PARENT/GUARDIAN RESPONSIBILITIES

The student and their family are responsible for:

• Applying for a Study Permit within 30 days period of receiving the acceptance letter from the school
• Applying for a refund if the student withdraws within one year of the school's official Letter of Acceptance date.

The school is the first point of contact for refunds. All refunds are the responsibility of the School Authority by this policy.

Under normal circumstances, the school will maintain sufficient funds on hand to make refunds available to students.

Refund Policy

A family is considered to have entered into a contract with the school when the student's application for admission has been accepted by the school and the school has issued a formal Letter of Acceptance. To be considered for a refund, a Parent/Guardian must submit to the Principal, in writing, a signed notice of withdrawal. Tuition fee refunds may be issued to the parents (or guardians, with parent approval) as applicable. Students who have been issued a study permit by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, which was issued on the understanding that the student is to specifically attend St. Lawrence School, are not eligible for a 100% tuition fee refund, even if the original school acceptance letter is returned to the school.

Withdrawal due to denied Study Permit:

If a student is denied a Study Permit authorization from Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the school will refund the student 100% tuition refund if the following three criteria have been met:

1. The student applied for a Study Permit authorization from Citizenship and Immigration Canada within 30 days of receiving the official Letter of Acceptance from the school,
2. Official documentation of the Visa refusal is provided to the school,
3. The request for a refund is within one year of the date of the school's official Letter of Acceptance

Withdrawal more than 30 days before school starts:

If a parent/guardian gives notice in writing by registered mail or in person to the school of their intention to withdraw 30 days before the first day of classes in a given school year. In that case, the school will retain 30% of the tuition fees and refund the balance.

Withdrawal less than 30 days before school starts:

If a parent/guardian gives notice in writing by registered mail or in person to the school of their intention to withdraw under 30 days before the first day of classes, the school will retain 50% of the tuition fees and refund the balance.

Withdrawal after school has started, within 30 days:

If a parent/guardian gives notice in writing by registered mail or in person to the school of their intention to withdraw after school has started and within the first 30 days of the term, the school will retain 70% of the tuition fees and refund the balance.

Withdrawal after school has started, after 30 days: 

Withdrawal after school has started, after 30 days: If parent/guardian gives notice in writing by registered mail or in person to the school of their intention to withdraw after the first 30 days of the term, the school will retain 100% of the tuition fees.

Permanent Closure:

The Independent Schools Act does not provide the Inspector of Independent Schools or the Ministry of Education with a role in regular or routine refunds.

However, if the school permanently closes and the school does not provide refunds, the student and their family may apply to the Ministry of Education and Child Care for a prorated refund from the school's posted Bond. Ministry of Education and Child Care's administration of a Group 4 independent school bond to provide partial refunds can be a lengthy process as it is completed very carefully and within legislatively established timelines, taking up to 40 months.

The Inspector of Independent Schools expects all Group 4 schools, including start-up schools with interim Group 4 certification, to have access- without recourse to the Group 4 Independent School Bond – to enough cash on hand to provide fee refunds in full if the school fails to open or re-open, fails to receive initial or ongoing certification after an inspection or otherwise closes.

Former students and their Parents/Guardians are advised that claims will not be assessed until the end of the limitation period (two to three years after the date of school closure) in order to provide equity of access to refunds from the Bond to all potential claimants. Ministry refund administration will take an additional six months after the end of the limitation period. Thus, refunds will not be available until 2.5 to 3.5 years beyond the school closure date. Parents should not rely on prorated refunds derived from this Bond for any payment required before the payout of bond monies (e.g. parents should not rely on the partial refund coming from the Bond to pay fees at another school).

B.C. Resident Refund Policy

• If a family decides to withdraw the student from St. Lawrence School after the student has been registered and accepted, the intention to withdraw must be submitted to the Principal in writing, and it must stipulate the last day that the child will be attending the school. This official notice of withdrawal must be dated and signed by the parent(s) or legal guardian(s).
• The Registration Fee is not refundable as it is the cost of processing the student's application to the school.
• Pre-paid tuition payments for the year's balance will be refunded to a parent/guardian as per the above refund categories.