On April 25th, 2024, the Board of Trustees approved changes to our student transfer appeals process.

All OCDSB students attend a designated school based on geographic and programming considerations. If families wish to have their child attend a school other than their designated school, they can apply for a student transfer. As always, if the transfer request is not granted, families will be able to appeal the decision.

Under the new process, families can make this appeal by:

  • Writing to the principal of the receiving school; and
  • Engaging the Superintendent of the receiving school where the first appeal was not granted by the principal.

Superintendents will now make final decisions on student transfer appeals. However, parents will continue to be able to seek trustees’ support at any point in the process if necessary.

Revised Policy

Staff presented Report No. 24-051 to the Ad Hoc Policy Committee on April 4th and to the Board of Trustees on April 25th, where they discussed the proposed revisions. Staff also recommended a slight revision to section 3.3, adding expulsion and safety reasons as eligibility provisions.

The Board repealed Policy P.126.SCO Appeals Hearing Panel (Student Transfers) and approved changes to our policy on designated schools and student transfers. View the final policy:

Consultation Results

We held an online consultation on Engage OCDSB from February 8th to March 8th, 2024 and invited families, students, staff, and community members to share their feedback. Of the 13 submissions we received, over 60% were from parents/guardians, and the rest were staff comments. A little over 40% of respondents supported the proposed revisions and the rescission of the policy, 30% were opposed, and 25% offered comment but had no clear preference.

We also gathered feedback from trustees and committee members during two meetings where the policies were discussed. This feedback helped to inform the revisions to the policy.

We would like to extend our gratitude to the OCDSB community for their feedback and participation in the consultation process.

What’s Next?

We will update our Student Transfer Parent Guide with more information on how families can make an appeal, and we’re currently revising the associated procedures to help clarify and support families and staff.