Rules aim for school enrolment transparency

New school admissions regulations aim to make enrolment much more transparent for parents, following years of complaints about how principals and boards deal with applications.

Some of the most serious cases have involved claims that parents are directed to nearby schools and informally told they are better equipped to cater for students with special needs or Traveller children, for example.

In order to discourage such so-called ‘soft’ barriers to enrolment, the proposed amendments to education law would require all schools to include an explicit statement in this area. It must state that the school will not discriminate for admission on grounds of disability, special educational needs, sexual orientation, family status, membership of the Traveller community, race, civil status, gender, faith or religious tradition, or being of no faith.