JECC: Student Admission and School Choice

1. GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Student admission in the Vancouver School District is to be guided by the following principles:

Access to neighbourhood school: The admission process should maximize the number of students able to attend their catchment area school in accordance with their wishes

Choice: The admission process should maximize the student’s and parent’s ability to choose the school and educational program which best meets the student’s educational needs

Certainty, stability, continuity: The admission process should support certainty, stability and continuity for students and families. Siblings will be admitted to the same school wherever possible, subject to the provisions of the School Act and the wishes of the family.

Efficient resource allocation: The admission process should enable school and district staff to plan the allocation of space and instructional resources to best accommodate demand and minimize adjustments required at the beginning of the school year.

The Board will endeavor to provide programs that meet the interests and needs of district students.

2. DETERMINATION OF AVAILABLE SPACE AND FACILITIES

Section 74.1 of the School Act establishes priorities for enrolment to apply if the board determines that space and facilities are available in a school.

2.1 For purposes of section 74.1(6) and (7) of the School Act, space and facilities are available in a school to enroll an applicant if there is capacity to provide the applicant with an educational program appropriate to the applicant’s needs, taking into account both physical and educational resources, after reasonable enrollment projections have been made to allow for accommodation of continuing students, district programs located in the school, and (if applicable) a kindergarten program adequate to accommodate the projected enrolment of catchment area children.

2.2 The Board of Trustees delegates to the Superintendent of Schools or his or her designate, the decisions whether space and facilities are available in individual schools and educational programs for purposes of section 74.1(6) and (7) of the School Act, in accordance with paragraphs 2.1 and 2.3.

2.3 Decisions will be made in consultation with the principal of the affected school and will be based on program capacity, including consideration of the following factors:

• the capacity of the school as defined by the Planning and Facilities Department
• staff assigned to a school by the district
• the physical space in which instructional programs operate in the school
• the ability of the school to provide appropriate educational programs for the applicant and other students
• the needs of other programs located in the school

2.4 After enrolment of continuing students, if the requisite space and facilities are    determined to be available, cross-boundary applications and applications from new students will be accepted in the following priority order provided application deadlines and other requirements have been met.  This priority order does not apply to district alternative programs:

• students enrolled as residents during the current school year or accepted on a cross-boundary application during the previous year;
• siblings (when other siblings are attending the school concurrently);
• students enroled in on-site child care programs, or whose child care needs are provided within the attendance area;
• students whose residence falls within the attendance areas of other Vancouver schools; and
• students whose residence falls outside the Vancouver School District 

2.5 If space and facilities are inadequate to accommodate all continuing students, continuing students will be re-enrolled in the following descending order of priority: (i) continuing catchment area student; (ii) continuing non-catchment area student; (iii) continuing non-school district student.

2.6  Waitlists will be established for those cross-boundary students not accepted, to be maintained until September 30.

2.7 In-catchment students who are waitlisted for their catchment school will be maintained on a wait-list, and will be offered the opportunity to return to their catchment school as space arises.

3. TIE-BREAKING

When applications made within time have the same priority (after application of any permitted sibling preference), priority as between them will be determined by time and date of application unless a determination is made by the board, the superintendent or the superintendent’s designate to determine priority by lot.

4. ALTERNATE ENROLMENT PROCESS FOR CONTINUING SCHOOL DISTRICT STUDENTS

Continuing students are not required to apply. They will be automatically enrolled in the applicable educational program or school, subject to space availability and to meeting program requirements, unless transferred or withdrawn.

5. DATES FOR APPLICATIONS TO ENROL AND ENROLMENT

5.1 Before 1^st of February in each school year, the board will establish dates for submission of applications to nroll and for enrolment. The board may establish different dates for different grades, educational programs, schools, or categories of applicant.

5.2 Applications received after the deadlines established will be subject to the priority of those applicants who applied within time as subject to the terms outlined in 2.4 and 3.1 of this policy.

6. GUARANTEE OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM AND DISTRICT PLACEMENT

6.1 School district children who apply for enrolment in an educational program will be provided with an educational program in the district, unless a parent of the student consents to a placement outside the school district.

6.2 The board believes that the educational interests of most students are best served by attendance at the student’s neighborhood school.  The board requires school organizations to be established by June 30 prior to the start of the next school year.  These organizations will efficiently and effectively serve the school enrolment and provide for stability and predictability of placements for students.

6.3 After the school organization is established, newly arrived students may be required to attend a school other than the neighborhood school.  This district placement may occur if the neighborhood school does not have space within the organization, program capacity, or appropriate physical resources to accommodate the student.  A district placement may be required to minimize disruptions to the school and costs to the district.

6.4 The board will place newly arrived students in the nearest school with the appropriate educational program.  In catchment students may return to the neighborhood school when space becomes available or will return at the start of the next school year.  All students will be treated in a fair and equitable manner with respect to district placements.

7. COMMITMENT

7.1 The district process shall encourage children (if of appropriate age) and their parents to consider jointly the children’s educational needs before requesting an assignment to a school other than the current school or the catchment area school.

7.2 Applicants may apply for more than one school or district alternative program but may only be enrolled in one. When applicant is offered and accepts enrolment in an educational program (in or out of the school district), applications for all other programs become invalid.

7.3 The superintendent or designate is authorized to enter into reciprocal agreements  with other school districts to review wait lists and enrolment information in order to  enforce this policy.

8. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

Applicants for enrolment must meet all program requirements for the requested educational program and will be subject to any selection process established for that program.

9. DISCRETIONAL ACCEPTANCE: SUSPENDED OR EXPELLED NON-SCHOL DISTRICT STUDENTS

9.1 Enrolment applications from non-school district children may be refused if the child:

• is under suspension from a BC public school or school district, or
• has been refused an educational program by a BC public school board under section 85(3) of the School Act for refusing to comply with the code of conduct  and other rules and policies of the board or has failed to apply himself or herself to his or her studies.

9.2 Such applications will be referred to the superintendent or designate for a decision on admission. Admissions may be made subject to terms and conditions. A student who has been admitted under this section is not entitled to the status of a continuing student in the following year unless approved by the school principal or superintendent’s designate.

10. COMMUNICATION

Application periods and enrolment dates will be communicated to the school communities and to the community at large and may also be communicated to other communities within and outside the school district.

11. TRANSPORTATION

The board does not intend to extend transportation services or assistance to students attending outside their catchment areas by choice.  When students are placed in schools outside their neighborhood school because of district placement, they may be entitled to have their public bus transportation paid for by their school (with the school receiving reimbursement from the board) if one of the following circumstances exists:

• The walking distance by the nearest passable road from the student’s home to the school where the student has been placed is excessive for his/her age and grade.
• The distance from the student’s home to the school that they have been placed is not excessive, but the school principal feels that public bus transportation should be provided for this student due to special circumstances (ie. hardship issues).

DMT Responsibility: AS