Wexford school takes Department to the High Court over order to enrol two boys
- Published: 19 September 2008
A COUNTY Wexford primary school has taken High Court judicial proceedings against the Department of Education which ordered it to enrol two boys with autism when only one place was available.
The case opened before Mr. Justice Kevin Feeney in the High Court last Wednesday and was heard again on Tuesday of this week before being adjourned to October 24.
It arises from a decision of the school earlier this year to informthe parents of a 10-yearold boy that there was no place available for him.
The boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was fourth on a waiting list for a place at the school which provides specialist education for autistic children.
The parents appealed to a committee established under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 which allows appeals on behalf of children whose school enrolment applications have been refused.
The committee ruled that the child's placing on the list was unreasonable and the Department of Education ordered the school to enrol him.
As a result, the parents of a four-year-old child who had been offered a place because he was at the top of the waiting list, were told that their child could not start at the school.
The also took a Section 29 appeal which was heard by a committee of different people. That action also resulted in the Department ordering the school to enrol the four-year-old.
The board of the school instituted High Court proceedings seeking the quashing of the Department's decision. It is also seeking orders that the Section 29 committees had no jurisdiction to entertain the appeals and acted in breach of natural and constitutional justice.
The school claims that it did not refuse to enrol the 10-yearold but acted within its enrolment policy and the appeals committee was not entitled to disregard that policy.
Mr. Justice Feeney described the case as a 'catch 22 situation' in light of the 'conflicting orders' that the school received.
He adjourned the matter to yesterday (Tuesday) and when the case resumed, counsel for the Department of Education informed him that extra resources had been made available to the school to facilitate the enrolment of the two boys.
Meanwhile, a question mark still hangs over the enrolment of four other boys who did not receive places in the school and on whose behalf Section 29 appeals were also taken.
The results of these appeals have not yet been notified to the school which is continuing with its judicial review action against the Department.
During Tuesday's hearing, the school was described as being, to some extent, the victim of its own success in running an autism unit which has attracted a high level of enrolments.
