Amendments to the Education Act has local school boards reviewing what the changes mean for their jurisdictions.
”We’re all kind of at a stage of reviewing it right now,” noted Northern Lights Public Schools (NLPS) board chair Arlene Hrynyk. “We know that we’re going to have to adopt some policies to align with the legislation, and it’s certainly going to be a work in progress.”
According to Lakeland Catholic School District (LCSD) board chair Mary Anne Penner, a number of the proposed amendments have already been put in place within their jurisdiction.
The provincial government introduced Bill 8, the Education Amendment Act, on June 5 as a means of modernizing Alberta’s education system.
”Once amended, the Education Act will serve as a foundation of excellence for years to come,” said Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange in a press release. “The act brings to life the vision of modern education shared by thousands of Albertans through widespread consultation. This legislation is based on the values we believe are fundamental to supporting our students.”
Changes include school boards having the ability to fire trustees who breach their code of conduct, children entering kindergarten must be five-years-old by Dec. 31 of that year, and limits on student fees would apply to both charter and public school divisions.
If passed, the Education Act would come into force on Sept. 1, 2019.
Henri Lemire, acting superintendent for Conseil Scolaire Centre-Est, said they’re pleased with a number of the changes that take into account what’s been asked for over the years. One such amendment revolves around who can and can’t vote for members of their board.
”Electors are parents who have children in francophone schools... A lot of francophones have been disappointed with that, especially the grandparents. The grandparents are saying, ‘I have to vote for either a English... public or catholic board, but I can’t even vote on the board that I really support where my grandchildren go.’ Same with the francophones who don’t have kids, there are francophones who went to a francophone school but just for a few years, and many of them have been asking for the right to vote,” he detailed.
The legislation was the result of widespread consultation, and was passed in 2012 but didn’t come into affect because it wasn’t proclaimed in the House of Commons.
Hrynyk, who participated in the consultation, was pleased with the process and what came out of it.
”It’s always positive when you get more voices to help you make decisions, not unlike us as we reach out to our councils, students, parents, and businesses. We want to hear from all voices,” she continued.
The act also clarified the roles of audit committees for school boards, and will require them to have two public members. One would be from the business sector and another from the adult learning community.
While Conseil Scolaire Centre-Est and LCSD don’t currently have audit committees, NLPS does.
According to Hrynyk, they’ve tried to have public members before and struggled to find them.
”I’m hoping right now people will be starting to think about volunteering or contacting us, because we’re going to be asking for their contribution to that audit committee come September,” she said.
While school divisions would be required to have policies surrounding a safe and caring environment, they would no longer need to reference human rights or be made publicly available. All of the boards agreed on the importance of having these guidelines in place.
”We’ve always worked toward building a safe and caring environment for our students and staff to work in,” expressed Penner. “If our staff feel safe, then our students feel safe as well.”
Hrynyk added student safety is one of their “utmost priorities.”
When it comes to changes for gay-straight alliances, there wouldn’t be a limit on the amount of time a principal has to grant a student’s request to create one or when it comes to appointing a club adviser.
”That’s a substantial change, although it doesn’t look substantial on how school boards and, especially principals, are going to navigate their way through this,” noted Lemire.
With the potential for a number of the amendments to come into affect in the coming school year, Penner believes they’ll have a positive impact on school districts.
”Some of these are things that should have already been put into effect for, not only us, but in all jurisdictions, either the trustee code of conduct, or the safe and caring policies, and the student code of conducts,” she added.
Hrynyk hopes the update will assist with one of NLPS’ goals.
”We want to ensure that every child is afforded an equal and equitable education, regardless of where they live or their circumstance of birth, and that’s what we strive for locally. We hope that legislation will mirror our values.”
