Enhanced Regulations For Qualified Independent Schools Announced

Released on August 11, 2022

The Government of Saskatchewan takes students safety and well-being seriously. Today, the province announced that amendments have been made to The Registered Independent Schools Regulations to increase accountability of Qualified Independent Schools and to provide the Government of Saskatchewan with the ability to appoint a supervisor to oversee the education of students if they feel it is necessary.

With these new changes, the Minister of Education will be appointing an administrator into three independent schools for the 2022-23 school year that currently have someone employed who was named in the recent lawsuit by former students. The three schools are Legacy Christian Academy, Grace Christian School and Regent Academy, who will also be subjected to a unscheduled visit once per month. In addition, the province will also be increasing the number of unscheduled supervised visits to all independent schools for the 2022-23 school year.

"Student safety is of the utmost importance, and we take all allegations and complaints seriously," Education Minister Dustin Duncan said. "We have taken action to ensure that all students can feel safe, protected and respected no matter what school they attend."

In addition, the amendments that came into effect as of today provide the Minister of Education the ability to:

• appoint an administrator of a school;
• put schools on probation; and,
• require all Qualified Independent Schools to notify the ministry within 24 hours if there are allegations of criminal activity or a criminal charge of a staff member.

The ministry also has the ability to suspend or cancel an independent school's certification if necessary. Upon cancellation the school would legally no longer be able to operate. 

The administrator who will be appointed to oversee the three schools will hold a Master of Education degree, hold a valid Professional A Teacher's Certificate and have a minimum of two years of school administration experience.

Prior to these changes, all Qualified Independent Schools were visited and monitored closely by the Ministry of Education, with teachers being supervised on site a minimum of three times a year. Teachers are also required to submit course outlines, individual lesson plans and yearly plans.

In 2012, the province began providing funding to Qualified Independent Schools who meet the standards and criteria outlined in provincial regulations.

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