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sd64
Administrative Practices

AP A5 - Student Registration and Placement

Legislative References: School Act (section 74.1,75, 75.1, 76.1, 82)
Policy Reference:3.20 Residential Catchment Areas
Collective Agreement References: None
Date:November 13, 2024

1.  

New Registrations

1.1.
Parents or guardians of children new to the district must register them at the school in their residential catchment area, commonly known as the neighbourhood school.
1.2.
Parents or guardians of children who will be five (5) years of age on or before December 31st of the current year must register at the school in their residential catchment area. Schools will invite families to register their child(ren) for kindergarten prior to February 15th for enrolment in September to support enrolment projections and the determination of available space and facilities.
1.3.Parents will provide sufficient documentation at the time of registration, including:
1.3.1.
Verification of date of birth
1.3.2.
Citizenship
1.3.3.Legal guardianship
1.3.4.Residency in order to determine ordinarily resident in B.C.
1.4.Parents, including those with shared child custody agreements or who reside in separate and/or multiple dwellings must, at the time of registration, identify a primary residence and provide documentation to support their primary residence, for the purpose of the establishing residential catchment area for their child(ren).
1.5.Copies of documents provided will be kept on file.

2.

French Immersion

2.1.
Students wishing to enrol in Late French Immersion within their residential catchment area are required to complete an application specific to the French Immersion Program. The application form is available on the district website.
2.2.
Applications must be submitted to the school no later than February 15th for enrolment in the program commencing September of that year.
2.3.Space will be filled on a priority basis.
2.3.1.
Placement will be given first, in no order of priority, to:
  • Students currently enrolled in a French Immersion Program 
  • SD64 students with an older sibling who is currently enrolled in or has completed the SD64 French Immersion Program
  • SD64 students with a Francophone speaker living in the household
2.3.2.Remaining spaces will be given to students in the following priority order:
1.
All other SD64 catchment students
2.
All other non-SD64-catchment students 
2.4.All registration applications received by February 15th will be considered in the priority order established in 4.b. In the event that all applicants cannot be accommodated, a lottery will be held to determine placement. Spaces will be filled in priority placement order, proportionally by island of residence (Galiano, Mayne, Pender, and Saturna are considered one region).
2.4.1.
The school will compile a waitlist of any remaining applications received on or before February 15th in order of lottery selection.
2.4.2.
Applications received after February 15th will be placed on the waitlist in the order they are received.

3.

Out of Catchment Requests (Cross Boundary Requests)

3.1.
Requests for placement outside of the residential catchment area:
3.1.1.
are to be submitted annually to the requested out-of-catchment school using the Cross-Boundary Request Form; and 
3.1.2.require the signature of the catchment school principal.

4.

Determination of Available Space

4.1.
The determination of available space and facilities in a school to enrol an out-of-catchment student will be made based on reasonable projected enrolment and program capacity, and in consideration of the following:
4.1.1.
the operating capacity of the school as defined by the Ministry of Education and Child Care; 
4.1.2.staff assigned to the school; 
4.1.3.the physical space in which instructional programs operate in the school;
4.1.4.the ability of the school to provide appropriate educational programs for all residential catchment area students;
4.1.5.the needs of other programs located in the school.

5.

Cross-Boundary Enrolment (for out-of-catchment area requests)

5.1.
A request for cross-boundary enrolment:
5.1.1.
is approved by the principal;
5.1.2.may be granted by June 30th for requests received prior to February 15th of any calendar year and dependent upon the predicted availability of space and facilities in each school;
5.1.3.will not be granted for requests received after February 15th until after the first week of September and no later than September 30th when actual available space and capacity of facilities have been determined. Notification to parents will be provided as soon as possible. 
5.2.
The principal will only approve an out-of-catchment student if the following conditions are met:
5.2.1.
For requests received after February 15th, enrolment of the student shall not cause the class to exceed 90% of capacity in order to allow for the enrolment of new catchment students.
5.2.2.Enrolment of the student shall not cause reconfiguration of the school;
5.2.3.Class size and composition must be appropriate for student learning as determined by the school principal.
5.3.Students who have applied for enrolment into the late French Immersion program do not require cross-boundary application.
5.4.Transportation of cross-boundary students is the responsibility of parents/guardians and will only be provided consistent with board policy regarding student transportation.
5.5.Each year, all registrations and transfer/cross-boundary requests will be handled in the following priority order:
5.5.1.
a catchment area child who, in the previous school year, attended the school at which the educational program is made available;
5.5.2.a catchment area child who did not attend the school in the previous year;
5.5.3.a non-catchment area child who attended the school in the previous year;
5.5.4.siblings of students from outside the catchment area who are currently attending the school;
5.5.5.a non-catchment area child;
5.5.6.a non-school district child.
5.6.Should an enrolled out-of-catchment student wish to return/transfer to their catchment area school mid-year, the request will be treated as a cross-boundary request (non-catchment area child).

Appended to this Administrative Practice:

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GULF ISLANDS SCHOOL DISTRICT 64