On Monday, February 4, I wrote a post on the Toronto Star article “Ontario parents fighting to have children exempt from religious studies.” After I posted the article, I was alerted to a website, myexemption.com, set up to help parents of high school students who are attending publicly funded Catholic schools to receive a exemption from religion classes. The parents have the right to ask for this exemption for their children, and the students have a right to the exemption.
myexemption.com explains,
When the Ontario Government agreed to extend public funding to the high school grades in the 80′s, the exemption was written into law for any student choosing to attending a local Catholic High School.
myexemption.com has been set up to
provide the information about the history and simple legal obligation outlined in Section 42 (13) of the Education Act. The Catholic Boards have been suppressing this exemption right and denying the requests. We hope to help those who need support to get their exemption.
Section 42 (13) of the Education Act reads,
no person who is qualified to be a resident pupil in respect of a secondary school operated by a public board who attends a secondary school operated by a Roman Catholic board shall be required to take part in any program or course of study in religious education on written application to the Board . . .
The myexemption.com website has a section that gives information on the history of Ontario Government extended funding to include high school, a section on how to get your exemption, a section telling you what to expect and a contact form you can use to ask for help. The myexemption team has
all the documentation to support your efforts and will guide you through the process.