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Pupil Accommodation Reviews

Accommodation Decisions at School Boards

• The Accommodation Review Process
• Information on Administrative Review
• A selection of Administrative Review Reports, 2008-2009
• Frequently Asked Questions

Student accommodation decisions such as closing schools, consolidating schools and building new schools are among the most important responsibilities of locally elected school board trustees. The Ministry of Education cannot overrule or change these decisions.

Your school board will usually undertake a pupil accommodation review process – led by an Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) – when it is contemplating closing a school. This process must follow the school board's policy that governs accommodation reviews. The ministry has issued a Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline that outlines the minimum requirements for school boards. The guideline also outlines circumstances when a board does not have to undertake a full accommodation review process.

The heart of this process is community consultation through representation on the ARC and through public meetings. The ministry encourages students, parents and community members to get involved in the accommodation review process.

In June 2009, the ministry released revisions to the 2006 Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline to support local decision-making. The revised guideline applies to any accommodation review process that is announced after September 30, 2009.

This document provides school boards and their communities with a tool to ensure transparency and accountability in an accommodation review process.

• This document has been revised as of June 2009: Revised Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline, 2009 (48 KB).
• Memo – 2009 B7: Revised Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline (PDF, 51 KB)

Boards are required to ensure their own accommodation review policy (also known as a school closure policy) is compliant with the ministry's revised guideline.