Copyright © Queen's Printer,

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Licence

Disclaimer

Volume 59, No. 17

221/2016

The British Columbia Gazette,

Part II

September 20, 2016

B.C. Reg. 221/2016 , deposited September 20, 2016, under the BONDING ACT [section 11] and the INDEPENDENT SCHOOL ACT [section 18]. Order in Council 658/2016, approved and ordered September 19, 2016.

On the recommendation of the undersigned, the Lieutenant Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, orders that

(

a) Division 7.1 of the Bonding Regulations, B.C. Reg. 11/68, is repealed,

(

b) the Independent School Regulation, B.C. Reg. 262/89, is amended as set out in the attached

Schedule 1, and

(

c) effective November 28, 2016, the Independent School Regulation is amended as set out in the attached

Schedule 2.

— M. BERNIER, Minister of Education ; A. VIRK, Presiding Member of the Executive Council .

Schedule 1

Section 2 (4) of the Independent School Regulation, B.C. Reg. 262/89, is amended by striking out “ a person qualified under

section 205 of the Business Corporations Act to be an auditor of a reporting company ” and substituting “ a person qualified under

section 42 of the Society Act to be an auditor of a reporting society ”.

Section 8 is repealed and the following substituted:

Authority to provide information about bond

8 An authority that holds a certificate of group 4 classification for an independent school must include in its policies or publications provided to parents and students detailed information about the protection afforded by a bond acquired by the authority in accordance with sections 12 to 17.

3 The following sections are added:

Amount of bond

(1) In this section, “fees” means money received by an authority from or on behalf of a student or a person applying to become a student, other than money paid for post-secondary education.

(2) Subject to sections 13 to 15, an authority that applies for or is granted a certificate of group 4 classification under the Act must provide and maintain one of the following bonds:

(

a) up to and including the 45th day after the first day of instruction of the first year of the school’s operation, a bond in the minimum amount of $100 000;

(

b) after the 45th day after the first day of instruction of the first year of the school’s operation, a bond in the minimum amount of the greater of

(i) $100 000, and

(ii) $5 000 per student based on the number of students enrolled on the 30th day after the first day of instruction;

(

c) for a school that operated in the previous school year, a bond in a minimum amount equal to 75% of the total of all fees received by the authority operating the school during the 6-month period of either July 1 through December 31 or January 1 through June 30 of the previous school year, whichever period generated the most fees.

(3) A bond must be provided no later than September 1 of the school year to which it applies unless it is a bond under subsection (2) (b), in which case it must be provided before the 45th day referred to in subsection (2) (b).

(4) An authority must provide a new bond on September 1 of each school year.

(5) The bond must provide for the prorated repayment to students of all fees when courses are not taken or completed by students as a result of

(

a) the authority closing the independent school, or

(

b) the inspector suspending or cancelling the certificate of the authority.

Decrease in amount of bond

(1) On application by an authority, the minister may decrease, in accordance with subsection (2), the minimum amount of a bond referred to in

section 12 (2) (

c) if the minister is satisfied that the fees for the current school year will decrease by 20% or more compared to the previous school year based on enrolment on September 30 of the current school year.

(2) The adjusted bond will be in the amount of 75% of 1/2 of the sum of

(

a) the projected income for the current year, and

(

b) half of the difference between the projected income for the current year and the previous year’s income.

(3) On application by an authority that operates an independent school under a certificate of group 4 classification in a facility not shared by another independent school, the minister may decrease the minimum amount of a bond referred to in

section 12 (2) (

c) by 50% if the minister is satisfied that all of the following conditions apply:

(

a) if the application is received by the minister

(

i) in relation to the 2016/2017 school year, on or before November 4, 2016 in respect of a bond required under

section 12 (2) (

c) to be provided by the authority on September 1, 2016, or

(ii) in relation to subsequent school years, on or before May 1 of each school year in respect of a bond required under

section 12 (2) (

c) to be provided by the authority the following September 1;

(

b) the authority is a society incorporated under the Society Act or a company incorporated under the Business Corporations Act and provides the inspector with a certificate of good standing issued by or on behalf of the Registrar of Companies, not more than 30 days before the application;

(

c) the authority has been operating the independent school under a certificate of group 4 classification for at least 10 continuous years immediately prior to the application;

(

d) a certificate of classification of the authority has not been the subject of cancellation or suspension under

section 4 (4) (

c) of the Act in the 5 years immediately prior to the application.

Decrease in amount of bond – group 4 school operated in same facility as group 1 or 2 school

14 On application by an authority that operates an independent school under a certificate of group 4 classification in the same facility as one or more independent schools operating under a group 1 or 2 classification, either by the authority or another authority, the minister may decrease the minimum amount of a bond referred to in

section 12 (2) (

c) by 50% if the minister is satisfied that all of the following conditions apply:

(

a) the authority must meet the conditions set out in

section 13 (3);

(

b) the other authority must meet the conditions set out in

section 13 (3) (b), (

c) and (d);

(

c) at least one of the independent schools operating under a certificate of group 1 or 2 classification must have been in operation for at least 10 continuous years immediately prior to the application.

Decrease in amount of bond – group 4 school has agreement in respect of offshore school

(1) In this section,

“offshore school” means a school that

(

a) is located outside of British Columbia, and

(

b) is the subject of an agreement under

section 168 (3) of the School Act between the minister and an offshore school owner/operator;

“offshore school owner/operator” means a person who is

(

a) a non-governmental legal entity,

(

b) incorporated under the laws of another jurisdiction, and

(

c) a party to an agreement under

section 168 (3) of the School Act in respect of an offshore school;

“public post-secondary institution” means an institution established or continued under one of the following Acts:

(

a) the College and Institute Act ;

(

b) the Royal Roads University Act ;

(

c) the Thompson Rivers University Act ;

(

d) the University Act ;

“student transition agreement” means an agreement between an authority and a public post-secondary institution about students transitioning from the authority to the public post-secondary institution.

(2) On application by an authority that operates an independent school under a certificate of group 4 classification and has entered into an agreement with an offshore school owner/operator, the minister may decrease the minimum amount of a bond referred to in

section 12 (2) (

c) by 50% if the minister is satisfied that all of the following conditions apply:

(

a) the application must be received by the minister

(

i) in relation to the 2016/2017 school year, on or before November 4, 2016 in respect of a bond required under

section 12 (2) (

c) to be provided by the authority on September 1, 2016, or

(ii) in relation to subsequent school years, on or before May 1 in respect of a bond required under

section 12 (2) (

c) to be provided by the authority the following September 1;

(

b) the authority has been operating the independent school under a certificate of group 4 classification for at least 10 continuous years immediately prior to the application;

(

c) the offshore school owner/operator must have operated at least one offshore school under the agreement with the minister under

section 168 (3) of the School Act for 10 continuous years immediately prior to the application;

(

d) the offshore school owner/operator must not have been placed on probationary status under the agreement with the minister under

section 168 (3) of the School Act because of non-compliance with that agreement;

(

e) the authority must have a student transition agreement.

Minimum amount of bond

16 Despite sections 12 (2) (

c) and 13 to 15, the minimum amount of a bond may not be less than $100 000.

Acceptable security for bond

(1) In this section, “minister” means the minister responsible for the administration of the Bonding Act .

(2) Despite

section 8 of the Bonding Regulations, B.C. Reg. 11/68, acceptable security for a bond for the purposes of the Act must consist of one or both of the following types of security:

(

a) irrevocable letters of credit, issued by a savings institution, with a termination date beyond the required term of security and containing a promise to pay the minister a specified sum on written demand;

(

b) surety bonds issued by a person authorized under the Financial Institutions Act to carry on insurance business.

(3) Despite subsection (2) of this

section and

section 8 of the Bonding Regulations, for the period of time that starts on the date this

section comes into force and ends on September 1, 2017, acceptable security for a bond for the purposes of the Act must consist of one or more of the following types of security:

(

a) short term deposits, not to exceed 3 years, issued by a savings institution and registered in the name of the minister, the interest from which may be payable to the depositor;

(

b) registered marketable bonds that are

(ii) accompanied by a duly executed, irrevocable power of attorney that authorizes the minister to realize the security;

(

d) irrevocable letters of credit, issued by a savings institution, with a termination date beyond the required term of security and containing a promise to pay the minister a specified sum on written demand;

(

e) surety bonds issued by a person authorized under the Financial Institutions Act to carry on insurance business.

(4) Subsection (3) and this subsection are repealed on September 2, 2017.

4 The table in Appendix 2 is amended by adding the following item:

Item

Name of School

’Na Aksa Gyilak’yoo School

Schedule 2

Section 2 (4) of the Independent School Regulation, B.C. Reg. 262/89, is amended by striking out “

section 42 of the Society Act ” and substituting “

section 112 of the Societies Act ”.

Section 13 (3) (

b) is amended by striking out “ the Society Act ” and substituting “ the Societies Act ”.

Copyright © 2016: Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada