Procedure 9320.1 - Registration and Placement of Students

Procedure

Procedure 9320.1 - Registration and Placement of Students

1. DEFINITIONS

These definitions apply to the following terms used throughout this regulation:

a)	Registration - The completion of an application for placement in a school; registration does not necessarily guarantee placement at the school where the registration is filed.
b)	Placement - The determination of a school and educational program in which the student will receive instruction in the district.
c)	Capacity - The amount of space, resources or educational programs available or planned for a school as defined by the district.
d)	Waiting List - A list of students desiring placement in a school which does not have capacity.
e)	Catchment Area - A geographical boundary from which a school will normally draw students as defined in Policy #9200 – School Catchment Areas and its Regulation #9200.1.
f)	Catchment Area Child – A person of school age and resident in the catchment area of the school.
g)	Non-Catchment Area Child – A person of school age who is a resident in the school district but not a resident in the catchment area of the school.
h)	Non-School District Child – A person of school age who is resident in British Columbia and not resident in School District No. 36 (Surrey).
i)	School District Child – A catchment area or a non-catchment area person of school age.
j)	New Student – A person of school age who is not automatically enrolled because: (i) the person was not in the school the prior year; (ii) the person would not normally have progressed to the school by the district.
k)	International Student – A student who has paid a tuition fee to attend a Surrey school.

2. GENERAL PROCESSES FOR REGISTRATION & PLACEMENT OF STUDENTS

Students usually will be registered and placed at the school within the catchment area of the student’s normal residence. However, parents or guardians may apply for students to be placed at another school in the district. In either case, placement is subject to the guidelines outlined in this regulation.

Parents or guardians will be advised at the time of registration of the following:

a)	The process for registration and placement, which shall not commence before the 1st of January preceding the start of the school year.
b)	The registration of a student does not necessarily guarantee placement at the school where the registration is filed.
c)	As provided for in the School Act, a person’s residency is the residency of the person as of the date the application for placement is submitted to the school for which the application was made.
d)	An application which is unsuccessful will be kept on file until the end of the school year.

Schools may accept for placement only new students that can be accommodated within the existing or planned capacity of the school except where directed to do otherwise by the district. Principals should not provide assurances for placement beyond the capacity of the school.

Once capacity is reached, the principal will then promptly advise the Personnel Planning Officer in the Human Resources department and the applicable area assistant superintendent. The district may require the placement of surplus students at another school if necessary or exercise alternative options. (See Section 4.D.)

When the school catchment boundaries are changed, the district reserves the right to relocate students in keeping with the new boundaries. Such relocation normally will occur between school terms. A student may, however, apply to remain at the school by making a new application, consistent with Section 3.B., to be placed in the school.

There is no requirement to place a student if the student is suspended under section 85(2) (d) of the School Act by this or another board or has been refused an educational program by this or another board under section 85(3) of the School Act.

3. SPECIFIC REGISTRATION & PLACEMENT PROCEDURES

Automatic Registration of Existing Students in the School and Students Progressing the Following School Term
Students will be automatically registered for the next school term at the school they are attending. In addition, students who are expected to transfer from one school level to another (such as, elementary to secondary) will be automatically registered in the school designated by the district.
Parents or guardians will be advised to notify the school where students will be automatically registered if they have different intentions for the next school term.

Registration and Placement of New Students Wishing to Attend a School Outside the Catchment Area
When parents or guardians of school district children wish to register children as new students in a school outside their normal catchment area, they must first attend the school in their catchment area to discuss their intention. Thereafter, the parents or guardians of district children should attend the school of interest in order to make application to be placed.
Parents or guardians of non-school district students are to proceed directly to the school of interest to make application to be placed.

4. PLACEMENT PRIORITIES WHEN A SCHOOL IS FULL

Neighborhood Schools

Applications on behalf of new students to newly enroll in an educational program in a school are to be received at the school no later than the end of the first day of school in September. All applications will be recorded on a waiting list until the end of the school year.

Priority for enrolment among competing students will be based on the following descending order for applications received on or before the end of the first day of school in September.

a)	Children who attended the school during and up to the end of the prior school year who are automatically enrolled in the school.
b)	Children who in the previous school year attended a school from which the district reassigns students progressing through their educational program to the school (e.g. “feeder school”).
c)	A sibling of a child who attended the school in the prior school year and will continue to be enrolled in the school in the enrolling year, provided the sibling resides within the school district.
d)	Other catchment area children.
e)	Non-catchment area children who were catchment area children in the prior year and attended the school but were affected by a boundary change.
f)	Non-catchment area children receiving before and/or after school care in the school catchment area.
g)	Other non-catchment area children, including siblings of students in a district program at the school.
h)	Non-school district children.
i)	Over-age students.

If it is subsequently determined after the end of the first day of school in September that there is capacity to accept additional students, then priority will be given to all applications received prior to the end of the first day of school in September over applications received later.

District-wide or Regional Programs

Where the district offers a program on a regional or district-wide basis, a catchment area will be determined which could be a part of or the whole school district. Registration for new students will occur at a time and location advertised by the district. Placement is subject to the capacity of the program and where there is insufficient capacity, then priority for enrolment among competing students will be same as outlined above in Section 4.A.

Where, in a dual track situation, one child is in the district-wide or regional program, other siblings not wishing to be placed in the district-wide program may register as a sibling in the regular program of the school subject to capacity and placement priorities outlined in Section 4.A.

First Time Registration and Placement of Kindergarten Students

First time kindergarten registration refers to the registration of students for kindergarten prior to the start of their first school term. This registration normally will occur in the spring prior to the start of their first school term in a manner advertised by schools and the district.

The placement of Kindergarten students at the beginning of the school year will have these provisos:

Placement in a school – Priority for placement will be as outlined in Section 4.A. However, an alternate placement for such students may be necessary at another school if the district has to redefine the capacity for kindergarten classes in the first week of a school term based on the actual enrolments. If an alternate placement for students is necessary, then the remaining kindergarten students will be determined by the priority grouping outlined in Section 4.A.

ii.

The parents or guardians of students whose normal residence is outside the school’s catchment area will be advised:

They must first attend the school in their catchment area to discuss their intention (except for non-school district children).
The school will, if necessary place students’ names on a waiting list.
The school may not be able to confirm availability of placement until the second week of the school term.

Once the school term begins, the principles for registration and placement of new students will apply to kindergarten students.

Recording Registrations, Waiting Lists and Placements when a School is Full

Where a school does not or will not have capacity for further placements, the following will apply for registration and placement:

For students whose normal residence is within the school’s catchment area:

a)	The registration will be recorded and the school will follow the district’s guidelines for placement - which may be arranged to be in another school.
b)	If placement in another school is arranged, such students’ names will be kept on a waiting list at the normal catchment area school for possible placement during that school term.
c)	A placement in the regular catchment area school may be offered for the commencement of the following school term - subject to capacity in the school and subject to the priority factors outlined in Section 4.A.

ii.

For students whose normal residence is outside the school’s catchment area:

a)	The registration will be recorded; placement will not be the responsibility of the school.
b)	Upon request by the parents or guardians, the students’ names will be kept on a waiting list.

Use of and Placement from Waiting Lists

Where a waiting list is needed, the school will record registrations in chronological order within the categories defined in Section 4.A. Where an opportunity arises for placement in a class or course, preference will be given, among competing students, in the priority sequence identified in Section 4.A.

Parents or guardians may remove a student’s name from a waiting list at any time.

De-registration of Students

There will be circumstances where students may be removed from or be de- registered from a school’s list of registered students. Should such a student return to the school, that student will come under the guidelines applicable to new registrants to the school (see Section 2) or a district or regional program (see Section 4.B).

Principals may de-register students under these circumstances:

i.	De-registration of automatic and ‘no show’ registrations: The principal will de-register students who were automatically registered or registered as new students for the next school term (‘no shows’) who do not attend class by the fifth (5th) day of the new school term unless the parents or guardians were able to confirm in advance to the satisfaction of the principal that the absence would be temporary.
ii.	De-registration of non-attending enrolled student: The principal will de-register students who have been placed and attended the school but who are absent for ten (10) or more school days and the principal has not been able to make contact with the parents/guardians or confirm an acceptable date of return.
iii.	De-registration for excessive absence due to travel: The principal is under no obligation to hold a space for a student who is absent from school due to travel for a period that exceeds twenty- five (25) school days.
iv.	De- registration and Re-entry: Once a student transfers out and is de-registered, parents or guardians must re-apply for re-entry at a later date.

Transportation of Students

Provision of transportation for students is subject to all relevant transportation policies and regulations defined by the Surrey Board of Education. Where the district arranges for an alternate school placement in a school outside the student’s normal catchment area, the district may decide that the provision of transportation from school to school is appropriate.

The board will not provide transportation for any student whose parents or guardians choose to enrol the student in a school other than the school in the student’s regular catchment area.

Waiting Lists

a)	Waiting Lists are maintained by each school site. (As vacancies occur, parents are notified and given the opportunity to transfer into the program.)
b)	Principals will call guardians and parents of catchment area students on the waiting list in May and June to provide advice about the following school year.
c)	Normally, class size guidelines are respected when considering opportunities in the school for students on the waiting list.

5. REGISTRATION AND PLACEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

The International Education Department may register and place international students who hold student visas.

6. REGISTRATION AND PLACEMENT OF OVER-AGE STUDENTS

Principals may register and place over-age students subject to:

i.	The location of the residency and the placement priorities outlined in Section 4.A.
ii.	The parents or guardians (or student if competent to do so) sign the standard agreement confirming that the student may be obliged to withdraw from the school should it subsequently become overcrowded because of student population pressures generated by school age students; and
iii.	The parents or guardians (or student, if competent to do so) accept full responsibility for the transportation of the student.