A Guide to Saskatchewan School Law

Edited by Keith Walker, Jerome Chomos and David Burgess

Available from S.E.L.U. (306)-966-7634 or selu.info@usask.ca

or

S.E.L.U. C/O Department of Educational Administration,
28 Campus Drive, University of Saskatchewan,
Saskatoon, SK, Canada S7N 0X1

$34.95 (plus GST & shipping) - ISBN 978-0-9811730-0-9

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There are a number of Statutes (Acts), Regulations and Orders that directly relate to the provision and delivery of educational services in Saskatchewan. These legal documents outline how “schooling” is to be governed and operated in the Province and elaborate a variety of salient and mundane topics. Sometimes we have found these documents difficult to access and insufficiently consolidated for practical use.

For us, putting this Guidebook together was all about providing an accessible, non-partisan, user-friendly guide to these legal parameters for teachers, aspiring teachers, trustees, school administrators, central office administration, parents and interested community members.

Obviously, A Guide to Saskatchewan School Law is not a legal text but rather a non-legal interpretation of the Education Act and a variety of other legal texts for the general informational use of laypersons. WHEN A PARTICULAR LEGAL OPINION IS SOUGHT, A LAWYER OUGHT TO BE CONSULTED. It is also important to note that the information found is this and other guides to school law is subject to change. The 13 Parts, and Appendices (14), of this guide are provided as a starting place for questions and curiosities that parents, trustees, new and veteran teachers, school administrators, school support staff, school division personnel, and others may have about the formal elements of school law in Saskatchewan.

We have placed the content of Saskatchewan school legislation under a number of themes and headings:

PART 1.0: The Student and the School. In this part we provide information on attendance at school, operation of schools, provision for education, types of schools, learning resources and particular programs in Saskatchewan, language and culture programs, special education, and student health and welfare.

PART 2.0: Parents and the Community. This part of the guide defines who parents are, their rights and obligations, as well as outlining community use of school facilities.

PART 3.0: The School Teacher. This part deals with non-teaching staff, teacher qualifications and certification, teacher classification, teacher accreditation, the hiring of teachers, conditions of employment, teachers’ duties and functions, teacher suspension, dismissal and other disciplinary action.

PART 4.0: The School Principal. This section of the guide reviews the qualifications and appointment of principals, their employment status, duties and functions and describes the roles and functions of vice-principals and assistant principals.

PART 5.0: Collective Bargaining. Provincial collective bargaining, local collective bargaining, and settlement of disputes are briefly described in this guide.

PART 6.0: Saskatchewan Provincial School System. This section provides a description of the Saskatchewan government department responsible for education (“Saskatchewan Learning”) and outlines the Minister of Learning’s duties and powers. In addition, the appointment of ministry officials, the Education Council, the Educational Boundaries Commission, and the legal instruments of the Minister of Learning are described.

PART 7.0: School Divisions, the Conseil Scolaire and School Boards. School divisions, the conseil scolaire and school boards are legally described, together with their membership, duties, and powers. Joint Boards, school districts, local school boards, and local school advisory committees are also reviewed.

PART 8.0: Administration of School Divisions. The duties of Board chair, director of education and superintendent of administration are outlined in this part of the guide.

PART 9.0: The Basics of School Division Budgets. This part of the guide provides an overview of how education is financed in the Province of Saskatchewan. The guide gives a brief description of annual operating budgets, capital budgets, and borrowing powers of Boards and the conseil scolaire. This part of the guide also provides a description of legal status of school property.

PART 10.0: Fransaskois Education in Saskatchewan. An overview of Francophone education, its establishment, structures, general program, funding and administration are outlined in this part of the guide.

PART 11.0: Independent Schools. An overview of the provisions for the registration of independent schools in Saskatchewan, the types of independent schools, the funding, staffing, administration and inspection of independent schools is provided.

PART 12.0: Home-based Educational Programs. An overview of registration obligations, parental rights and responsibilities, boards of education responsibilities, monitoring authority and funding is provided.

PART 13.0: Aboriginal Education in Saskatchewan. An overview of the key documents, trends and organizational patterns for provision of educational services to First Nations persons in Saskatchewan is provided.

PART 14.0: Appendices. In the appendices of this guide, we provide a collection of ethics codes, rights and freedoms documents, federal and provisional statutes pertaining to education in Saskatchewan and key documents that pertain to education in Saskatchewan