New legislation introduced Thursday would give the B.C. government more power over individual school boards and teachers’ professional development.

B.C. Teachers’ Federation president Jim Iker said the legislation is complex and will take time to properly analyze.

“Parts of the legislation ... will expand the minister of education’s power to issue directives to school boards and replace those democratically elected bodies with an appointee if they don’t comply,” Iker said. “This is absolutely about the government’s underfunding and 2015 budget that is forcing $54 million more in cuts to school districts. It’s just a matter of time before we see the government order directives to close schools, cut important programs, or force layoffs.”

For the past eight years, the minister has had the authority to appoint an official trustee where the board fails to comply with an administrative directive.

The BCTF said the changes to the bill significantly widen the scope of what the minister can override, while the education ministry said the legislation has simply been amended to apply more generally.

“Previously it referred to ‘achievement contracts’ and the amendments will change that to ‘meeting its obligations under the School Act.’ Under this section, the minister has the authority to issue an administrative directive to a board if it’s failing to meet its obligations under the School Act or if it is in the public interest. For example, this could mean requiring a board to adhere to recommendations in a special adviser’s report or to participate in a shared services initiative designated by the minister,” the education ministry said in a news release. (Mention of “the public interest” was in the bill before the changes.)

“It does create a stronger foundation for working with boards on new approaches, particularly when it comes to accountability and provides for additional tools in pursuit of those goals,” Fassbender said. “As minister of education I already have a great deal of authority and shared power with boards. In order for each party to do particular things, sometimes you have to spell it out and that’s what this does.”

The B.C. School Trustees Association said Fassbender has promised there will be meaningful consultation on new regulations to support the legislation. The ability of boards to make local decisions in the best interest of their schools and students remains of great importance, BCSTA said in its news release.

“There are elements of this legislation that will be of concern because it potentially affects the autonomy of school boards,” said BCSTA president Teresa Rezansoff. “We believe there is a great deal of discussion and input that should still take place before any new regulations are enacted. It is critical that the voice of Boards is heard and fully considered as the operational focus and implementation parameters regarding these very significant issues for school districts are developed.”

Vancouver school board chairman Christopher Richardson said the proposed changes are complex and far-ranging and that he would not comment until school board staff have had more time to analyze the bill.

Former board chairwoman and current trustee Patti Bacchus said the proposed changes take away what little power school boards have.

“You’re basically taking away people’s representation,” Bacchus said. “School boards basically are serving at the pleasure of the minister.”

If the bill is passed, the education minister will be able to set certain professional development standards for teachers to keep their training up-to-date. The teachers must meet the new standards, though the government said there wouldn’t be any immediate penalties for failing to do so.

Professional development requirements are not legislated in the vast majority of provinces.

Rob Fleming, the NDP’s education critic, said he is concerned about the professional development framework, especially because no advance notice or consultation was given to the teachers about the pending changes.

“There is a real centralizing impulse in this bill where the ministry is going to take control of professional development away from teachers and school districts and where they’re going to force through what they deem to be efficiencies,” Fleming said. “School boards have been pursuing internal efficiencies for the better part of a decade and have far more credibility to speak on innovation and stretching a dollar than the B.C. Liberals do and therefore this ministry.”

Iker said he was assured by the government after the announcement that any changes would be part of a two-year process of consultation between the BCTF and the ministry.

“A top-down, government-mandated approach to professional development will not be successful,” Iker said.

Fassbender said he intends to collaborate with the BCTF to create the new professional development framework, which will be designed to enhance public confidence that teachers are participating in high-quality professional development aimed at improving student achievement.

“Teachers work very hard, they do a lot of good work, but what is clear ... and what international research tells us is that the quality of professional development directly translates to the job satisfaction and to the ability of teachers to be successful and for their students to be successful.”

The proposed law also gives the minister power to order school districts into shared agreements on things like bulk buying and other administrative matters. The forced sharing provision comes during a year in which government has ordered school districts to find $29 million in administrative savings.

rshaw@vancouversun.com

tsherlock@vancouversun.com

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