The Ontario government has announced new legislation for what it says will create more transparency in the education system and to sell or revamp unused school property for other priorities such as housing.
Speaking on Monday, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the proposed legislation will focus the education system on improving outcomes for students.
Speaking at a media conference at Queen’s Park Lecce introduced the The Better Schools and Outcomes Act.
“If passed, this legislation would improve transparency for parents and ensure Ontario’s publicly-funded education system is unified,” said Lecce.
“Its focus is to improve student outcomes now and into the future.”
Lecce said the legislation is broken down into three pillars.
“More accountability, the desire to build schools faster, and improving training for educators,” said Lecce.
Lecce said the legislation should help enhance the rights of parents in the education system.
“It would offer new transparent reporting requirements and opportunities for parents
Participating within our school and school board activities,” said Lecce.
A key part of the legislation is would see rules put in place for surplus school property, including facilities that have been closed or are no longer being used for school purposes.
If passed, the legislation would allow the Minister of Education to set priorities to focus on important areas of learning. It would also require school boards to report on progress towards these and allow support for struggling boards to come sooner.
On Sunday, Lecce announced that the Ford government will spend more than $180 million on support for students in the classroom and at home to help them gain reading, writing, and math skills.
That support will provide assistance to nearly 1,000 more educators to help them work closely with students, according to the Ontario government release.
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario however says the plan will not improve literacy and math skills.
“What we actually have are under-funded schools, which is something he and the government refuse to take responsibility for,” ETFO President Karen Brown said in a statement.
“The Ford government is trying to obscure the depth of cuts they have made to public education. Because of inadequate funding year after year, school boards are having to deal with deficits to balance their budgets,” the statement said.
The ETFO represents 83,000 members of public elementary teachers, as well as occasional and early childhood education workers.
The Ministry of Education also announced it will work with the Ontario Colleges of Teachers to cut down the current time of processing the certification for a teacher in Ontario.