Out of area transfer request (transferring schools) is the process where students can apply to attend a school other than the school designated for their area of residence.
The Halton District School Board encourages students to attend their designated school but students can apply to a school outside of their home school if there is enough space to accommodate them. Students who transfer to another school are not eligible for Board provided transportation.
Elementary Students - Transferring Schools
Timeline Process
Last Week of November
- Elementary Schools designated as Open/Closed
- Administrative Procedure, parent/guardian letter (Appendix A) and listing of Open/Closed schools posted on Board website.
January – February
- Applications received at home school - date stamped by home school, signed off and forwarded to receiving school
- “Closed School” Principals deny requests and communicate to parents/guardians Appendix B and Appendix C
March
- Verify applications with school organizations, staffing and class size compliance
- “Open School” Principal and Superintendent will review applications and confer with home school Principal Mid April Parent/Guardian Notification
- Decisions about all applications are made and communicated grades 1-8
May - 1st week
- Appeals received and processed by requested school Superintendent
September - 3rd week
The approval of applications is dependent on the following:
- School is designated as an “Open School”
- Compliance to Ministry Mandated Class Size* caps is achieved
- Availability of pupil spaces as per class size guidelines
- School organization maintained (i.e., no new class would have to be created)
- Staffing maintained (i.e., no need to hire additional staff or increase instructional resources)
- Program placement and options maintained (e.g., no displacing of students to an alternative class placement or the depletion of a program)
- Fiscally responsible (i.e., no additional costs to the Board)
- Rationale for request is not limited to child care arrangements
*Note: The Halton District School Board is required to meet parameters set out by the Ministry of Education. The Board is required to ensure:
- Kindergarten classes are staffed at a Board-wide average of 26:2 (Teacher and Early Childhood Educator)
- Primary (Grade 1 - 3) classes are at a ratio of 20:1
- The regional average class size for Grade 4 - 8 is 24.5:1
Principals may not consider out of area transfer requests in kindergarten and/or primary classes that have reached or are approaching primary class size cap.
Important Documents for Elementary Students
Secondary Students - Transferring Schools
Timeline Process
Last week of November
- Schools designated open are posted on the Board website
-
Applications are given out by the designated home secondary school
(refer to Appendix A in the Secondary out of area transfer request administrative procedure below)
Prior to 2nd Friday in January
- Completed applications are returned to home secondary school
Last week of February
- Area meetings are held by Superintendent for grade 9 transfer of schools requests
- Decisions about all applications are made and communicated the first week of March
Prior to end of June
-
Appeal decision letter sent to parents by Superintendent of requested school
Important Documents for Secondary Students
Appeals
Appeals to reconsider an application are permitted in situations where “extraordinary circumstances” need to be assessed. Appeals are to be submitted by parents, in writing, to the Superintendent(s) of Education of the requested school, copied to the home school and requested school Principal within 10 days of notification of application denied. The Superintendent(s) of Education makes decisions regarding appeals in consultation with the Principals involved, and communicates decisions in writing to the applicant and the schools. The decision of the Superintendent is final. Parents do not need to reapply each year after approval but all out of area transfer requests granted are subject to renewal annually.