GREECE, N.Y. – A 10-year-old student with special needs was kicked out of a suburban school after the Greece Central School District discovered his mother had a lease in the City of Rochester.

Brandi Napolitano, Jovanni Byrd’s maternal grandmother, believes the school district removed her grandson not because of where he lives, but because of what the school district said he did.

“He lives right here in this home with me with my daughter, my husband and his brother,” said Brandi Napolitano.

Berkeley Brean, News10NBC Chief Investigative Reporter: “He’s always lived here?”

Brandi Napolitano: “Always.”

Berkeley Brean: “Has he ever lived in the city?”

Brandi Napolitano: “Never.”

Since Jovanni started school in 2020, every letter from Greece schools about him came to Brandi’s house. But last November, a school letter arrived at an apartment in Rochester where Jovanni’s mother signed a lease in December 2023. The letter from the superintendent of schools said Jovanni “does not reside” at his grandmother’s house Greece. Therefore, his final day of school in Greece was December 6, 2024.

Berkeley Brean: “And he hasn’t been in school since then?”

Brandi Napolitano: “Not since then.”

Berkeley Brean: “Why not enroll him in the city school district just to the end of the year so he can be in school and then deal with this later on?”

Brandi Napolitano: “Because then I would be lying about where we live because we don’t live in the city school (district).”

The apartment complex where Jovanni’s mother signed a lease is exactly 100 yards from the Town of Greece boundary. Brandi says her daughter, Jovanni’s mother, signed the lease with a boyfriend. But Brandi maintains Jovanni has always lived with her. A letter from Golisano Children’s Hospital states Jovanni “has been residing with his grandmother.”

Berkeley Brean: “Why do you think the school district did this?”

Brandi Napolitano: “I believe they were discriminating against my grandson due to his special needs.”

The removal letter came a month after an outburst at school that got Jovanni suspended. A letter dated October 24th detailed the incident, saying Jovanni started cursing at staff and students, began destroying student work that was hung on the walls, stuck up his middle finger to every student and staff that went by, started calling students’ names and used the f-word, said to his aide that he has a gun in his book bag and he’s going to shoot you, tried to punch the aide but missed, grabbed spraying chemicals and sprayed it on people and staff in the face including one who had an allergic reaction, grabbed a fire extinguisher and started swinging it at staff and then left campus.

Brean: “A month after this letter came, came the letter saying that he’s out.”
Napolitano: “Yes.”

Greece schools declined an on-camera interview because the case is under appeal. But in an email, the district stated “This residency investigation was not retaliatory. The investigation was initiated on October 16, 2024, more than a week prior to the behavioral incident the parent referenced during your interview. The investigation was requested by the school principal after a conversation with the child’s mother raised questions about her current residence. Upon investigation, the district determined that the parent resides at a property leased in her name outside of the district’s attendance boundaries, leading to the student’s removal, effective December 6, 2024.”

“State law requires that children attend school in the district where their parent(s) or legal guardians reside,” the statement said. “If a district has reason to believe a student does not reside within its boundaries, it has an obligation to investigate to ensure taxpayer-funded resources are allocated appropriately.”

On Monday, the state Commissioner of Education signed an order directing Greece to admit Jovanni back into his school, tuition free, pending a final ruling on Brandi’s appeal.

News10NBC wanted to know how often schools investigate where their students live. This school year, Greece has done 75 residency investigations and typically does around 100 per year.

We checked with every single school district in and around Monroe County. Most districts did not respond. Some said they have done no residency investigations. Other local districts reported:

• East Rochester: 15
• Spencerport: 1
• Pittsford: 1

Of the 236 appeals to the state Education Commissioner last year, 47 were about residency.

John Espina, a private investigator with True Blue Consulting on Long Island, conducts residency investigations for schools in his area. He says they check car registrations, social media posts and leases to verify student residency. That’s what Greece school security did in Jovanni’s case, finding the lease signed by his mother.

Brean: “When you’re doing your investigation do you have to talk to the parent, grandparent or guardian of the child in question?
John Espina, True Blue Consulting: “Sometimes we will. And sometimes we don’t. We don’t have to let them know that any investigation is going on.”

Espinda: “As a former educator myself it’s painful to see kids disrupted in the middle of the school year because their parents moved.”

Brandi Napolitano says no one came to check on her home. “My heart is just broken for him but I’m not going to enroll him into a different district where we don’t reside and not do the right thing,” she said.

State law says a child is entitled to tuition-free education in the district where their parent lives. Many children live with grandparents or guardians, but official paperwork must be filed in those cases. Brandi filled out paperwork in January, a month after Jovanni was removed, stating he has lived with her his whole life.

A.I. assisted with the formatting of this story. Click here to see how WHEC News 10 uses A.I.