Education Minister Adriana LaGrange. (Government of Alberta)

By David Opinko/LethbridgeNewsNOW

Students First Act

Proposed Act would allow parents to see if teachers have been professionally disciplined

Nov 16, 2021 | 3:46 PM

The Alberta Government hopes to bring in better transparency for parents.

Newly-proposed legislation, known as the Students First Act (Bill 85), would create a public online database of Alberta teachers and teacher leader information.

Education Minister Adriana Lagrange says it would allow parents to view the status of their teacher and teacher leaders’ certificates, including if those certificates have been suspended or canceled due to unprofessional conduct or incompetence.

It would also require school authorities to conduct criminal record and vulnerable sector checks when hiring a new teacher or teacher leader, and again every five years throughout their employment.

“The vast majority of teachers across Alberta are incredible, hardworking educators who have the best interest of their students at heart,” says LaGrange. “However, when instances of professional misconduct or criminal wrongdoing do arise, they need to be dealt with quickly and transparently. By making disciplinary matters more transparent, we will ensure safety for students, confidence for parents and accountability for teachers.”

full budget in the spring

Blackfalds town council passes interim operating and capital budgets

1h ago

Missing: Nisa Pakyurek, 15, of Parkland County

1h ago

$39.4 million

Town of Ponoka approves 2026 interim budget

1h ago

If a teacher or teacher leader is convicted of a serious indictable offence under the Criminal Code that threatens student safety or public interest, the proposed legislation would also fast track the process to cancel their certificate.

More details on the Students First Act can be found below:

• Create a public online registry that shares the professional standing of all teachers and teacher leaders who have held a teaching certificate since 1954 and includes disciplinary details for suspended and cancelled certificates dating back to 1990
• Require school authorities to conduct criminal record and vulnerable sector checks upon employing a teacher or teacher leader, and then every five years onward while employed
• Reduce the window for judicial review of disciplinary decisions from six months to 60 days to move in line with other provinces
• Establish an expedited certificate cancellation process for teachers and teacher leaders convicted of a serious indictable offence under the Criminal Code
• Require the ATA to notify Alberta Education’s registrar at various stages of a complaint process, including when a complaint is filed
• Streamline multiple ATA disciplinary committees

Sarah Hoffman, NDP Critic for Education, made the following statement in response to Bill 85, the Education Statutes Amendment Act:

“It’s disappointing that Minister LaGrange is using her time in the legislature to duplicate existing measures when she should be working to fix the problems she has created in our schools.

“Alberta students will be struggling to catch up on years of learning loss due to her failure to keep students safe through the pandemic.

“She has taken away educational assistants and other supports that students with complex needs rely on.

“She is forcing a backwards, racist, and age-inappropriate curriculum on students, staff and families who have overwhelmingly rejected it.

“Just this month, we learned that students across Alberta are in danger of losing their school bus transportation because the UCP chose to help their friends in the insurance industry rather than protect working families.

“This bill is a cynical attempt to distract from the catalog of harm Adriana LaGrange has caused to Alberta’s education system.”

(With files from rdnewsNOW)