Government funding requirements for schools in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec restrict parents’ choices and “stifle” the opportunity for innovative curriculum, a recent study says.
“The public good of an equitable, high quality, and meaningful education for all young people would be better achieved through a more diversified education system where a variety of publicly supported but independently managed schools offer curriculum choices alongside legacy style government-run schools,” study author Derek Allison wrote.
He noted that there were more than 441,000 students attending independent schools according to 2021/22 statistics.
Allison said that five provinces—B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec—offered some government funding for independent schools, as long as the schools followed the provincially-approved curriculum. In Ontario, the government does not fund independent schools, but does require compliance for schools that want to be qualified to offer high school diploma credit courses, he wrote.
Provincial Breakdown
The study looks at what each province requires from schools in exchange for government funding.
Allison said that Ontario has “the highest number of students in independent schools and the third highest proportion of enrollment” and does not financially support independent schools.
The province requires compliance with government curriculum only for high school classes that offer credit for a secondary school diploma, he noted.
In B.C., Quebec, and Manitoba, Allison said there is the highest proportion of independent school enrolments among the five provinces that provide funding for non-public schools.
However, those three provinces also have the strictest requirements for schools to access government funding, the study said, including using government curriculum, employing provincially certified teachers, and participating in provincial student assessments.
Study Solutions
Allison concluded by suggesting alternative funding models for schools that allow more choice for parents, including tax credits to give parents an incentive to choose the type of education they want.“Directly empowering parents rather than conditionally financing schools would make all schools more responsive and accountable to parental preferences and market forces, while also encouraging more flexible and diverse curricula,” he wrote.
He also said that provinces would retain the authority to close independent schools that teach “illegal material” or act “contrary to the public interest.”
“An appropriate working standard would surely be one that allowed independent schools to teach any clearly articulated program of studies appropriate in a free and democratic society,” he concluded.
Allison recommended annual public reports for schools that would include a summary of the curriculum used.
He said standardized education was once appropriate, but times have changed.
“The public good of an equitable, high quality, and meaningful education for all young people would be better achieved through a more diversified education system where a variety of publicly supported but independently managed schools offer curriculum choices alongside legacy style government-run schools,” Allison wrote.
“Moving toward such a model would not only better satisfy increasingly diverse and demanding parental expectations, but would strengthen the government-operated legacy schools by providing competition and stimulating innovation.”
