Opportunities for Choice in Education
Parents can choose from a wide range of options within the Alberta education system-public schools, separate schools, francophone schools, charter schools, private schools-as well as alternative programs, distributed learning programs and home education. The Alberta government supports choice in education to ensure student and community needs are met.
Parents have a wide range of options to choose from within the public education system: public schools, separate schools, francophone schools, charter schools — as well as alternative programs and virtual programs offered by school boards — and home education. They may also choose to send their children to private schools. The Alberta government supports choice in education to ensure student and community needs are met.
Public Education System
Public Schools
Public schools provide basic, universal education. They offer the Alberta Programs of Study as well as optional programs and courses that may vary from one school and school jurisdiction to another.
Separate Schools
Separate schools can be either Roman Catholic or Protestant. In Alberta, the majority of separate schools are Roman Catholic. The first responsibility of separate boards is to provide a basic education for Roman Catholic or Protestant students within their jurisdiction. Roman Catholic or Protestant students do not have to attend separate schools within their jurisdiction. However, Roman Catholic property owners who live in an area with a Roman Catholic separate school system must designate their education property taxes to that system (see section on Education Property Taxes). Separate schools are funded on the same basis as public schools.
Any student may enrol in a separate school if there is sufficient space and resources. Non-Catholic or non-Protestant parents may choose to send their child to a separate school because of the program it offers (for example, a bilingual program).
Francophone Schools
Under the 1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, parents whose first language is French have the constitutional right to have their child educated in French, where numbers warrant. They also have the right to govern these schools themselves. There are a number of francophone regional authorities operating schools in Alberta.
Charter Schools
Charter schools were established to encourage innovative approaches to improve student learning. They offer unique or enhanced education programs, teaching methods or learning environments not available locally in the regular system. These schools are established only when there is significant community support and parents are active partners in the school.
Charter schools follow the Alberta Programs of Study, and students are required to write provincial achievement tests and Grade 12 diploma exams. They cannot be affiliated with a religious faith or denomination. They may offer religious instruction, as may any other public or separate school under the School Act. Charter schools are run on a non-profit basis. Any student may enroll as long as space and resources are available.
A charter school is designed to meet the needs of a specific group of students, not every student in Alberta. Sections 44 (Resident student) and 47 (Special education program) of the School Act do not apply to charter schools, since that responsibility is already delegated to local school boards.
Alternative Programs
School boards may establish alternative programs that emphasize a particular language, culture, religion or subject matter, or use a particular teaching philosophy. These are not special education programs or religious education programs offered by separate school boards.
Home Education
Parents may choose to educate their children at home, entirely or in part, provided they meet the requirements of the School Act and the Home Education Regulation.
The provincial government gives boards and accredited private schools a per student grant for supervising home education students. Parents receive at least 50% of this grant for the purchase of programs of study and instructional materials. Parents do not have to use the Alberta Programs of Study. They must ensure their children are receiving an education that meets provincial standards, but can choose curriculum, resources and teaching methods consistent with their beliefs.
Blended Programs
Parents may teach their children for part of their education program and have a school teach them for the rest of their instruction. With blended programs, parents may decide to teach the subjects they feel most capable of handling while school teaches the rest. The school must teach the student at least 50% of the blended program in grades 1 to 9.
Distributed Learning
A school may deliver education programs in many ways, including distributed learning. Distributed learning is a model which offers multiple channels of learning and teaching through a variety of delivery formats and mediums—print, digital (online), and traditional delivery methods—allowing teachers, students, and content to be located in different, non-centralized locations. Distributed learning connects students with teachers across the province, and in so doing, provides choice, flexibility, and authentic learning experiences. Distributed learning includes all forms of learning where, by design, students and their teachers may be separated in time and/or space for some or all of their interactions. It offers the potential of exploring different relationships and building highly personalized and individualized learning opportunities for student success, as well as expanding teacher expertise to critically influence and support student learning. This definition does not preclude face-to-face interactions between students and their teachers.A distributed learning program must provide elementary and junior high students with access to a minimum of 950 hours of instruction and senior high students with access to a minimum of 1,000 hours.
Outreach Programs
An outreach program provides an educational alternative for students who, due to individual circumstances, find that the traditional school setting does not meet their needs. The Outreach Programs Handbook is a resource to help administrators, teachers, trustees, parents and community members to understand the expectations and practices related to outreach programs in Alberta.
Private Schools
Parents may choose to educate their children outside the public education system. In doing so, they may be responsible for some or all of the costs. Private schools may charge tuition fees and other fees as required. Under current provincial legislation, money collected for education through property taxes must only be used to fund the public education system.
Private schools set their own criteria for enrollment, often based on adherence to a particular religious faith or educational philosophy. Private school operators are not obligated to admit every student. A private school operator may accept or deny access to any applicant, and the Minister of Education does not review that decision. Once a private school operator enrolls a student with special education needs, that operator must meet the requirements set out in Requirements for Special Education in Accredited-Funded Private Schools.
Designated Special Education Private Schools
Parents of students with special education needs can choose to send their child to a designated special education private school. The Government of Alberta provides additional funding to the operators of these schools, referred to as DSEPS, but the operators retain the right to charge parents a tuition fee. The Private School Regulation requires DESPS to follow Standards for Special Education, Amended June 2004.
Special Education Private Schools
Parents of students identified as having special needs can choose to send their child to a designated special education private school. As of September 1999, these schools will receive funding equivalent to that provided to public schools for students with mild, moderate or severe disabilities.
Board Responsibilities and Parent Choice
Residency
Every student is the responsibility of a public or separate school board. Residency is based on geography and religion. Students are considered to be residents of the area in which their parent(s) or guardian(s) normally reside. A student can only claim one place of residency.
In an area where there is a Roman Catholic separate school board, children who have parents of the Roman Catholic faith are the responsibility of that school board. All other children are the responsibility of the local public school board. In cases of an interfaith marriage, when one of the parents is a Roman Catholic, the parents may choose either board and may make this choice on a yearly basis.
In St. Albert, where there is a Protestant separate school board, children who have parents of the Protestant faith are the responsibility of that board. All other children are the responsibility of the Greater St. Albert Catholic Regional Division, the public board. In an interfaith marriage, when one of the parents is Protestant, the parents may choose either board and may make this choice on a yearly basis.
Each local board is responsible for providing an education for each student residing within its jurisdiction. Boards may establish attendance boundaries for each school. Schools are required to enrol students residing within their boundaries, if the school program is determined to be suitable for the student by the board. Resident students are given priority over non-resident students if there are insufficient resources and facilities to accommodate both.
Parents do not have to send their children to a school in their attendance area or board jurisdiction. They may enrol their children in any school that has the resources and facilities to accommodate them, but they may have to pay for transportation or arrange their own. Parents may choose to send their children to special programs offered by schools outside their immediate jurisdiction, for example, bilingual or immersion programs. (See School Bussing.)
Parents who wish to educate their children at home may enrol them with a school board or accredited private school willing to supervise a full or blended home education program. The supervising board may also provide a virtual program in which a child receives instruction electronically.
School Bussing
School boards are required to provide transportation for students who are enrolled in schools within their attendance area and who live more than 2.4 kilometres away. Many boards also provide bussing for special programs, such as language programs. Local boards may set fees to offset transportation costs.
