The Education (Admissions to Schools) Act 2018 was enacted in July 2018. A number of sections of the Act commenced in October 2018 and February 2020 respectively.
Sections commenced October 2018
Section 9- the prohibition on charging of fees for admission.
Section 9- the requirement for schools to cooperate in relation to admissions.
Section 11- the prohibition on the use of religion as a criterion in admission cases except in the case of a minority religion.
The fourth section commenced in December 2018.
Section 8- the NCSE can designate a school to open a special class following “ a number of steps”.
Sections commenced February 2020
Section 61 – the requirement for schools to include an admission statement as part of its admission policy
Section 62 – the requirement for schools to revise their admissions policies within 3 months of commencement of this section of the Act
Section 63 – the requirement for schools to publish an annual admission notice
Section 10 (a) –the requirement for schools to publish their Code of Behaviour.
Section 7 – A revised Appeals process. This section is designed to operate in conjunction with the new admission framework and will be commenced when the new framework is operational.
Section 65 – relates to the enabling provision for regulations which contain the necessary procedures and timelines in advance of 1 February 2020.
