Education: Find out where parties stand before Alberta votes

Funding Alberta's school system is the province's second-largest expense after health care, accounting for about 13 per cent of the budget this year. While the government tries to attract immigrants and skilled workers to meet labour market demands, many people arrive with children or start families in Alberta.

The influx of people has led to the sometimes rapid growth of Alberta's K-12 student population. From September 2018 to a preliminary count in September 2022, the number of students has grown by nearly 36,000, or about five per cent. However, that growth has been uneven, with urban and suburban school boards absorbing the bulk of newcomers while many rural schools lose students.

Although the United Conservative Party government insists K-12 education funding has risen under their tenure and is higher than ever, school boards and other public education advocates say that funding has not kept pace with the rate of enrolment and inflation pressure. Those advocates say less funding available for each student has led to larger class sizes where there are fewer teachers and support staff to respond to students grappling with a growing array of challenges. Some areas desperately need new schools to accommodate these students, or updates to aging buildings.

The two major parties have also been at philosophical odds over a new K-12 school curriculum. The UCP version of the curriculum became mandatory in three subjects in elementary schools this year.

When it comes to post-secondary education, there are concerns with tuition and affordability.

— Analysis from Janet French, CBC News

Below is a snapshot of party announcements on education in recent weeks. The parties included are those that have previously elected an MLA or had 44 registered candidates by nomination day on May 11.

— Party announcements compiled by Kelsea Arnett, CBC News

Alberta Party

• Initiate a curriculum review and revision process for the Alberta Education curriculum on a continual basis.
• Develop a new Alberta Education curriculum on a continual basis within 10 years of a current curriculum's rollout.
• Provincial government oversight by multi-partisan leadership through a standing committee of the Legislative Assembly.
• During ongoing evaluation of the curriculum, ensure input is provided at every step of the process from teachers, parents, students, educational partners, industry leaders, future employers and First Nation, Métis and Inuit communities.
• Teachers and subject matter experts will be included in working groups that review the curriculum at multiple writing stages.
• Pilot program to test a new curriculum where documents will be finalized with teachers and provide the proper front matter to guide delivery and assessment.
• Curriculum development process will be protected from government overreach and focused on educational best practices.
• End mandatory school fees.
• Provide sustainable, consistent and adequate funding for schools, with annual increases proportionate to population growth plus inflation.
• Ensure building decisions for new schools are not politically driven and fund new schools according to enrolment numbers.
• Encourage sharing of resources, such as busing, between overlapping school districts.
• Establish a task force with early education specialists to develop an evidence-based curriculum as well as criteria and standards that must be followed by early childhood education centres (preschools, play schools, early kindergarten, etc.) to be considered qualified.
• Increase support for students with special needs with additional appropriately trained staff and funding.
• Provide targeted funding for educational assistants to increase human support for students with special needs.
• Ensure stable and predictable operational funding to post-secondary institutions on a multiyear basis.
• Legislate a cap to limit tuition increases for both domestic and international students to Alberta's Consumer Price Index (CPI).
• Advocate that the Government of Canada increase the income threshold for recent graduates to begin repaying their student loans.
• Commit to providing ongoing funds for student mental health support.
• Source.    

Alberta Liberal Party

• Legislation to cap class size.
• Phase in caps over time, focusing on K-3 first.
• Fund teaching assistants, professionals with specialized qualifications, English as second language programs, enhanced cognitive testing, and Individualized Education Plans for students with extra needs
• Expand mental health resources in schools and create a healthy lifestyle curriculum for students. 
• Funding for public over private schools while returning charter schools to their intended purpose.
• Reverse all funding cuts to the Alberta Schools Councils Association.
• Reverse tuition hikes, cuts and experimental funding models to make post-secondary education programs more affordable at polytechnical institutions and universities.
• $1.2 billion more in funding for education.
• Support creating a new K-6 curriculum.
• Source.

Alberta New Democratic Party

• Hire 4,000 new teachers and 3,000 educational assistants and support staff over the next four years.
• Restore Program Unit Funding  (PUF) funding to better accommodate students with disabilities. Source.
• Freeze tuition at 2022-23 levels, cancelling the latest round of tuition hikes and capping any future increases to inflation, saving 300,000 students more than $100 million this year. Source.
• Return to joint governance model for public pensions for teachers.
• Give teachers the ability to leave Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), which is the provincial government-owned investment manager that invests on behalf of 32 public pension, endowment and government funds in Alberta. Remove the finance minister's power to direct investment decisions at AIMCo. Source.
• Develop a Somali curriculum for interested schools. Source. 
• Develop a Filipino curriculum for interested schools.
• Immediately reverse previous curriculum changes and launch broad public consultations within 100 days of being elected. Source.
• Create 30,000 post-secondary spaces to ensure young Albertans can get the advanced education they need at home. Source.

United Conservative Party of Alberta

• Increased overall K-12 education spending to $8.8 billion this year.
• Since 2019, announced 106 new schools and modernizations, including:
  • K-12 education funding model that will drive more dollars into the classroom and provides better predictability to local school authorities so they can better manage their own budgets.
  • Reformed discipline process for teachers and administrators, creating more transparency and accountability and protecting students.
  • $85 million in targeted supports for students who require extra help with literacy and numeracy after two years of pandemic-impacted learning.
  • Student Transportation Task Force to provide recommendations for improving K-12 transport.
  • Increased transportation funding by 43 per cent since 2019 and removed mandatory entry level training for Class 2 licenses to help alleviate bus driver shortages.
  • Regulatory changes will make 33,000 more students eligible for government-funded busing services.
  • Implemented new K-6 math, English and physical education and wellness curricula and K-3 French and science curricula.
  • New public charter school hub will house around 2,000 students and will drive innovation in Alberta's school system, support creativity, lead research initiatives and partner with post-secondary institutions.
  • Gave teachers a 3.75 per cent pay increase and lowered pension contribution requirements.
  • Addressed class sizes and complex learner needs with a complexity grant, educational assistants and other measures such as $80 million invested in post-pandemic learning loss recovery.
  • $414 million expansion to transportation funding to expand service and save parents money. Source.