Strengthening accountability in education and childcare systems

The proposed amendments would enable the Minister of Education and Childcare to establish provincial standards report cards issued by school authorities.

The amendments would not require a single provincial report card format or reporting platform. School authorities would continue to determine how report cards are formatted and delivered.

The requirements would apply to public and separate school boards and Francophone regional authorities.

Supporting requirements would be established through Ministerial Order.

The proposed amendments would require some school authorities to publicly disclose information about activities conducted on non-instructional operational days within 60 calendar days.

Non-instructional operational days include professional development days and preparation days before or at the end of the school year. The requirements would help parents better understand how these days support student success.

The requirements would apply to public and separate school boards, Francophone regional authorities, charter school operators and accredited independent school operators.

Supporting requirements would be established through Ministerial Order.

The proposed amendments would require school authorities to establish processes to receive and manage inquiries from parents respecting disputes or concerns that remain unresolved after existing school-level processes have been followed.

Parents would continue to raise concerns through existing school and, where appropriate, school authority processes. Responsibility for resolving individual concerns would remain with schools and school authorities.

Existing school-level, school board appeal and Ministerial review processes under the Education Act would remain unchanged.

The requirements would apply to public and separate school boards, Francophone regional authorities and charter school operators.

A Ministerial Order would establish structures, functions and service standards for these processes.

Proposed amendments to An Act to Remove Politics and Ideology from Classrooms and Amend the Education Act, 2026 would require public school boards to obtain ministerial approval before beginning a process to name or rename a school building they own.

Once approved, boards could proceed with local engagement and decision-making. The required Minister approval of a proposed school building name would continue to apply.

The proposed amendments would strengthen government oversight when issuing or renewing childcare licences and certifying early childhood educators.

Changes would provide authority to:

• consider an applicant’s relevant operating experience, financial capacity and compliance history with other regulatory bodies when reviewing licence applications or renewals
• decline to consider facility-based licence applications, in line with existing authority related to family day home agencies
• apply terms to early childhood educator certifications, including expiry dates and renewal requirements

Childcare licensing staff would be able to conduct monitoring or inspections by electronic means (for example, videoconference) which, in practice, would take place in limited cases, such as when a quick response is needed and an in-person visit is not immediately possible.

Electronic (virtual) methods could support earlier safety planning and parent notification until an in-person visit takes place.

Licensed facility-based providers and family day home agencies would be required to inform families of compliance issues, enforcement actions and ministry-approved safety plans. They would also need to contact families of children directly affected by an incident as quickly as possible. The amendments would authorize the licensing team to notify families directly in cases where providers are unable or unwilling to do so. Family day home agencies could also be directed to share inspection, monitoring and safety plan information with affected programs and families.

The proposed legislation would define critical incidents and distinguish them from other reportable incidents.

Critical incidents would include serious situations involving:

• a missing child or the death of a child while attending care
• abuse or neglect of a child while attending care
• an injury requiring emergency medical attention
• police involvement related to a child or childcare program
• an unplanned disruption that poses a risk to children’s health, safety or well-being

The proposed amendments would authorize the childcare licensing team to require, approve, monitor and enforce safety plans or other safety measures.

Licensed programs, including family day home agencies, would be required to develop a ministry-approved safety plan when directed, post it prominently and inform parents of the posting. Safety plans would focus on the type of incident and measures taken to protect children, without identifying individuals.

The proposed amendments would reinforce the government’s authority to publish information about critical incidents, safety measures, inspections or monitoring.

Information would be non-identifying to help protect personal privacy and the integrity of active investigations. Public notices would continue to be assessed case by case, meaning not every critical incident would be published.

The proposed amendments would also:

• clarify requirements to post notices of administrative penalties and inform parents of those penalties
• allow administrative penalties to be delivered electronically
• clarify appeal timelines for licensing decisions
• streamline internal administrative processes