Education Minister Introduces 10-point Plan for Education

In a news release today, Education Minister, Thomas Lukaszuk, announced a 10-point plan for education. This plan came out of the Education Act consultations that were open to the public from late November to early January. The Minister hopes to move ahead on these initiatives in the coming months.

The 10-point plan for education includes:

Practical improvements to enhance students’ experiences

-Reducing travel times for students who spend more than one hour on a bus will help improve the school experience. A trial project in one school division will identify bus route efficiencies and improve transportation services. Another trial will look at enabling students to better use technology when they travel.

-Creating more opportunities for students to earn credits in high school and post-secondary programs at the same time will help them be successful in their chosen career. A provincial dual credit strategy will be developed to help school boards develop stronger programs. Separately, a new project will provide apprenticeship training to teachers so they are better equipped to teach advanced dual credit courses in Career & Technology Studies.

-Updating design specifications will mean government can better support communities when we build new schools. New school design specifications will better accommodate health-related services, community sports programs, and wheelchair access.

-Developing a better process for building playgrounds at the same time as new schools will mean that children can be active sooner.

Stronger partnerships to set the right foundation for the future

-Reducing the administrative burden for established, effective charter schools will mean that they can focus on their students.

-Working with the federal government will better co-ordinate support for First Nations students. Our focus will be on enhancing literacy and numeracy skills, with a focus on students in Northland and band schools adjacent to Northlands.

-Creating a stronger voice for parents in the education system will supplement the work of school councils. Working with the Alberta School Councils’ Association, new initiatives will be developed to strengthen parental input and new materials will support the department’s online interaction with parents.

-Providing better information about what the school system is doing, accomplishing, and spending will increase transparency, clarity and accountability. More efficient and relevant reporting from school boards will help identify information and ways to present it that are useful for Albertans.

Reviews to set the stage for future decisions

-Reviewing provincial achievement tests, first so that we can find better ways to understand how students, schools, and the system are doing and then so we can use that knowledge to improve students’ success. The review will be launched by spring 2012, and provincial tests will continue for students in grades 3, 6 and 9 until the review is complete and any resulting changes are made.

-Reviewing the learning benefits of full-day kindergarten and identifying operational issues will help us better understand the implications of a possible future programming change.

The Education Act will be reintroduced at the spring sitting of the Legislature.

Alberta Education offering more opportunities to provide feedback on the Education Act

In a news release today, the Alberta Government is asking all Albertans - young and old - to provide feedback on the Education Act. In addition to the forums that were announced previously, the public can engage online through discussion boards, facebook and twitter along with providing written submissions to the Minister.

Mandate Letter for the Hon. Thomas Lukaszuk, Minister of Education

Premier Redford has sent mandate letters to all twenty of her cabinet ministers. The letter to Education Minister, Hon. Thomas Lukaszuk, asks him to establish minimum three-year funding cycles for education in collaboration with the Ministers of Finance and Treasury Board and Enterprise. The Premier also asks him to table an Education Act that reflects "the principled, learner-centred, inclusive, competency-based education system proposed in the Inspiring Action report."

Alberta Government News Release: Education Act pulled from Fall 2011 Legislative Session

In a news release today, the Alberta Government announced that Bill 18 (Education Act) was being pulled from the fall session. The Hon. Thomas Lukaszuk, Education Minister, made the decision after consulting with school boards and stakeholder organizations. A revised Education Act would be back before the Legislature in the spring after further engagement with students, parents, teachers and the public.

' “It is crucial that this legislation has a direct and positive impact on students,” said Lukaszuk. “I am committed to ensuring our province continues to foster a world-class education system that puts the needs of our children first.” '


The Calgary Board of Education, in a letter dated October 24 from Board Chair, Pat Cochrane, asks that the Minister not rush this legislation through as it needs further development to reflect "the themes identified by Albertans in Inspiring Action." The letter goes on to say, "This is work that is critically important for student learning into the future." (Board Report: Correspondence, page 25)

In an email dated October 21, the Alberta School Boards' Association provided the Education Minister with some highlighted provisions that they felt needed clarification and/or addititional context. These included provisions around Age of Access, Compulsory Education, Student/Parent/Board Responsibilities and Suspensions/Expulsions.

FAQ: Education Act (General) from Alberta Education website
FAQ: Education Act (Parents and Students) from Alberta School Councils Association website

Alberta Education Posts Education Act Videos of Q & A Sessions

Alberta Education has recently posted a series of videos taken of Q & A sessions around various aspects of the Education Act. The first of these, Boards Engaging Partners, runs just over 30 minutes and covers a range of topics including:

-Charter Schools (implications of not being granted natural person powers)

-Parental Engagement in their child's education and school/school system (re: opportunities for greater parental engagement but is qualified by "where appropriate." Who will decide when or where it is appropriate to engage parents in child's education, in the school or the workings of the school system?) starts at 1:57

-FOIP Act (challenges re: exchanging information)

-Natural Person Powers for Boards (restrictions on finance/borrowing, allowing for flexibility/innovation)

-Education Act (where we are in the process)

-Safe, Caring and Respectful Learning Environments (bullying/cyberbullying and other behaviours, clarifying the Principals/Schools ability to reach beyond the school and the tools available to address these issues) starts at 20:57

Education Act 2011: Let's Keep the Conversation Going

Bill 18: Education Act 2011

Back in November 2010, CAPSC hosted Rakhi Pancholi, a Legislative Consultant with Alberta Education, who spoke about the proposed framework for the new Education Act. Parents had an engaging session with the Alberta Education representative and she did a great job fielding questions and eliciting feedback. After the meeting, parents were able to continue the conversation online with Alberta Education.

Since then, the Education Act was introduced to the Legislature as Bill 18. In a press release coinciding with its introduction, the Hon. Dave Hancock stated , “The proposed legislation will underpin the transformation of the education system to reflect expectations for high school completion, online and other flexible learning environments and a wide range of supports to students.”

Before the spring session ended, the legislation had two readings but did not pass into law. The Education Minister hoped to engage the public further before final passage. Unfortunately, the delivery of the Alberta Government’s 2011/2012 budget in February and its impact on schools has tended to overshadow the conversation around this critical piece of legislation. Legislation that will move the transformation of our education system forward and keep Alberta leading edge. This province and its citizens cannot afford to fall behind other jurisdictions nationally and internationally in a fast paced, global economy.

It is also important that as parents we should get familiar with the proposed Education Act. We need to ask questions and provide feedback on its various provisions because it will directly and/or indirectly affect us and our children. For example, what does the Education Act have to say about school fees, transportation, cyber bullying, roles and responsibilities of parents and students, raising the legal age for leaving school, and expanding funded access up to the age of 21? Alberta Education has provided a great resource for the public on its “What’s New” webpage. Another starting point is a brochure highlighting various aspects of the legislation.

From there you can move to the “Engage” homepage or check out more specific links under Student Success, Community Engagement and Local Decision-Making, Governance and General. You can also check out the video "Education Act" on youtube.

Keep the conversation going - let us know if there is any aspect of or topic related to this issue you would like to see addressed at our fall meetings and drop us a line at info@capsc.ca.

Education Act: Cyberbullying

In light of a recent report from the OECD, "The Protection of Children Online," it is reassuring to know that the recently introduced Bill 18: Education Act addresses the issue of cyberbullying. As stated in the recently released Education Act brochure, there will be a greater focus on "caring, respectful and safe schools" and the proposals in the Act will better equip school boards and staff to respond to situations that impact students and their school environment.

Specifically, the issue is addressed on pages 40 and 41 of the Education Act under Student Discipline. In essence, a principal may suspend or expel a student if, in their opinion, "the student's conduct, whether or not the conduct occurs within the school building or during the school day, is injurious to the physical or mental well-being of others in the school."

To discuss this issue further or find out more about other provisions of the Act, you can engage with Alberta Education directly. CAPSC is also tentatively planning a meeting around the issue of cyberbullying/bullying at a meeting this fall.

Bill 18: Education Act Now Available Online

Bill 18: Education Act

Minister Hancock's comments to the media

More to come during the 2nd reading of Bill 18 tomorrow...

Bill 18: Education Act

In the Order Paper for Day 28 of the spring sitting of the Alberta Legislature, the Hon. Dave Hancock, Minister of Education, has made notice of leave to introduce Bill 18 - Education Act.

CAPSC understands that the first reading of Bill 18 will occur Wednesday afternoon and the second reading on Thursday afternoon. You can catch it live or watch later at Assembly Online.

Public School Boards Association of Alberta says the first reading is a formality and the second reading opens the bill up for debate. The Hon. Dave Hancock has shared that the bill will not pass, that the dialogue will continue and feedback is being sought.