File photo.
The Greater Victoria School District has introduced stricter proof-of-address requirements for parents who want to enrol their kids for the 2018-2019 school year.
On Monday, School District 61 said new proof-of-residency rules will be in effect for parents who want to enrol their kids in their designated catchment area for the upcoming school year.
In addition to proof of school age eligibility and citizenship for their child, parents must also provide two of five options to provide proof of their address. These options include a Canadian bank or credit card statement, B.C. vehicle registration, an income tax statement or insurance documents.
If parents are renting, they must provide a rental agreement signed by the landlord with the landlord’s phone number. They are also required to provide two of the following four options: a Canadian bank or credit card statement, B.C. vehicle registration, an income tax statement or renter insurance documents.
The school district said all personal information other than the address and the full name can be redacted if parents are concerned about privacy.
Every home address in the school district is connected to a catchment school and students are required to register at their catchment school.
Parents with children in either Grade 5 or Grade 8 who currently attend a school outside of their catchment area will have to apply for a transfer if they want to continue in a school that does not align with their current address. The transfer request is required as students transition from elementary to middle school and middle school to secondary school.
These new rules come after the district changed the new student enrolment priorities earlier this year. The priority puts students in the catchment area above non-catchment siblings.
The new enrolment priorities are:
- Re-enrolling students
- Catchment-area siblings
- New catchment-area students
- Non-catchment area siblings
- New students not in the catchment area
- Students who do not live in the school district
School registration begins in January and February. Kindergarten registration is set to begin the week of Feb. 15. The deadline for transfer requests is Feb. 23.
Alexa Huffman
