Second

Session, 47th General Assembly

Elizabeth II, 2013

BILL 28

AN ACT TO AMEND THE

SCHOOLS ACT, 1997

Received and Read the First Time ...................................................................................................

Second Reading .................................................................................................................................

Committee ............................................................................................................................................

Third Reading .....................................................................................................................................

Royal Assent ......................................................................................................................................

HONOURABLE

CLYDE JACKMAN

Minister of Education

Ordered

to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would amend the Schools Act, 1997 to

require every school to have a

school code of conduct;

require teachers, principals,

school councils, school boards and directors to promote a safe and caring

learning environment;

allow a board to appoint an

associate director;

increase the maximum number of

assistant directors a board may appoint; and

allow the minister to issue

policy directives related to a safe and caring learning environment.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE SCHOOLS ACT, 1997

Analysis

S.2 Amdt.

Definitions

S.11 R&S

Conduct of students

S.24 Amdt.

Principal

S.26 Amdt.

Functions of school councils

S.26.1 Added

School code of conduct

S.33 Amdt.

Responsibilities of teachers

S.75 Amdt.

Duties of boards

S.79 R&S

Director, associate director and assistant directors

S.80 Amdt.

Director duties

S.92 Amdt.

Salaries & other compensation

S.93 R&S

Adjustments in salary

S.111 Amdt.

Sections not applicable

S.117 Amdt.

Powers of the minister

RSNL1990 cT-1 Amdt.

SNL1991 c17 Amdt.

Commencement

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

SNL1997 cS-12.2

as amended

(1) Section 2 of the Schools Act, 1997 is amended by adding immediately after paragraph

(

a) the following:

(a.1) "associate director" means an

associate director appointed by a board under

section 79;

(2) Paragraph 2(

v) of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

(v) "teacher" means a person who has a

valid certificate or licence issued under the Teacher Training Act and, notwithstanding paragraph (g), includes

emergency supply but does not include a director, an associate director or an

assistant director; and

Section 11 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Conduct of

students

11. Every

student shall

(

a) promote a safe and caring learning

environment;

(

b) comply with the school code of conduct, school

discipline and the rules of the school; and

(

c) carry out the learning activities within the

prescribed curriculum.

3. Subsection 24(3) of the Act is amended by

adding immediately after paragraph (

e) the following:

(e.1) promote a safe and caring learning environment;

4. Subsection 26(2) of the Act is amended by

adding immediately after paragraph (

a) the following:

(a.1) promote a safe and caring learning environment;

5. The Act is amended by adding immediately after

section

26 the following:

School code of

conduct

26.1

(1) Every school shall have a school code of conduct which shall include

(

a) standards of appropriate and inappropriate

behaviours; and

(

b) proactive and reactive strategies.

(2) The reactive strategies referred to in

paragraph (1)(

b) shall include consequences

of failure to comply with the school code of conduct.

Section 33 of the Act is amended by adding

immediately after paragraph (

d) the following:

(d.1) promoting a safe and caring learning

environment;

7. (1) Subsection 75(1) of the Act is amended

by adding immediately after paragraph (

c) the following:

(c.1) promote a safe and caring learning environment

for schools in the district;

(2) Paragraph 75(1)(

z) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(

z) immediately inform the minister in writing of

a vacancy in the position of director, associate director or assistant director.

Section 79 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Director,

associate director and assistant directors

(1) A

board shall, subject to the prior written approval of the minister, appoint

(

a) one director;

(

b) one associate director; and

(

c) no more than 7 assistant directors.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the minister

may approve a larger number of assistant directors.

(3) One of the assistant directors appointed under

paragraph (1)(

c) shall be the assistant director of finance and business

administration.

(4) An assistant director shall report to the

associate director or the director.

(5) A director, an associate director and an assistant

director shall be appointed for not more than a 5 year term and, following a

satisfactory performance evaluation by the board, the appointment may be renewed.

(6) A board may terminate the employment of a

director, an associate director or an assistant director, other than for cause,

by giving him or her 3 months' written notice, and the board shall report the

dismissal in writing to the minister immediately upon giving the notice.

(7) Notwithstanding that a board may employ a

director, an associate director or an assistant director under this section, a

contract of employment between a board and a director, an associate director or

an assistant director shall not be entered into without the prior written approval

of that contract by the minister, and a contract of employment entered into

without that approval shall be void.

9. (1) Subsection 80(1) of the Act is amended

by adding immediately after paragraph (

i) the following:

(i.1) promote a safe and caring learning environment

for schools in the district;

(2) Section 80 of the Act is amended by adding

immediately after subsection (1) the following:

(1.1) Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(g), a director

may designate a person to visit a school on his or her behalf.

(3) Subsection 80(2) of the Act is repealed.

10. Subsections 92(1) and (2) of the Act are

repealed and the following substituted:

Salaries &

other compensation

(1) The

minister shall, from money voted for that purpose by the Legislature, arrange

for the payment of the salaries of a director, an associate director, an assistant

director and a teacher employed in a school or a board office and all the salaries

shall be paid in accordance with scales approved by the Lieutenant-Governor in

Council.

(2) A board shall not pay remuneration to a director,

an associate director, an assistant director and a teacher in amounts greater

than those specified under subsection (1).

Section 93 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Adjustments in

salary

(1) The

minister may make a payment to adjust the salary of a director, an associate

director, an assistant director or a teacher employed in a school or a board

office, or pay an instalment of money, where there was insufficient payment of

that salary or money.

(2) Where an overpayment of salary or money was

made to a director, an associate director, an assistant director or a teacher employed

in a school or a board office, the minister, in consultation with the director,

associate director, assistant director or teacher, may reduce or withhold

future payment of salary or money until the amount overpaid is recovered.

12. Subsection 111(3) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(3) Sections 52 to 55, sections 58 and 59,

sections 75 to 77,

section 79, subsection 80(1.1),

section 89,

section 91 and

section 120 do not apply to the conseil scolaire or a French first language

school.

13. Paragraph 117(

b) of the Act is amended by

adding immediately after subparagraph (vii) the following:

(vii.1) a safe and caring learning environment in

schools which shall include

(

A) guidelines and a template for a school code of

conduct,

(

B) a definition of bullying,

(

C) a bullying intervention protocol, and

(

D) a requirement for the collection of data related

to inappropriate behaviour,

RSNL1990 cT-1

Amdt.

14. Subsection 5(3) of the Teacher Training Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(3) For the purpose of subsection (2), a teacher

includes a director, an associate director or an assistant director as defined

in the Schools Act, 1997.

SNL1991 c17

Amdt.

15. Subparagraph 2(1)(o)(

i) of the Teachers' Pensions Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(

i) a director, an associate director or an

assistant director, except the assistant director of finance and administration

appointed under

section 79 of the Schools

Act, 1997 , and

Commencement

Section 1, subsection 7(2),

section 8,

subsections 9(2) and (3), sections 10 to 12 and sections 14 and 15 are

considered to have come into force on September 1, 2013.

Queen's Printer