Pat Hoy announces changes to education act

QUEEN’S PARK-Ontario’s official Education Act is being amended to make student achievement the number one priority for all school boards, said Chatham-Kent-Essex MPP Pat Hoy.

“The Education Act, as it now reads, outlines a long list of requirements and responsibilities, everything from putting up fences to buying milk. However, the most important goal for Ontario parents, improving student achievement, is never mentioned,” said Hoy, pointing out, “the proposed Student Achievement & School Board Governance Act would clarify what is expected from school boards, trustees, board chairs and directors of education and promote sound financial management by establishing audit committees and creating a provincial code of conduct for trustees.”

“We need our students at their very best, and we need every school board focused on the same priorities,” said Premier Dalton McGuinty, who made the announcement today.

“Trustees are vital partners in boosting student achievement and these changes make it clear that we’re counting on them to make a difference,” said Education Minister Kathleen Wynne.

Across Ontario, 65 per cent of Grade 3 and Grade 6 students are achieving at or above the provincial standard in reading, writing and math skills – up 11 percentage points since 2003. The government’s goal is to have 75 per cent of students at or above the provincial standard.
The province is committed to achieving an 85 per cent graduation rate by 2010-11. Last year, 77 per cent of Ontario students graduated with a high school diploma. This represents an increase of nine percentage points compared to 2003-04.
Since 2003-04, increases in the graduation rate have meant that 36,000 more students earned a high school diploma.

See test results for schools in your area: www.eqao.com/categories/home.aspx?Lang=E.
Find out more about the Student Achievement & School Board Governance Act at www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/nr/09.0/bg0507.html.

Ten years after substantial changes to school board governance, we are clarifying and modernizing the role of trustees to ensure that they have the supports they need to make sound decisions essential to student success.

CHANGES TO THE EDUCATION ACT:

To address many of the recommendations made by the Governance Review Committee, the McGuinty government is introducing amendments to the Education Act. These are designed to demonstrate the government’s high level of respect for trustees while strengthening school board governance and improving student achievement.

If passed, the legislation would:

Clarify the mandate and duties of school boards to emphasize their responsibility for student achievement: the current Act does not state that boards are responsible for improving student achievement. A high level statement in the Act would set student achievement and
well-being as the context for terms in the Act, and clarify boards’
responsibility and strengthen their accountability to the public.
Clarify the roles of individual trustees, board chairs and directors of education: setting out duties in legislation would help eliminate confusion and help boards remain focused on their primary goal of student achievement and well-being. Trustees would have clarity about their roles and responsibilities, and accountability to the board and their constituents. Directors would have clarity about their responsibilities to the board and to carrying out government policies.
Build on good governance practices, including establishing audit committees and adopting a provincial Code of Conduct for trustees: currently, not all boards have audit committees, which perform an important oversight function. A requirement for audit committees would be consistent with the government’s goal of increasing public accountability and confidence in the publicly funded education system.

A Code of Conduct for trustees would set a standard of best practicesand provide boards with the tools they need to address anyinappropriate behaviour.