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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03 Report 06-103 Bill 78 - Education Statute Law Amendment Act (Student Performance), 2006 26 April 2006 Report No. 06-103 to Chairs’ Committee Re: Bill 78: An Act to amend the Education Act, the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996 and certain other statues relating to education ORIGINATOR(S): Lorne Rachlis, Director of Education/Secretary of the Board Michèle Giroux, Executive Officer (Administration) Norah Vollmer, Coordinator, Policies and Procedures PURPOSE: 1. To prepare a submission to the Standing Committee on Social Policy regarding Bill 78, Education Statute Law Amendment Act (Student Performance). BACKGROUND: 2. The Education Minister introduced the Bill 78, the Education Statute Law Amendment Act (Student Performance), 2006 for first reading on March 2, 2006. The Bill addresses the following: governance/ministerial powers, student trustees, special education tribunal, transportation of pupils, honorarium of trustees, legislative grants, pupil records, new teacher induction, teacher performance appraisal, professional development days. 3. The OCDSB has been active on several of the issues that are addressed in Bill 78 and has commented publicly through letters to the Minister and submissions to the government. The comments and opinions expressed by the OCDSB will become part of the submission to the Standing Committee (Appendix A). 4. A major concern with the proposed legislation is that several sections of the Education Act are repealed and replaced with additional powers to the Minister to act at his discretion on the following issues effective use of resources, student outcomes, parental engagement, special education, health and safety of pupils and staff, and publication of records thereby compromising Board authority and autonomy. 5. Furthermore, the full impact of the proposed repealed legislation introduced in Bill 78 cannot be assessed as the standards have not been specified by the Ministry of Education. 6. Bill 78 also includes provisions that are or could be favourable to Boards, including student trustee appointments and representation on boards, formalizing the appointment process to the special education tribunal, removing restrictions on student transportation agreements, providing for an increased trustee remuneration, clarifying legislative grants for child care facilities, community use of schools and e-learning, new teacher induction program, teacher performance appraisal, and an increase in professional development days. However, the realization of these initiatives and implications of regulatory control remain a major concern. STATUS: 7. Second reading was debated on April 3, 5, 11, and 12 and ordered referred to the Standing Committee on Social Policy. As of April 20, a copy of the second reading document was not available. 8. OPBSA advises that the government’s plan is to pass the proposed legislation in the spring session, which means that public hearings need to occur early in May. The standing committee will then consider the bill clause-by-clause, making amendments based on the input received from the public hearings. The Committee will report the bill (with any amendments) to the Legislature, after which Third reading debate can occur. 9. Appendix A is a draft document which is provided as a starting point for comments on the Bill. At the present time the draft submission does not include specific suggestions for change to the legislation. Following the discussion at Chairs’ Committee, the submission will be revised, and specific suggestions for reform to the legislation, if any, will be included. RECOMMENDATIONS: THAT: A. the OCDSB make a submission to the Standing Committee on Social Policy to express our concerns with Bill 78; and B. the OCDSB send a copy of the submission to the Minister of Education with copies to local area MPPs, Ontario Public School Boards’ Association and local area school boards. Lorne M. Rachlis Director of Education/ Secretary of the Board Bill 78, Education Statute Law Amendment Act (Student Performance), 2006 Government of Ontario Submission to the Standing Committee on Social Policy April 21, 2006 DRAFT DRAFT 2 Overview The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board serves 75,000 public English students in 118 elementary schools, 22 secondary schools, five alternate sites, two adaptive high schools, one adult high school and two other programs across the City of Ottawa. We’re proud of the quality of education that we deliver to students across this district. Our commitment to success for all students is demonstrated through the range of services and programs that we provide. Over the past ten years, successive provincial governments have been eroding the authority of local boards. Under the veil of local “accountability” and “flexibility” there has been a trend to legislative reform which reduces the specific responsibilities of local boards, but provides the province with enhanced legislative authority by way of ministerial regulation. This not only creates uncertainty about the standards of and responsibility for the delivery of education, but more importantly removes the opportunity for debate and input into provincial standards for education and thereby erodes the foundation of democracy. On the surface, Bill 78 is a fairly straightforward omnibus bill which seeks to simplify various aspects of the education system. A number of the proposed legislative changes seem reasonable in the context of the many announcements, political statements and public commitments that have been made about the future of education in Ontario. However, on closer examination, it becomes clear that Bill 78 has the potential to introduce significant change to the delivery of education in Ontario. Unfortunately, the impact of those changes cannot be properly assessed because the new standards will not be defined until after the authority for setting standards has been transferred to the Minister of Education by way of ministerial regulation. In this case, Bill 78 will allow the Minister of Education to establish standards (as yet unspecified) in areas such as: effective use of resources, student outcome, parental engagement, special education, health of pupils, safety of pupils and staff, and publication of records. While the new standards in these areas are not yet clear, what is clear is that boards that fail to meet the standards set by regulation/cabinet would face government reprisals, including being put under provincial supervision. There are a number of initiatives related to and/or resulting from Bill 78 that are supported by this Board, for example, regulating student trustee appointments and representation on boards, formalizing the appointment process to the special education tribunal, removing restrictions on student transportation agreements, providing for an increased trustee remuneration, clarifying legislative grants for child care facilities, community use of schools and e-learning, new teacher induction program, teacher performance appraisal, and an increase in professional development days. However, it is difficult to support legislative reform when the end result of the reform is unclear. It is true that the autonomy of local boards has diminished over time, and without further definition, Bill 78 has the potential to substantially diminish the role of local school boards and undermine the role of trustees. DRAFT 3 Governance/Ministerial Powers New section 11.1 is added, authorizing the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make regulations "prescribing, respecting and governing the duties of boards, so as to further and promote the provincial interest in education". Subsection 11.1 (2) lists some of the matters that these regulations may deal with. Part VIII (Compliance with Board Obligations) sets out a procedure under which the Minister may take control of the affairs of a board. The first step in the procedure is set out in section 230, which allows the Minister to direct an investigation of a board's affairs if he or she has concerns about contraventions of listed provisions of the Act and regulations. The list in section 230 is amended to include contravention of a regulation made under new section 11.1 (regulations respecting the provincial interest in education) and to exclude contraventions of provisions related to co-instructional activities and minimum teaching time. Section 230.1, which provides for a complaints procedure, is repealed. The penalty provisions currently found in subsection 230.12 (2) and clause 230.12 (3) (b) are removed. (Similar penalty provisions in Division D (Supervision of Boards' Financial Affairs) of Part IX (Finance), namely subsection 257.45 (2) and clause 257.45 (3) (b), are also removed.) Bill 78 seeks to enhance the governments ability to “promote provincial interest in education” at the expense of local boards of education. The role of the province is to ensure that students across Ontario have equal access to a quality education with consistency in learning outcomes. The role of local school boards is to meet the needs of our students by establishing programs, services and policies that direct scarce resources with sufficient flexibility to meet unique local needs and priorities. At present, one of the biggest challenges facing school boards in this province is our limited ability to respond to local needs and circumstances. Boards do not have the authority to control their revenues, are limited in their practices by standards that are set provincially, and are constrained in collective bargaining, where boards must negotiate as individual organizations with bargaining units that are provincially driven. While it is clear that the government is the senior political agency and that boards need to act within provincial laws and policies, it is becoming increasing more difficult for school boards to meet local needs when our authority and autonomy is restricted by limitations embedded in the provincial funding formula and a growing trend towards new initiatives announced by the province without allowing for any flexibility in local implementation. Nevertheless, boards are currently held accountable for operating a complex organization within revenues that do not reflect true costs. At a strategic level, there is a lack of consistency between boards’ apparent accountabilities and the authority that they are able to exercise. In the long-term, such a situation is dysfunctional. Clearly, since local boards add value by being closer to the community which they serve, then boards must be given the authority to exercise real autonomy for local decision-making and resource management. This section of the legislation does not recognize local authority, but rather further erodes the autonomy of local boards and establishes punitive measures for those boards who are deemed to be in conflict with the provincial interests in education. Furthermore, individual board members may be held personably liable for the decisions of their board. DRAFT 4 Student Trustees Section 55 currently authorizes regulations made by the Lieutenant Governor in Council to provide for pupil representatives on boards. The section is rewritten to provide for regulations made by the Minister and for an expanded role for the representatives, now called "student trustees". Bill 78 provides that student trustees are not entitled to a binding vote, but they may request recorded votes and have their non-binding vote recorded. In addition, the new Act provides that student trustees may suggest a motion, may be present at some in camera meetings. Student trustees would also be granted the “same status as a board member with respect to access to board resources” and to a scholarship from the board at the completion of their term. The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board is privileged to have two student trustees who enthusiastically participate in our Board meetings as well as our Standing and Advisory Committee meetings. Not only do these student trustees play an active role to provide a student perspective on key issues before the Board, but they also bear the significant responsibility of communicating Board decisions to their peers and fellow students. As well, our student trustees may speak to any matter before the Board and during debate are entitled to request that their views be recorded in the minutes of a Board meeting. Through this mechanism, student trustees have the opportunity to state their position for Board members and the public to hear and to understand. Our Board members have taken the initiative to entrench the objectives and responsibilities of our student trustees in Board policy. We are aware that not all student trustees within the province of Ontario have the benefit of the same level of support from their respective school boards. To that end, we support legislative guidelines that encourage consistency in standards for student trustees. However, we are concerned about the costs associated with the provisions of section 55 and expect that the Ministry will provide funding for such new costs. In addition, the OCDSB is very concerned about the extensive assignment of regulatory responsibility granted to the Minister to further regulate student trustees. Regarding access to in-camera meetings, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board considers it inappropriate to grant access to certain in camera meetings. This has the potential to create confusion and is unnecessary. The OCDSB reaffirms its earlier position that student trustee participation in in camera meetings would be inappropriate Transportation of Pupils This Bill proposes that boards no longer be restricted to a maximum number of years that a board may enter into an agreement with another entity for transportation of students and that they may do so without first getting the approval of the Ontario Municipal Board. Currently, a board can only enter in an agreement for one school year unless they get the approval of the Ontario Municipal Bard and then a board can only enter into an agreement for no more than 5 years. The authority to enter into multi-year contracts will allow boards the opportunity to negotiate more cost-effective contracts. However, even with this new authority, it will be difficult for boards to enter into multi-year agreements without a more clearly defined funding mechanism which will provide a framework for stability in funding. DRAFT 5 Class Size The provisions of section 170.1 that set out maximum class sizes are replaced by provisions authorizing the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make regulations governing class size. The OCDBS has concerns about providing the provincial government with regulatory control over class size. In addition, the OCDSB is concerned about on-going Ministry announcements that create a change/rise in public expectations in advance of local ability to act. The OCDSB supports the principals behind the smaller class size initiative provided that the regulations recognize the need for local flexibility to deal with issues such as physical space limitations, and staffing requirements and that Boards be provided with funding to meet these requirements. Teaching Time Sections 170.2, 170.2.1 and 170.2.2, which deal with minimum teaching time, are replaced by new section 170.2 authorizing the Lieutenant Governor in Council to deal with the matter by regulation. The OCDSB is concerned about regulatory control and the uncertainty about the implications of change. The proposed legislation in Bill 78 will ensure that the OCDSB is in compliance with the Education Act. The OCDSB supports the need for change to the “minimum teaching assignments” to reflect local collective agreement provisions that resulted from provincial discussions. Trustee Remuneration New section 191 authorizes the Minister to make regulations setting limits on honoraria paid to trustees and requiring public consultations before a board adopts or amends a policy providing for payment of honoraria. This replaces existing sections 191 (which sets limits on honoraria for trustees of district school boards) and 191.1 (which deal with honoraria for trustees of school authorities). While the OCDSB applauds the increase in trustee remuneration, concern remains that the Minister may make regulations regarding the limits on honoraria paid as well as the method for calculating those limits. Our concerns were recently justified when we happened to come across a Ministry Discussion Paper on trustee remuneration on the Ministry website two weeks after the date on the paper. This “Discussion Paper” had not been distributed to local boards, had not been reported on in the media and was not highlighted in the Ministry’s weekly summary of communication with Boards. This highlights the problems that arise when important legislative issues become the subject of ministerial regulation – the opportunity for public debate is limited. It is unclear to this Board whether it is appropriate to submit comments on the proposed trustee honorarium formula that was contained in the Discussion Paper to the Standing Committee. We would suggest that if the Ministry has a proposed formula for the calculation of trustee honoraria, that this formula be included in the Bill so that it can be properly considered through legislative debate. DRAFT 6 Legislative Grants, Including Child Care Facilities, Community Use of School and E-Learning Subsection 234 (1) currently allows the Lieutenant Governor in Council to make regulations governing the making of grants for educational purposes. This is expanded to allow, as well, regulations governing the making of grants for the construction of child care facilities, for the construction of facilities for the co-ordination and provision of child development and parenting services and programs, and to allow community groups to use school buildings and premises . While the OCDSB fully supports these initiatives, there must be recognition that this will create a need for additional grant funding to guarantee that existing education resources are not further redistributed to initiatives/activities not directly related to our core mandate. New Teacher Induction New Part X.0.1 (New Teacher Induction) is added. This requires boards to provide programs including orientation, mentoring and professional development for "new teachers", those in their first 24 months of teaching. Section 10.1, which currently requires teachers to pass a qualifying test before receiving professional certificates for teaching, is replaced by a new section 10.1 that authorizes the Minister to require boards to report on their new teacher induction programs and further develop those programs if the reports indicate deficiencies. The OCDSB supports new teacher induction initiatives. The OCDSB acknowledges and recognizes the support required for new teachers and these initiatives will further local board initiatives. The recognition of the funding costs of this initiative is welcome and must continue if local boards are going to assume this responsibility. Teacher Performance Appraisal Part X.2 (Teacher Performance Appraisal) is amended to provide a separate performance appraisal process for new teachers, and to provide that performance appraisals for teachers other than new teachers are to be conducted in accordance with the regulations. Changes to the teacher performance appraisal system are welcome because boards were finding the existing process cumbersome. The removal of two performance appraisals is a positive step, however the OCDSB would prefer a re-definition of the process so that the full extent of the changes is clear. We continue to be concerned about the use of regulations in place of legislation or local authority for establishing a performance appraisal system. Professional Development Days The OCDSB believes that professional development has been limited because of section 11 (7.1) (b). It is our understanding that it is the government’s intention to increase the number of days in calendar, and we support such an increase. However, there must be local autonomy to select the dates and purpose for professional development. However, the OCDSB is concerned that regulatory control could result in reductions in the number of professional development days by future governments. DRAFT 7 Other Amendments included in the Bill: Amendments to Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996 Part II of the Bill amends the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996 to change the number, duties and term of office of members of the Council established under that Act. It also amends the Act to provide for a new Public Interest Committee, consisting of persons appointed by the Minister who are not members of the College, and to remove transitional or spent provisions. Amendments to other Acts Part III of the Bill makes minor amendments to the Education Accountability Act, 2000, the Education Quality Improvement Act, 1997 and the Provincial Schools Negotiations Act. The Upper Canada College Act (chapter 373 of the Revised Statutes of Ontario, 1937) is amended to remove the Minister from the college's board of governors and to allow the college to dispose of land without the consent of the Lieutenant Governor in Council. DRAFT 8 Comments: