Bill to ban requests for deposits securing school places

Cabinet has approved a Bill that will compel schools to publish their admission policies and ban requests for deposits to secure places.

The Education (Admission to Schools) Bill was brought to the weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday by Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan.

It will be published in the coming days.

The legislation will require all schools, including those which are oversubscribed, to make public in a transparent manner all the criteria that make up its admissions policies.

It will also prohibit requests for deposits or payments to secure places.

While many schools have said these fees (normally between €30 and €40) are required to meet administrative costs, the department has concluded it is not appropriate for such fees to be charged.

Past pupils

It is understood the legislation will also address the practice where schools give preference to the children of past pupils.

Ms O’Sullivan’s predecessor Ruairí Quinn proposed that schools could reserve no more than 25 per cent of places for such children.

As yet, there has been no indication of whether or not Ms O’Sullivan will include that proposed “quota” in the Bill.

The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education, chaired by Dublin Mid-West TD Joanna Tuffy, examined the draft legislation on school admissions policy last year.

Inappropriate selection

It approved its provisions to ban existing enrolment practices such as inappropriately selecting or “cherry-picking” students perceived to be the most academically gifted or who displayed the greatest sporting prowess.

It also proposed major changes to waiting lists, asserting that applications for places should not be accepted any earlier than October of the year prior to the student’s enrolment.

These changes would be phased in over a a number of years.

One-fifth of schools in the State are oversubscribed, with Gaelcholáistí, in particular, having an oversubscription rate of about 30 per cent.

The department stated it was its intention that “oversubscribed schools must state that they are oversubscribed in their admissions policy and set out what their selection criteria are in this scenario.

“Also, parents will be able to see which categories of applicants were successful in the previous year’s enrolment process.”

The Minister will also be given powers to intervene where a school’s admission policy is not being operated in accordance with the legislation.