February 7, 2015
The Honourable Liz Sandals
Minister of Education
14th Floor, Mowat Block
900 Bay Street
Toronto ON M7A 1L2
Dear Minister:
Subject: Halton District School Board Decision to Remove Full-Day Kindergarten at Pineland Elementary School.
I am writing to you to question whether the Education Act and Ministry Policy provides the Halton District School Board with the authority to remove full-day kindergarten from an elementary school. Here is a brief summary of the situation that I kindly ask for you to review:
1. Pineland Elementary School is currently a dual-track school offering grades JK to 8. The full day kindergarten (FDK) program started in September 2014. The FDK classrooms received capital upgrades in 2013/14 using Ministry of Education funds.
2. On October 1, 2014, the Board approved a motion to convert Pineland into a single track French Immersion school, offering Grades 1 to 8, effective September 2015. This motion also included a “grand-parenting” of the English program, with grade 8 English offered for the final time in the 2019/20 school year. A subsequent motion was approved for staff to bring back a report regarding the phase-out of FDK.
3. On December 17, 2014, the Board approved a motion to offer the FDK program at Pineland for a period of two more years. In 2015/16, Junior kindergarten will be offered at the school for the last time and in 2016/17, only Senior Kindergarten will be offered.
The following is an excerpt from the Education Act, Regulation 224/10: Full Day Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten.
Operation requirement
2.1 (1) Every board shall, in every elementary school of the board in which instruction is given in grade 1, operate a full day junior kindergarten and kindergarten in accordance with paragraph 6.2 of subsection 170 (1) of the Act. O. Reg. 137/14, s. 2.
(2) Despite subsection (1), a board is not required to operate full day junior kindergarten or full day kindergarten in the following circumstances:
1. A board is not required to operate full day junior kindergarten in a school if, pursuant to a policy of the board approved on or before June 26, 2014, the school offers only French immersion, starting in kindergarten or later.
2. A board is not required to operate full day junior kindergarten or full day kindergarten in a school if, pursuant to a policy of the board approved on or before June 26, 2014, the school offers only French immersion, starting in grade 1 or later.
I interpret this to mean that the full-day kindergarten program must be offered at Pineland Elementary School for the following reasons:
1. Pineland will not “only offer French immersion” (section 2.1 (2) 1.) until the 2020/21 school year.
2. The decision to convert Pineland to a French Immersion school was made in October 2014, which is after the June 26, 2014 date specified in the regulation.
I do want to acknowledge the efforts of both staff and trustees of the Halton District School Board. Trustees and staff spent many hours working with the community on this issue so while I may not like the result, I certainly appreciate the time and effort that they put into this decision. I am only concerned with whether or not the Halton District School Board has an obligation to offer the Full Day Kindergarten program at Pineland School, based on the Education Act and any other relevant Ministry Policy.
Thank you kindly for taking the time to consider this question.
Yours sincerely,
(name withheld)
C.C. Eleanor McMahon, M.P.P. (Burlington)
George Zegarac, Deputy Minister of Education
Kelly Amos, Chair, Halton District School Board
Amy Collard, Vice-Chair, Halton District School Board
David Euale, Director of Education, Halton District School Board.
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