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Education & Advanced Education Policy
The Alberta Liberal Caucus believes that our schools are the cornerstone of the social, economic, and democratic structure of our province.
Our principles for Alberta’s K-12 public education system
- Each student must have the opportunity to reach his or her full potential
- A uniquely public education system must be protected and preserved for all Albertans
- The needs of local communities must be respected as they are the frontlines of Alberta’s education system
Supporting Students
Each student in Alberta deserves the opportunity to reach his or her full potential.
To make this principle a reality, the Alberta Liberals will do the following:
We will provide targeted, optional kindergarten programs for Alberta’s children. Early childhood education programs increase the likelihood of academic success in the years to come. We will implement the Learning Commission’s recommended class size guidelines, which are:
- Junior kindergarten to grade 3 - 17 students
- Grades 4 to 6 - 23 students
- Grades 7 to 9 - 25 students
- Grades 10 to 12 - 27 students
These small class sizes will facilitate learning and allow for greater individual attention to be given to each student.
- We will remove hunger as a barrier to learning by creating a province-wide school nutrition program, one that provides nutritious food to all students. We know from studies that poor nutrition is linked to a range of academic difficulties and health problems, and we’ll help fix that.
- We will proactively identify student learning difficulties by introducing diagnostic testing for grade 3 students; this testing will be used to uncover and correct education problems, rather than merely for statistical purposes, as is the current practice.
- We will ensure that Alberta’s education system is flexible enough to be able to fully support students with special-needs, gifted students, and students whose first language is not English.
- Using all options – including mentorship programs, apprenticeship programs, and specialized curriculum initiatives – we will boost high school completion rates among First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) students.
- We will reinforce the importance of physical education, second languages, and the arts to a well-rounded curriculum that prepares Alberta’s students for the future.
Supporting Public Education
A strong public education system must be protected and preserved for all Albertans. To make this principle a reality, the Alberta Liberals will:
- Protect public education by reducing government funding for private schools, thereby ending the diversion of public dollars to private institutions that weakens and erodes the public education system.
- Ensure that new schools are built using entirely public dollars instead of investing public funds in risky, unproven public-private partnerships.
- Eliminate school fees and parental fundraising for classroom essentials by properly funding local school boards, no longer forcing parents to raise money to pay for basic public education.
- Enable the creation of a “community schools” program. Community schools will deliver local services such as childcare, after-school care, social services and health care all under one roof.
- Review the utilization formula for rural and urban schools to ensure that the needs of the community are taken into account when important decisions are made regarding school closures.
- Strive to reduce economic barriers to postsecondary education by examining government funding levels, tuition policy, and the availability of grants and loans with an eye to affordability and accessibility.
- Provide rebates to apprentices at Alberta’s technical institutes so that they can purchase needed tools, books, and supplies.
- Ensure students have access to affordable housing options through enhanced tenant protections for off-campus students and by supporting the growth of on-campus housing.
- Encourage quality teaching by creating Teaching Chairs for excellent professors. This program would ensure Albertan students get the very best teaching in the world, in much the same way that the federal Canada Research Chair program has stimulated innovative research.
- Develop a comprehensive research and innovation agenda to guide Alberta’s investments in new technologies and industries .
- Promote stability in the postsecondary system by providing institutions with three year funding envelopes to allow them to plan for the future.
Supporting Local Communities
Local communities are the frontlines of Alberta’s education system. To ensure that our schools are integrated into the life of the community, we will:
Advanced Education
A quality postsecondary education provides Albertans with the skills they need to succeed in an increasingly knowledge-based economy and society. Ground-breaking and innovative research will also be instrumental in diversifying our economy and raising our standard of living.
To ensure that our postsecondary education system is second-to-none, the Alberta Liberal Caucus would enact these polices:
Education & Advanced Education Responses & Questions
19 March 2012
Noninstructional Postsecondary Tuition Fees March 19, 2012
Dr. Taft: Mr. Speaker, the minister of advanced education has brought in so-called best practices for postsecondary institutions to follow before they charge mandatory noninstructional fees to students, but frankly students are disappointed and angry with these. Since it is students who are forced to pay these fees, why didn’t the minister protect the interests of the students and require student approval of mandatory noninstructional fees?
The Speaker: The hon. minister.
19 March 2012
Postsecondary Education Costs,Intimidation of Physicians,AIMCo Investments March 19, 2012
Dr. Sherman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Premier, welcome back. Societies that outeducate us today will outperform us tomorrow. The education of Albertans will determine the future prosperity of our province. In Alberta we have Canada’s highest high school noncompletion rate and lowest postsecondary participation rate. This is because Alberta has the nation’s highest tuition fees, highest noninstructional fees, a form of backdoor tuition that allows institutions to skirt government rules and tuition increases. To the Premier: will you please stop gouging our students and cap tuition and noninstructional fees charged by our institutions?
15 March 2012
Post secondary Institution Spending Accountability March 15, 2012
Dr. Taft: Thanks, Mr. Speaker. When it comes to academic freedom, this government must keep its hands off Alberta’s universities and colleges, but when it comes to proper management controls, it has to ensure each institution is doing its job. The Auditor General’s report this week makes clear that several of these institutions are failing this test badly. To the minister of advanced education. This government claims it wants world-leading postsecondary institutions, but after reading the AG’s report, I must ask him: is this his definition of world leading?
15 March 2012
School Infrastructure Funding March 15, 2012
Mr. Kang: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On Tuesday I asked about the Department of Education’s ability to use schools as community hubs and, therefore, keep more of them open. The minister said school boards have to make hard choices, but I think could be used for other community purposes. To the Minister of Education: will he consider changing the school funding formula so that schools in mature neighbourhoods can stay open?
15 March 2012
Funding for Private Schools March 15, 2012
Mr. Hehr: Choice in education is a United States-style code phrase for funding private schools. The Wildrose has signalled that they will adopt a money-follows-the-child philosophy that will fund these institutions. As the minister is aware, this practice led to a fundamental breakdown in the United States’ educational system. To the Minister of Education: given recent developments has your government now gone all in and decided to adopt the Wildrose position that would lead to 100 per cent funding of private schools?
15 March 2012
PC government sells out public education to private interests
Edmonton – Last night the PC government sold out public education by enshrining in law a commitment to charter schools and private schools.
13 March 2012
School Infrastructure Funding March 13, 2012
Mr. Kang: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Every day the deplorable state of our school infrastructure in Alberta continues to be of great concern. Across the province boards are forced to move students between schools while parents fight to save their neighbourhood schools. To the Minister of Infrastructure: why isn’t this government co-operating with the cities, the school boards, and other government ministries to revive and save inner-city schools?
12 March 2012
School Infrastructure Funding March 12, 2012
Mr. Kang: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When it comes to government policy, after health care the most important issue for Albertans is education. I’m hearing a lot of complaints about government building new P3 schools under the ASAP program. New schools like Esther Starkman and Johnny Bright in Edmonton are already full, and there’s no room to year plan to build new schools or renovate old ones, where will we send our growing population of children to school?
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Alberta Liberal Caucus Office
Reception
2nd Floor Legislature Annex,
9718 - 107 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T5K1E4
phone: 780.427.2292
fax: 780.427.3697
liberal.correspondence@assembly.ab.ca