Procedure 2.2.1 PUPIL ACCOMMODATION AND REVIEW

Approved:

Revised:

1.0 Application

1.1 This policy applies to schools offering elementary or secondary regular day-school programs.

1.2 This policy does not apply:

- 1.2.1 where a replacement school is to be built by the Board on the existing site, or built or acquiredwithin the existing school attendance boundary, as identified through the Board’s policy;
- 1.2.2 where a replacement school is to be built by the Board on the existing site, or built or acquired within the existing school attendance boundary and the school community must be temporarily relocated to ensure the safety of students and staff during the reconstruction, as identified through the Board’s policy;
- 1.2.3 when a lease for the school is terminated;
- 1.2.4 when the Board is planning the relocation (in any school year or over a number of school years) of grades or programs, in which the enrolment constitutes less than 50% of the school’s enrolment (this calculation is based on the enrolment at the time of the relocation, or the firstphase of a relocation carried over a number of school years);
- 1.2.5 when the Board is repairing or renovating a school and the school community must be temporarily relocated to ensure the safety of Students during the renovations;
- 1.2.6 where a facility has been serving as a holding school for a school community whose permanent school is over-capacity and/or is under construction or repair; or
- 1.2.7 where there are no students enrolled at the school at any time throughout the school year.

2.0 Board planning prior to an Accommodation review:

2.1 As described in the Community Planning and Partnerships Guideline, school boards must undertake long-term capital and accommodation planning, informed by relevant information obtained from local municipal governments and other community partners, which takes into consideration long-term enrolment projections and planning opportunities for the effective use of excess space in all area schools.

The Board must document their efforts to obtain information from local municipal governments as well as other community partners that expressed an interest prior to the pupil accommodation review; and provide any relevant information from municipalities and other community partners as part of the initial staff report.

2.1.1 In 1.2.1 to 1.2.7, the Board is expected to inform school communities about proposed accommodation plans for students before a decision is made by the Board of Trustees. The Board will provide written notice to municipalities, along with community partners who have expressed an interest before the exemption, and to the Directors of Education of coterminous boards, and to the Ministry of Education through the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Financial Policy and Business Division no fewer than five (5) business days following the decision to proceed with an exemption.

2.2 Each school year, the Director of Education shall conduct a preliminary accommodation analysis of all schools under the Board’s jurisdiction.

2.2.1 Considerations may include:

1. Moving attendance boundaries and programs to balance enrolment between over and underutilized schools;
2. Offering to lease underutilized space within a school to a coterminous school board;
3. Finding community partners who can pay the full cost of operating the underutilized space; and /or
4. Decommissioning or demolishing a section of the school that is not required for student use to reduce operating costs.

2.2.2 Upon completion of the analysis and prior to the end of the school year, the Director shall present a report to the Board which shall include:

1. The Ministry of Education capacity for each school;
2. The level of actual occupancy as a percentage of the Ministry of Education capacity;
3. The current and projected enrolments in each school;
4. Other information or special circumstances that the Director of Education may deem relevant such as:
  1. the location of and enrolment in special programs;
  2. the status of the physical plants;
  3. the number and location of the portable or temporary classrooms;
  4. the need for alterations and additions, and
  5. preliminary financial information.
5. Wherever possible, the Board shall consider for ‘Under Review Status’ a group of schools in a planning area that are close enough to the other schools in the planning area to facilitate the development of viable and practical solutions for student accommodation, rather than individual schools. This consideration follows the Ministry distance policies and funding;
6. Recommendations to the Board regarding which school or schools should be placed in “Under Review Status” and the circumstances that support this designation;
7. Wherever possible the Board shall consider for ‘Under Review Status’ a group of schools in a planning area that are close enough to the other schools in the planning area to facilitate the development of viable and practical solutions for student accommodation, rather than individual schools.

2.3 The process of student accommodation review which may or may not result in changes to student accommodation shall consist of four stages:

- 2.3.1 Analysis of the long-term capital and accommodation planning options for the schools;
- 2.3.2 Initial Staff Report: Prior to establishing a pupil accommodation review, the initial staff report to the Board of Trustees must contain one or more options to address the accommodation issue(s). Each option must have a supporting rationale. There must be a recommended option. The initial staff report must also include information on actions taken by Board staff prior to establishing a pupil accommodation review process and supporting rationale as to any actions taken or not taken. The option(s) included in the initial staff report must address the following:
  - summary of accommodation issue(s) for the school(s) under review;
  - where students would be accommodated;
  - if proposed changes to existing facility or facilities are required as a result of the pupil accommodation review;
  - identify any program changes as a result of the proposed option;
  - how student transportation would be affected if changes take place;
  - if new capital investment is required as a result of the pupil accommodation review, how the Board intends to fund this, as well as a proposal on how students would be accommodated if funding does not become available; and
  - any relevant information obtained from municipalities and other community partners prior to the commencement of the pupil accommodation review, including any confirmed interest in using the underutilized space.
  - Each recommended option must also include a timeline for implementation.
  - The initial staff report and School Information Profiles (SIPs) (see Section 5.0 ) will be made available to the public, as determined in the Board’s policy, and posted on the Board’s website following the decision to proceed with a pupil accommodation review by the Board of Trustees.
- 2.3.3 Consultation: The Board must ensure that individuals from the school(s) under review and the broader community are invited to participate in the pupil accommodation review consultation. At a minimum, the pupil accommodation review process must consist of the following methods of consultation:
  - Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) (see Section 4.0);
  - consultation with municipal governments local to the affected school(s) (see Section 6.0);
  - public meetings (see Section 7.0); and
  - public delegations (see Section 8.1.5).

- 2.3.4 SIP: Board staff are required to develop School Information Profiles (SIPs) as orientation documents to help the ARC and the community understand the context surrounding the decision to include the specific school(s) in a pupil accommodation review. The SIP provides an understanding of and familiarity with the facilities under review.

The SIP is expected to include data for each of the following two considerations about the school(s) under review:

- - - value to the student; and
    - value to the Board.

3.0 Determination of the school or schools which will be subject to accommodation review:

3.1 The Board shall, in open session, consider and vote on a motion designating the school or schools which will be subject to accommodation review.

3.2 When the Board, by motion, identifies a school or schools as being “Under Review”, the following shall occur:

3.2.1 The Director of Education shall forthwith inform parents, staff, the school council, and the community of the identification and possible changes in accommodation status.

STANDARD ACCOMMODATION REVIEW PROCESS

4.0 Formation of an Accommodation Review Committee and Terms of Reference:

Role

The Board must establish an ARC that represents the school(s) under review and acts as the official conduit for information shared between the Board and the school communities. The ARC may comment on the initial staff report and may, throughout the pupil accommodation review process, seek clarification of the initial staff report. The ARC may provide other accommodation options than those in the initial staff report; however, it must include supporting rationale for any such option.

The ARC members do not need to achieve consensus regarding the information provided to the Board of Trustees.

The Board’s staff resources assigned to the ARC are required to compile feedback from the ARC as well as the broader community in the Community Consultation section of the final staff report (see Section 8.1.4) to be presented to the Board of Trustees.

Membership

The membership of the ARC should include, at a minimum, parent/guardian representatives from each of the schools under review, chosen by their respective school communities.

Where established by the Board’s pupil accommodation review policy, there may also be the option to include students and representation from the broader community. For example, the Board’s policy may include a requirement for specific representation from the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit communities. In addition, Board trustees may be members.

Composition of the Accommodation Review Committee :

- two (2) members of each school council/school community;
- up to two (2) community members;
- up to three (3) trustees;
- the Secretary of the Board;
- the Treasurer of the Board;
- the Superintendent of Education for the school.

Appointees to the Accommodation Review Committee shall be public school supporters and qualified to vote in the municipal election for Public School Trustees.

Formation

The ARC should be formed following the Board of Trustees’ consideration of the initial staff report but prior to the first public meeting. The Board will invite ARC members from the school(s) under review to an orientation session that will describe the mandate, roles and responsibilities, and procedures of the ARC.

Terms of Reference

The Board will provide the ARC with Terms of Reference that describe the ARC’s mandate. The mandate will refer to the Board’s education and accommodation objectives in undertaking the ARC and reflect the Board’s strategy for supporting student achievement and well-being.

The Terms of Reference will also clearly outline the Board’s expectations of the roles and responsibilities of the ARC; and describe the procedures of the ARC. At a minimum, the ARC will provide feedback on the initial staff report option(s).

The Terms of Reference will outline the minimum of three (3) working meetings of the ARC.

Meetings of the Accommodation Review Committee

The ARC will meet to review materials presented by Board staff. It is recommended that the ARC hold as many working meetings as is deemed necessary within the timelines established in their Board’s pupil accommodation review policy.

5.0 School Information Profile

5.1 A School Information Profile (SIP) will be completed by Board staff for each of the schools under review. The following are the minimum data requirements and factors that are to be included in the SIP that is present to Board of Trustees and ARC:

Facility Profile:

School name and address;
Site plan and floor plan(s) (or space template) of the school with the date of school construction and any subsequent additions;
School attendance area (boundary) map;
Context map (or air photo) of the school indicating the existing land uses surrounding the school;
Planning map of the school with zoning, official plan or secondary plan land use designations;
Size of the school site (acres or hectares);
Building area (square feet or square metres);
Number of portable classrooms;
Number and type of instructional rooms as well as specialized classroom teaching spaces (e.g., science lab, tech shop, gymnasium, etc.);
Area of hard surfaced outdoor play area and/or green space, the number of play fields, and the presence of outdoor facilities (e.g., tracks, courts for basketball, tennis, etc.);
Ten-year history of major facility improvements (item and cost);
Projected five-year facility renewal needs of school (item and cost);
Current Facility Condition Index (FCI) with a definition of what the index represents;
A measure of proximity of the students to their existing school, and the average distance to the school for students;
Percentage of students that are and are not eligible for transportation under the Board policy, and the length of bus ride to the school (longest, shortest, and average length of bus ride times);
School utility costs (totals, per square foot, and per student);
Number of parking spaces on site at the school, an assessment of the adequacy of parking, and bus/car access and egress;
Measures that the Board has identified and/or addressed for accessibility of the school for students, staff, and the public with disabilities (i.e., barrier-free);
On-the-ground (OTG) capacity and surplus/shortage of pupil places.

Instructional Profile:

Describe the number and type of teaching staff, non-teaching staff, support staff, itinerant staff, and administrative staff at the school;
Describe the course and program offerings at the school;
Describe the specialized service offerings at the school (e.g., cooperative placements, guidance counseling, etc.);
Current grade configuration of the school (e.g., junior kindergarten to Grade 6, junior kindergarten to Grade 12, etc.);
Current grade organization of the school (e.g., number of combined grades, etc.).
Number of out of area students;
Utilization factor/classroom usage;
Summary of five previous years’ enrolment and 10-year enrolment projection by grade and program;
Current extracurricular activities.

Other School Use Profile:

Current non-school programs or services resident at or co-located with the school as well as any revenue from these non-school programs or services and whether or not it is at full cost recovery;
Current facility partnerships as well as any revenue from the facility partnerships and whether or not it is at full cost recovery;
Community use of the school as well as any revenue from the community use of the school and whether or not it is at full cost recovery;
Availability of before and after school programs or services (e.g., child care) as well as any revenue from the before and after school programs and whether or not it is at full cost recovery;
Lease terms at the school as well as any revenue from the lease and whether or not it is at full cost recovery;
Description of the school’s suitability for facility partnerships.

The Board may introduce additional items that could be used to reflect local circumstances and priorities which may help to further understand the school(s) under review.

Each school under review will have a SIP completed at the same point-in- time for comparison purposes. The Ministry of Education expects the Board to prepare SIPs that are complete and accurate, to the best of the Board’s ability, prior to the commencement of a pupil accommodation review.

While the ARC may request clarification about information provided in the SIP, it is not the role of the ARC to approve the SIP.

5.2 Value to the Student :

the learning environment at the school;
student outcomes at the school;
course and program offerings;
extracurricular activities and extent of student participation;
the ability of the school’s physical space to support student learning;
the ability of the school’s grounds to support healthy physical activity and extracurricular activities;
accessibility of the school for students with disabilities;
safety of the school;
proximity of the school to students/length of bus ride to school.

Value to the Board:

student outcomes at the school;
course and program offerings;
availability of specialized teaching spaces;
condition and location of school;
value of the school if it is the only school within the community;
fiscal and operational factors (e.g., enrolment vs. available space, cost to operate the school, cost of transportation, availability of surplus space in adjacent schools, cost to upgrade the facility so that it can meet student learning objectives).

The Board and the Accommodation Review Committee may introduce other factors that could be used to reflect local circumstances and priorities, which may help to further understand the school(s).

6.0 Consultation with Local Municipal Governments

6.1 Within 5 days of the Board of Trustees’ approval to undertake a pupil accommodation review, the Board must invite affected single and upper-tier municipalities as well as other community partners that expressed an interest prior to the pupil accommodation review to discuss and comment on the recommended option(s) in the Board’s initial staff report.

6.2 The invitation for this meeting will be provided through a written notice, and will be directed through the Clerks Department (or equivalent) for the affected municipalities.

6.3 The affected municipalities, as well as other community partners that expressed an interest prior to the pupil accommodation review, must provide their response on the recommended option(s) in the Board’s initial staff report before the final public meeting. The Board must provide them with advance notice of when the final public meeting is scheduled to take place.

6.4 The Board must document their efforts to meet with the affected municipalities, as well as other community partners that expressed an interest prior to the pupil accommodation review; and provide any relevant information from this meeting as part of the final staff report to the Board of Trustees. (See Section 8.1.4).

7.0 Public Meetings

7.1 Once the Board has received an initial staff report and has approved the initiation of a pupil accommodation review, the Board must arrange to hold a minimum of two public meetings for broader community consultation on the initial staff report. Board staff are expected to facilitate the public meetings to solicit broader community feedback on the recommended option(s) contained in the initial staff report.

7.2 The public meetings are to be announced and advertised publicly by the Board through an appropriate range of media as determined by the Board.

7.3 At a minimum, the first public meeting must include the following:

- an overview of the ARC orientation session;
- the initial staff report with recommended option(s);
- a presentation of the SIPs; and
- value to students and Board.

8.0 The Accommodation Review Committee

8.1 The ARC will discuss and consult about the School Information Profile (SIP). They may also create alternative options.

- 8.1.1 Conduct a minimum of two (2) public meetings.
- 8.1.2 Share the SIP and Draft School and Board Valuation Report by staff.
- 8.1.3 Invite and consider community feedback on SIP and Draft School & Board Valuation Report on options for accommodating students.
- 8.1.4 Final Staff Report - At the conclusion of the pupil accommodation review process, Board staff will submit a final staff report to the Board of Trustees which must be available to the public as determined in the Board’s policy, and posted on the Board’s website. The final staff report must include a Community Consultation section that contains feedback from the ARC and any public consultations as well as any relevant information obtained from municipalities and other community partners prior to and during the pupil accommodation review. Board staff may choose to amend their proposed option(s) included in the initial staff report. The recommended option(s) must also include a proposed accommodation plan, prepared for the decision of the Board of Trustees, which contains a timeline for implementation.

- 8.1.5 Delegations to the Board of Trustees Meeting
  - Once Board staff submits the final staff report to the Board of Trustees, the Board must allow an opportunity for members of the public to provide feedback on the final staff report through public delegations to the Board of Trustees. Notice of the public delegation opportunities will be provided based on Board policy.
  - After the public delegations, Board staff will compile feedback from the public delegations which will be presented to the Board of Trustees with the final staff report.

- 8.1.6 Decision of the Board of Trustees
  - The Board of Trustees will be provided with the final staff report, including the compiled feedback fromthe public delegations, when making its final decision regarding the pupil accommodation review.
  - The Board of Trustees has the discretion to approve the recommendation(s) of the final staff reportas presented, modify the recommendation(s), or to approve a different outcome.

8.1.7 Transition Planning

- The transition of students should be carried out in consultation with parents/guardians and staff. Following the decision to consolidate and/or close a school, the Board is expected to establish a separate committee to address the transition for students and staff.

8.2 Timelines (see Appendix A)

The pupil accommodation review process must comply with the following minimum timelines:

- 8.2.1 Following the date of the Board of Trustees’ approval to conduct a pupil accommodation review, the Board will provide written notice of the Board of Trustees’ decision within 5 business days to each of the affected municipalities, other community partners that expressed an interest prior to the pupil accommodation review; and include an invitation for a meeting to discuss and comment on the recommended option(s) in the Board’s initial staff report. The Board must also notify the Director(s) of Education of their coterminous school boards and the Ministry of Education through the office of the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Financial Policy and Business Division. The affected municipalities must provide their response on the recommended option(s) in the Board’s initial staff report before the final public meeting.

- 8.2.2 Beginning with the date of the Board of Trustees’ approval to conduct a pupil accommodation review, there must be no fewer than 30 business days before the first public meeting is held.

- 8.2.3 There must be a minimum period of 40 business days between the first and final public meetings.
- 8.2.4 The final staff report must be publicly posted no fewer than 10 business days after the final public meeting.
- 8.2.5 From the posting of the final staff report, there must be no fewer than 10 business days before the public delegations.
- 8.2.6 There must be no fewer than 10 business days between public delegations and the final decision of the Board of Trustees.

MODIFIED ACCOMMODATION REVIEW PROCESS

9.0 Modified Accommodation Review Process

In certain circumstances, where the potential pupil accommodation options available are deemed by the Board to be less complex, the Boards may find it appropriate to undertake a modified pupil accommodation review process.

9.1 The conditions where a modified pupil accommodation review process could be initiated by explicitly defining the factors that would allow the Board the option to conduct a modified pupil accommodation review process. The conditions for conducting a modified pupil accommodation review process need to be based on two or more of the following factors:

distance to the nearest available accommodation;
utilization rate of the facility;
number of students enrolled at the school; or
when the Board is planning the relocation (in any school year or over a number of school years) of a program, in which the enrolment constitutes more than or equal to 50% of the school’s enrolment (this calculation is based on the enrolment at the time of the relocation, or the first phase of a relocation carried over a number of school years).

9.2 The Board may consider additional factors that are defined in their pupil accommodation review policy to qualify for the modified pupil accommodation review process.

9.3 Multiple factors may be developed by the Board to appropriately reflect varying conditions across the board (e.g., urban, rural, elementary panel, secondary panel, etc.).

9.4 The Board of Trustees must approve these explicitly defined factors, after community consultation, in order to adopt a modified pupil accommodation review process as part of the Board’s pupil accommodation review.

10.0 Implementing the Modified Accommodation Review Process

10.1 The initial staff report will explain the rationale for exempting the school(s) from the standard pupil accommodation review process, in accordance with the Board’s pupil accommodation review policy.

10.2 The initial staff report and SIPs must be made available to the public, as determined in the Board’s policy, and posted on the Board’s website.

10.3 A public meeting will be announced and advertised through an appropriate range of media as determined by the Board.

10.4 Following the public meeting, Board staff will submit a final staff report to the Board of Trustees which must be available to the public as determined in the Board’s policy, and posted on the Board’s website. The final staff report must include a Community Consultation section that contains feedback from any public consultations as well as any relevant information obtained from municipalities and other community partners prior to and during the modified pupil accommodation review.

10.5 When the Board staff submit the final staff report to the Board of Trustees, the Board must allow an opportunity for members of the public to provide feedback through public delegations to the Board of Trustees. Notice of the public delegation opportunities will be provided based on Board policy.

10.6 After the public delegations, Board staff will compile feedback from the public delegations which will be presented to the Board of Trustees with the final staff report.

10.7 The Board of Trustees has the discretion to approve the recommendation(s) of the final staff report as presented, modify the recommendation(s) of the final staff report, or to approve a different outcome.

10.8 The Ministry encourages the Board not to make final pupil accommodation review decisions during the summer holiday period (typically from July 1 to the

day after Labour Day).

10.9 A transition plan will be put in place following the decision to consolidate and/or close a school.

11.0 Timelines for the Modified Accommodation Review Process

The modified pupil accommodation review process must comply with the following minimum timelines:

11.1 Following the date of the Board of Trustees’ approval to conduct a modified pupil accommodation review, the Board will provide written notice of the Board of Trustees’ decision within 5 business days to each of the affected municipalities through the Clerks Department (or equivalent), other community partners that expressed an interest prior to the modified pupil accommodation review; and include an invitation for a meeting to discuss and comment on the recommended option(s) in the Board’s initial staff report. The Board must also notify the Director(s) of Education of their coterminous school boards and the Ministry of Education through the office of the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Financial Policy and Business Division.
11.2 The affected municipalities, as well as other community partners that expressed an interest prior to the modified pupil accommodation review, must provide their response on the recommended option(s) in the Board’s initial staff report before the final public meeting.
11.3 The Board must hold at least one public meeting. Beginning with the date of the Board of Trustees’ approval to conduct a modified pupil accommodation review, there must be no fewer than 30 business days before this public meeting is held.
11.4 The final staff report must be publicly posted no fewer than 10 business days after the final public meeting.
11.5 From the posting of the final staff report, there must be no fewer than 10 business days before the public delegations.
11.6 There must be no fewer than 10 business days between public delegations and the final decision of the Board of Trustees.

Appendix A: Timelines for Accommodation Review Process

Appendix B: Accommodation Review Timelines for Modified ARC Process

References

Education Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.2

Ontario Regulation 612/00 of the Education Act: School Councils and Parent Involvement Committees

R.R.O. 1990, Regulation 298 of the Education Act: Operation of Schools - General

DSB1 Policy & Procedure 2.1.17 – Canvassing and Fundraising

DSB1 Policy & Procedure 3.1.2 – Employee Travel Expense Reimbursement

DSB1 Policy & Procedure 3.1.4 – School Funds