K-12 Education Plan
Provincial Election Platform Policy
We need more teachers and schools, plain and simple. Alberta’s future starts with investing in our children. They represent our future thinkers, builders and leaders. Providing them with high-quality education is a top priority. Children deserve the best possible foundation, to help them chase their dreams.
Alberta Party commits to creating 60,000 new spaces for K-12 students by building and modernizing schools over the next 4 years. Working with teachers is a top priority.
Funding for Enrollment Growth
- An Alberta Party government will increase funding to accommodate the 15,000 new spaces needed each year by building or modernizing 25 schools per year with the total estimated cost of $190 million.
- Work with municipalities and school boards to boost enrollment in underutilized schools (such as older schools in mature urban neighbourhoods).
- Mandate school boards work together on shared busing and facilities where doing so will increase service levels to students.
- We will work with post-secondary institutions to develop learning centres for returning adult learners to complete their K-12 studies while pursuing certificates and degrees.
- We will increase the age cap on education funding from 19 years old to 25, to enable more adult learners to complete their high school education.
- Review and relaunch the Class Size Initiative to increase the number of teachers in classrooms and require detailed reporting per the Auditor General’s February 2018 report.
- We will work with rural school boards to find ways to improve sustainability and funding of rural schools in light of declining enrollment
Supporting Our Teachers
- An Alberta Party government is committed to negotiating in good faith.
- We will continue to support professional development for educators.
- We respect the the rights and roles of school boards.
- We commit to working with the ATA as the professional association that represents teachers in Alberta.
- We will work with teachers and school boards to improve teacher safety in classrooms. We look forward to seeing recommendations from the ATA’s Committee on Understanding Aggression(s) in Alberta Schools and School Communities.
- We will expand support for teachers in classrooms in addition to adding previously announced educational assistants.
- We will work with teachers and school boards to develop and fund an inclusive education strategy that better supports teachers, students, and parents.
- We will move mental health and wraparound services funding from AHS to local school boards.
- We will ensure that teachers have sufficient time to prepare for changes to curriculum. These changes are important and we need to ensure our teachers feel they are prepared to support our children in their classrooms.
- We support mandatory vaccination for students.
Diversity and Inclusion
- An Alberta Party government will continue to support GSAs.
- Current annual funding for inclusive education to school boards is approximately $460 million per year. This amount will be increased to $690 million per year.
- We will increase opportunities for partnerships with Alberta’s diverse communities to work within the public school system to provide culturally diverse programs of study.
- Increase Program Unit Funding for Early Childhood Support programs to support young people with learning challenges.
- We will review the overall rural education funding formula including the density/distance funding formula to address transportation issues in rural Alberta.
- We will work with school boards, the Alberta Teachers Association and post-secondary institutions to attract and train more educators from under-represented and non-traditional backgrounds.
Curriculum Review
- An Alberta Party government will support the current curriculum review and will work with stakeholders to implement the new curriculum in an orderly fashion. We will ensure future curriculum reviews happen regularly and with more consultation.
- We support the teaching of consent as an essential part of the curriculum sexual health education.
- We believe the curriculum must also include competency education (critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration) to ensure our learners have the skills they need for the 21st century economy (e.g., coding, artificial intelligence).
- We will strengthen Truth and Reconciliation in all aspects of the Alberta curriculum.
School Choice
- An Alberta Party government will retain existing school choice, and maintain the
current Private and Charter school funding programs.
- We will allow PUF funding to go to Charter and Private schools when appropriate.