Frequently asked questions

To enroll your child in an English-language school, contact your neighbourhood school, the English-language school board that has jurisdiction in your area or a private school of your choice. To attend a regular English-language school or a French immersion program, a child must be eligible for instruction in English . The appropriate school or school board personnel will provide you with the required forms, help you fill them out and forward them to the Ministère. Local newspapers provide information on each school board's enrollment period, which usually occurs in January and February. In the case of private schools, contact those that interest you. They sometimes hold entrance examinations, and these generally take place in the fall.

You will find the list of private schools and their contact information on the Ministère Web site.

Applications are processed within 10 days after the file is received by the Ministère office designated to process them. If you submitted an application with all the required documents to a school or a school board some time ago and are wondering about the status of your file, you must contact your school or school board, which will be able to tell you whether the delay is normal given the date the file was sent to the MEESR. If required, the school or school board will contact the appropriate MEES personnel.

If you lose your child's certificate of eligibility and want a duplicate, send a birth certificate that indicates the names of your child's parents to the Ministère office that processes eligibility applications. Don't forget to provide your full return address (including your apartment number and postal code) and your daytime telephone number. You may send your request together with your child's birth certificate by fax to 514-864-2665 or by mail to the following address :

Admissibilité à l'enseignement en anglais
600, rue Fullum, 11^e étage
Montréal (Québec)  H2K 4L1

You should receive the duplicate in the mail about 10 days after you make your request. Do not go in person to the above address to obtain this document.

If, however, you are a parent and are applying for eligibility under section 73, 76 or 86.1 of the Charter in order to establish your child's eligibility for enrollment at an English-language school on the basis of this certificate, you do not need to follow the above procedure. If you know your permanent code or you have a transcript or report card proving your attendance at an English-language school in 1977 or later, you may go to the school or school board and ask to apply for a certificate of eligibility using a short form.

If the certificate of eligibility of your child contains an error concerning his or her name or date of birth, or the child has changed his or her name or has been adopted, please contact your school board or the private school that your child attends.

It is the responsibility of the school board or the private school to have your child's permanent code changed and to send the necessary documents to the Ministère so that a corrected certificate of eligibility can be issued.

Please note that the Ministère will not change the address or telephone number appearing on a certificate of eligibility after it has been issued. The upper part of the document, containing your address, is detachable and has no impact on the legal effect of the certificate.

If you have received a letter indicating that your application is incomplete, please contact the school board or private school whose name and telephone number are indicated in the letter to obtain a clarification or to provide the required information.

If you live in an outlying area and are unable to contact your school board, you may ask the school administration to contact the school board for you.

It is important to carefully examine the document you have received. If you have received a notice of refusal, you must check off the appropriate comment and then return the document to us. If you are asked to submit additional supporting documents, send them to us together with a copy of the notice of refusal within 10 days after receipt of the notice.

If, following receipt of an initial notice of refusal, you receive a letter of refusal signed by the person designated by the Minister, you have 60 days to file an appeal to the Administrative Tribunal of Québec if you wish to contest the decision, or you have 30 days to submit an application to the examining committee if you wish to claim a serious family or humanitarian situation in support of your application.

If your child has been issued a certificate of eligibility for instruction in English, and if this eligibility has been declared under section 73, 76 or 86.1 of the Charter, his or her right to receive instruction in English will be maintained and will be transferable to his or her brothers, sisters and children, regardless of the language of your child's instruction. This right is protected under section 76.1 of the Charter.