[RACooper]

Well you can't argue the issue without the content... so here's the article - (which isn't a violation of copyright laws here in Canada - you just gotta reference your sources - like the Star did)

Jan. 14, 2005. 01:00 AM
CATHIE COWARD/TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
Brenna Freeman, 9, does some schoolwork at home, as her mother Cherish Cameron looks on. Hamilton school board officials want nearly $9,000 in fees for the girl to go to school.
Girl, 9, can't afford school
Board won't waive international fee

Brenna out of classroom for 2 years

CARMELA FRAGOMENI
TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE

HAMILTON—A 9-year-old girl who has already missed two years of school after moving from the United States will continue to be kept out of the classroom as board officials demand nearly $9,000 in school fees or proof of her mother's immigrant status.

The only way the Hamilton public board will allow Brenna Freeman to get an education is if her mother, Cherish Cameron, pays them $8,850 a year until the federal government grants Cameron the immigrant status she hopes for in the next five to eight months.

Cameron applied for immigrant status last Friday, but the board wants to see approval first.

Cameron and her Canadian husband Rob say they can't afford the international student fee the board would charge for Brenna. Cameron didn't apply for immigrant status until last week because the couple couldn't afford for Rob to sponsor her and Brenna until now. Cameron and Brenna came across the border to be with him two years ago and just stayed.

Cameron said Brenna is already disadvantaged because she has attention deficit disorder. Hamilton public school board officials are sympathetic to Brenna's needs, but say there is nothing they can do until Cameron pays the fee, has legal immigrant status, or Rob legally adopts Brenna — another costly process for the Camerons.

Gail Bellisario, a school board assessment official, said she can't discuss the case because of privacy issues, but said someone like Brenna, because of her mother's status in Canada, is not legally considered a resident. If the board were to accept such a child, it would not get ministry of education funding for her and risks a ministry audit.

"We have to be accountable," she said.

Ministry of education spokesperson Wilma Davis said a memorandum the ministry issued to school boards last month allows a child in Brenna's situation to attend school. In a situation where a mother has lived in Ontario for two years, the province takes the view that her visitor's status has expired and the child has a right to attend school, she said.

HAMILTON SPECTATOR