[Sanctuarycity_hamilton] Fwd: Undocumented Students

[Yen Chu]

FYI. Message from HWDSB.

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Barry Smith [Staff]" <bsmith at hwdsb.on.ca>
> Date: August 27, 2015 at 4:15:43 PM EDT
> To: "yenbchu at yahoo.ca" <yenbchu at yahoo.ca>
> Cc: "Christine Bingham [Trustee]" <cbingham at hwdsb.on.ca>, "Sharon Stephanian [Staff]" <sstephan at hwdsb.on.ca>, "Nancy Fan [Staff]" <nfan at hwdsb.on.ca>, "Paula Stableford [Staff]" <pstablef at hwdsb.on.ca>, "Jeffrey Moore [Staff]" <jwmoore at hwdsb.on.ca>
> Subject: Undocumented Students
> 
> Hello Yen Chu,
>  
> Thank your for your email to Trustee Bingham.  She has kindly informed us of your inquiry for follow up as we handle admissions for Immigrant families here at the Assessment Centre.
>  
> I want to assure you that the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) neither discriminates nor turns students away on the basis of immigration status.  As the Ontario Education Act states:
>  
> A person who is otherwise entitled to be admitted to a school and who is less than eighteen years of age shall not be refused admission because the person or the person’s parent or guardian is unlawfully in Canada. (Section 49.1)
>  
> Further to this Section, the HWDSB follows the direction of Ministry of Education Memorandum 136 where it states:
>  
> When admitting children from other countries, a board may make inquiries to determine whether a child is entitled to be admitted to school with or without the payment of a fee, and may require proof of entitlement, provided that the standard of proof is no higher than that applied to other children.
>  
> Therefore, it is our practice to welcome students to our schools and provide them with equitable opportunities to access education within the HWDSB.  Determinations regarding fees and other matters are made with the same level of inquiry among all students regardless of their Immigration status.
>  
> Finally, with respect to information gathered by the school and Board as a whole – there is very specific legislation regarding the maintenance and access to a student’s records governed by the Education Act and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.  Please be assured that the HWDSB follows the tenets of both acts scrupulously. 
>  
> I hope we have managed to answer your questions and concerns regarding this matter.  If you would like further clarification or discussion, please do not hesitate to contact us at the Assessment Centre at 905-521-2554.
>  
> Sincerely,
> Barry
> Barry Smith
> Vice-Principal
> Community & International Education Services
> HWDSB Assessment Centre
> Robert Thomson Building
> 110 King St. West
> Plaza Level, Suite 606
> Hamilton, ON    L8P-4S6
>  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.resist.ca/pipermail/sanctuarycity_hamilton/attachments/20150827/09bd5fda/attachment.html>