Roughly 50 people stood in the rain Tuesday night, Oct. 17, outside the School District 43 (SD43) facility, at 1080 Winslow Ave., with candles and slogans, chanting "School for all; education for all …. now."
While elected trustees held a public meeting inside, the group called for a sanctuary schools policy for the Coquitlam district.
Priscila Hurtado and her family arrived in B.C. in July last year. With the birth of a new baby in March 2023, the family moved from Burnaby to Coquitlam.
When Hurtado's older daughter tried to enrol at School District 43 (SD43), she was turned away for not having all the necessary documents — leaving a long commute for the family every day, a news release said.
Hurtado is one of the many families affected by Coquitlam district school board's decision to not adopt the school sanctuary policy.
The vigil, organized by the members of Tri-Cities Amnesty International and the Sanctuary Health collective, calls for the Right to Education and support families allegedly turned away from SD43 like Hurtado's family.
Spokesperson Omar Chu said to the Tri-City News, "[Hurtado] is bravely sharing her story. She's representing many parents who have not, are not do not feel safe speaking publicly. But when there's families are continually being turned away. We feel compelled to stand for the right education."
A long fight
The group said it first reached out to the district in October 2019 and again in May 2023, but continue to face the same experiences: disappointment and frustration.
"When we first reached out to the district in 2019, they said, 'Oh, this isn't an issue. Just go talk to the superintendent,'" Chu said.
"For the past three years, we've been talking to assistant superintendents, we've been trying to teach them about how the immigration system works. We've been trying to teach them how violence against women works. Like we've been trying to educate them about these things. And families, people are getting turned away, and we're frustrated."
The problem at hand, Chu claimed, is SD43 requests immigration documents that are not necessary, according to the School Act.
Other municipalities like New Westminster, Vancouver, Surrey, Okanagan and most recently Victoria, have adopted the sanctuary school policy, but Chu questioned why the SD43 is hesitant.
"At the Coquitlam school district, [it seems] they have put up barriers and walls so that people don't have the documents that meet their specific checklist that they've created," he added.
"It's the mentality that [we're] really trying to get the school districts get out of — the checkbox mentality.
"They have a list of documents. And if you don't have those documents, you're not getting school period. Instead of what the provincial regulations say — that every child who is ordinarily resident in the province has a right to a publicly funded education. What they should [instead] be looking at is: are you ordinarily a resident? Are you living here? Is this your residence? It's not tied to immigration status, so they don't need to be asking for immigration status documents. And they should be talking to families and working with them."
Julia Macrae, a Surrey teacher on leave who joined the vigil to support the rally, said, "it's the business of school districts to care about children, not about immigration. That's a federal matter."
"School districts are governed by the Ministry of Education. They are provincial agents of the state. So they should care about the children in their neighbourhood. If there are children in the neighbourhood that can't access school, they should be upset. That's our job — to look after kids.”
SD43's stance
SD43, in response to the vigil, said in a statement that enrolment practice aligns with the Ministry of Education and Child Care policy "regarding eligibility of students for operating grant funding."
"The district works to provide the necessary support to register students as quickly as possible while adhering to its responsibility to ensure that Ministry policies are followed," the statement explained.
"SD43 requires the same paperwork as other districts, even those with stated 'sanctuary policies' in place. In fact, SD43 has welcomed 2,406 temporary residents so far this year, up from 1,931 last year. SD43 has actively responded to all concerns raised by Tri Cities Amnesty International in the past and has incorporated changes based on meetings with them. It is unclear why they are choosing to hold a rally."
Tri-Cities Amnesty International confirmed the group will continue to rally for the Coquitlam school district to adopt the sanctuary school policy.
