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There is a lot of discussion about choice in education in Alberta. School choice is considered an advantage of living in Alberta in 2016, but choice is also used as a euphemism to exclude students and divert funds from the public system.

In Alberta today, students can find schools specializing in multiple languages, special education, arts, science and religion in addition to traditional community schools.

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Since 1988, students can access alternative programs through their local school board, all 100 per cent publicly funded.

A select number of Alberta students attend publicly funded charter schools. These schools address the issue of choice for these particular students, but charters have not resulted in the intended purpose of information sharing and innovation within the wider education community.

Alternatively, some students leave the public system, accessing what are ironically referred to by some as independent schools. These private schools receive up to 70 per cent per student government funding and must adhere to the School Act and provincial curriculum. Beyond tuition cost, private education means the ability to exclude a student, for any reason: financial, religious, gender identity, physical or mental ability. It also highlights the inequities between families able and unable to navigate the private application process.