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Refusal by secondary school.
Is your child refused by a secondary school? The school can refuse students, but there must be good reasons. Discover the rules about the secondary school admitting and refusing your child.
When can the school refuse your child?
For admitting and refusing children, the school must make sure that the admission policy is known. Most schools put this on their website. Students may not be refused randomly. Refusal by the secondary school is allowed if:
- the school is full;
- you register your child at a different level than the school advice from primary school;
- the school has a special profile and your child does not meet the extra conditions for it;
- you do not accept the religious or philosophical direction of the school;
1. The school is full
In some regions and schools, a lottery happens because of the large number of registrations. So refusal by the secondary school can happen by lottery.
When registering, it must be clear what the procedure is. For example, when there is priority for students living in a certain postal code or if brothers or sisters are already at the school.
2. The school advice
The secondary school places your child based on the advice of the primary school. This advice is leading, which means the secondary school must at least follow the advice of the primary school when admitting your child. You can register your child for another school type, but the school does not have to place your child.
3. Department with special profile
The school can have a department with a special profile alongside the regular departments. The school can set extra admission conditions for this. For example, a sports-focused school may require your child to take a sportsmanship test.
4. Special schools
Special schools can refuse your child if you do not accept the religious or belief direction of the school. For example, if you do not want your child to take part in the Christmas dinner or Easter breakfast at a Christian school. If there is no public school nearby, the special school cannot refuse your child, and admitting your child is mandatory. In this case, the school does not have a duty of care.
Extra support
If your child needs extra support, the school checks if they can provide this. With extra support, the school has a duty of care. This means the school must ensure the support your child needs to follow education. The secondary school then has 6 weeks (which can be extended by 4 weeks) to see what your child needs and to arrange a suitable offer. This can also be at another school. If the school has not decided on your child’s admission after 10 weeks and your child is not yet at another school, your child has the right to temporary placement at the school where you registered them.
Objection against refusal of admission to secondary school
The school governing body must explain in writing why your child is not admitted to secondary school. You can then file a written objection within 6 weeks against the refusal. After that, the school governing body decides within 4 weeks whether to admit your child or not. In these 4 weeks, the school must give you the chance to tell your story.
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