired someone to keep an activity log of their movements and has even taken pictures of the residence and vehicles.
"It feels like a battle with them. A non-stop battle, that's what it feels like," said Zakaria Alabudi, a senior at Coppell High School.
School started a few days ago, but Zakaria and his four siblings are already behind. They just started classes on Wednesday.
"It was tough," said Zakaria. "Everyone was at school and we weren't."
Coppell ISD issued the family a notice in early August of "student withdrawal" due to what it called non-residency.
Zakaria claims when he is not at school or working at the family tire shop, he is inside his family's town home in Coppell.
The point of contention is the home Ismail purchased years ago in Lewisville. Ismail claims it's a secondary residence he uses for storage and more recently, his oldest daughter is living there with her newborn twins.
While the home has been in the family's possession for years, Coppell is where they grew up and they said it is the only community they have ever known.
"I mean it's your home. It's where you grew up. All of your friends, your family. All the good teachers you've sat through," said Zakaria.
After the family filed a lawsuit against Coppell ISD, a judge issued a temporary injunction to allow the kids to return to Coppell schools.
"They like Coppell. It's worth it. When you say why you have big home and you come? Because it's worth it. We manage. We work. We stay here at night for the school," said Ismail Alabudi.
Documents show the district appeared to assign someone to a detail where they kept an activity log for months, recoding who was where and what car were being used. Several pictures were also taken of the home and the vehicles.
"It's not like if you have two house or three house you cannot live in this city only. It's legal to have more than one house," said Ismail.
Coppell ISD would not comment on the lawsuit or any confidential student matter. A spokesperson for the district did say it was looking forward to addressing the issue in court.
"Just let us go back to school. We need our education," said Zakaria.
The family's next day in court is in early September. A judge will decide if the kids can remain going to Coppell ISD schools.
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