SEEKONK — A week ago, 45 Seekonk public school students were at risk of being barred from the town’s schools because their families had not proven their residency.

As of yesterday afternoon, the families of all but six students returned the school district’s required residency forms, according to school officials.

The rest of the families — 24 in all – heeded the School Department’s final warning to comply with the policy or face the exclusion of their children from schools as of Sept. 29. The number of “questionable” families is down to 5 from a high point of 93 months ago.

Schools Supt. Emile Chevrette said he will visit all of the town’s school buildings at the start of school on Sept. 29 and is prepared to prevent the children in question from entering the schools unless their families turn in the forms before that day.

The six children are from five families. Three of the children attend Martin Elementary School and one goes to Hurley Middle School. Additionally, one of the students attends Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School and another attends an out-of-district school for special education services — both at the district’s expense.

The decision to exclude nonresident students from the school system raised the stakes in the year-long effort by school officials to ensure that all of Seekonk’s 2,149 schoolchildren are, indeed, Seekonk residents.

More than 90 percent of families immediately complied with the residency rules when they were instituted last fall, at Chevrette’s urging, to root out out-of-district students thought to be inflating Seekonk’s class sizes and tapping the district’s resources for free.

Under Seekonk’s residency policy, families must submit a notarized affidavit of residency for their children, plus one supporting document establishing residency in town, such as a copy of a lease agreement or mortgage deed, a utility bill or a property tax bill.

mwims@projo.com