Skip to content

Education Act changes recommended by government

Amendments are being recommended to the provincial Education Act, in response to findings from the Advisory Panel on Education Governance Renewal.
Grade 3 reading

Amendments are being recommended to the provincial Education Act, in response to findings from the Advisory Panel on Education Governance Renewal.
The amendments are a result of public and education sector feedback received during the review consultations. The panel met with more than 45 stakeholders groups and heard from residents through more than 3,800 online submissions. “We heard strong support for maintaining elected trustees and we listened,” said Don Morgan, Deputy Premier and Minister of Education. He introduced the first reading of the amendment on April 5.
“We also heard a clear need to ensure school divisions are being as efficient and effective as possible with the resources that are available.”
The amendments to The Education Act, 1995 (the Act) will result in shifts in governance intended to allow for the implementation of a sector purchasing and services initiative to achieve efficiencies in the areas of transportation, bulk purchasing and having a common salary grid for senior school division administrators; standardizing board member costs; reinforcing the value of school community councils as a vital part of school division governance; and providing the minister with oversight on student success targets and financial decisions.
Numerous sections pertaining to the boards of education duties, powers, and responsibilities as well as school divisions administrative matters have been repealed from the Act and will be moved into regulations which will be drafted with input from the education sector.
“During the consultation process, the people of Saskatchewan voiced their support for some changes to the way that school divisions are governed to build capacity and consistency,” said Ray Morrison, chair of the Educational Governance Advisory Panel. “We are pleased that the government is moving forward with changes based on the feedback received.”
Liam Choo-Foo, director of education for Chinook School Division, was seconded by the Ministry of Education to lead the implementation of these changes across the province in a process that will include representation from education sector partners. It is anticipated that these amendments will be in place for the 2017-18 school year.

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks