P.E.I. Education Act reveals new course for school system

With the recent tabling of a new Education Act in the P.E.I. Legislature, it is beginning to become clear how the province's education system is going to change.

Islanders learned last November the government was planning a major shift in the administration of the province's schools.

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The template for those changes has begun to be debated by Island MLAs.

The bill itself runs almost 70 pages, and will eventually be supported by dozens of sets of regulations outlining how different aspects of the education system work. There are many details yet to be unveiled, but here's some of what we've learned about the changes so far.

1. Division of duties

The English Language School Board will become a Crown corporation known as the Public Schools Branch. It will maintain responsibility for transportation, maintenance of schools and human resources — the day-to-day functioning of the school system. Staff in related positions will maintain their jobs.

Some departments of the school board are being transferred to the P.E.I. Department of Education. Those include positions related to curriculum delivery and school effectiveness. Board staff members in those positions are being required to re-apply for their jobs. Government has said 32 positions will be eliminated as part of this process. In some cases those losing positions are teachers who will return to the classroom.

2. Who's in charge?

The principal of Queen Charlotte Intermediate School, Parker Grimmer, has been named the new director of public schools. In the legislation that's referred to as the chief operating officer of the Public Schools Branch — basically the position of superintendent.

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The director of public schools will report to a board of directors, made up of three people, which will be in charge of the Public Schools Branch. The board includes the deputy minister of education and two other directors appointed by the minister of education. The board answers to the minister.

There has been some debate in the legislature over whether meetings of the board of directors will be open to the public. Government says that will be up to the board itself to decide.

3. More accountability

Education Minister Doug Currie says the new Education Act provides more accountability for teachers and students in the school system.

Teachers will now be required to report any criminal convictions rather than simply submit to a criminal records check. The frequency of those records checks for staff in the education system will also be increased. The minister will have the power to launch investigations into the operations of the Public Schools Branch and the French Language School Board.

The legislated responsibilities of students in the system will be expanded. The new list of responsibilities includes the requirement that students "refrain from, report and not tolerate bullying or bullying behaviour directed toward others in the school, whether or not it occurs on the school premises, during the instructional day or by electronic means."

Currie says the provisions for student suspensions, expulsions and appeals of those decisions have also been updated.

4. School closures, rezoning

Under the new act, the minister of education will have the power to change school zones by issuing a minister's directive. The minister will also be able to authorize student transfers to other school zones the same way.

The board of directors of the Public Schools Branch will have the power to permanently close schools, with approval from the provincial cabinet. That's the same power that was afforded the previous board of trustees.

The opposition says the new act weakens provisions for public consultations around school closures and rezoning. The previous board of trustees spent years developing a new policy on this issue.

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It's not clear whether any of that policy will be maintained under the new system. The opposition says it is worried decisions on school closures could be made by the board of directors behind closed doors if their meetings aren't open to the public.

5. Powers of advisory councils

These are the powers the act gives to the various advisory councils government has created:

• To advise the minister on education issues.
• To identify education issues.
• To engage school communities in discussions on education issues.
• To foster collaboration on education issues.

Beyond this advisory capacity, the councils themselves have no power to make changes in the schools they represent.

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