If passed, Bill 21 will make changes to 15 laws including plans to “reduce the collection of financial data that does not support the oversight of public dollars, such as tuition.”

Competing interests for funding between the growing charter school system and struggling public schools are on the rise after the UCP government’s increasing support for charters in recent weeks.

Recognizing a province-wide shortage of school bus drivers has put school divisions in a difficult position, Ballard is urging the provincial government to increase student transportation funding.

The Alberta UCP government's budget pledges to increase education spending, but critics say it won't cover the ground Alberta students have lost after three years of stalled funding.

There is little good news in the budget for working Albertans and a lot of unknowns as to where funding is actually going especially given the UCP’s plans to privatize health care and education.

The UCP cut nearly $650K grant funding to the Alberta School Councils' Association (ASCA) after the organization criticized the new draft curriculum, education funding and COVID-19 school management.

"With this pandemic disrupting education in Alberta, if only we’d had an institution that supported at home learning. We did. The UCP shut down the Alberta Distance Learning Centre in 2020."

Students will return to in-person learning on Monday without all shipments of rapid tests and only medical-grade masks. No HEPA filters. No N95 masks. No carbon dioxide monitors. No contact tracing.

Critics say the 16-week positions aren't nearly enough to replace the estimated 1,000 teachers and educational assistants that were lost during pandemic UCP cutbacks.