Education Act

An Act Respecting Education

WHEREAS the education system of Nova Scotia is of vital importance to the future of Nova Scotia;

AND WHEREAS meaningful partnerships between and participation by students, parents, teachers, other staff in the public school system, school board members and the public should be encouraged to ensure a high-quality education system;

AND WHEREAS students should have a right and a responsibility to participate fully in learning opportunities, contribute to an orderly and safe learning environment and, in appropriate circumstances, participate in decisions that affect their schools;

AND WHEREAS parents should have a right and a responsibility to support their children in achieving learning success and participate in decisions that affect their children;

AND WHEREAS the education community, in making decisions, should consider the diverse nature and heritage of society in Nova Scotia within the context of its values and beliefs;

AND WHEREAS the education system should be committed to fair and equitable participation and benefit by all people in Nova Scotia:

Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Education Act. 1995-96, c. 1, s. 1 .

Purpose of Act

2 The purpose of this Act is to provide for a publicly funded school system whose primary mandate is to provide education programs and services for students to enable them to develop their potential and acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to contribute to a healthy society and a prosperous and sustainable economy. 1995-96, c. 1, s. 2.

Interpretation

3 (1) In this Act,

(a) "African-Canadian education" means the development of programs, resources and learning materials that provide information about and promote understanding of African people and their history, heritage, culture, traditions and contributions to society, recognizing their origins as Africans;

(b) "Conseil acadien" means the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial established by this Act;

(c) "conseil d'école" means a conseil d'école established pursuant to Chapter 6 of the Acts of 1991, the School Boards Act;

(d) "district school board" means a district school board established by or pursuant to this Act;

(e) repealed 2000, c. 11, s. 1.

(f) "educational facility" means a school house, building or classroom, including a mobile classroom;

(g) "electoral district" means a district for the election of a member of a school board;

(h) "entitled parent" means a parent who is a citizen of Canada and

(i) whose first language learned and still understood is French,

(ii) who received his or her primary school instruction in Canada in a French-first-language program, or

(iii) of whom any child has received or is receiving primary or secondary school instruction in Canada in a French-first-language program;

(i) "entitled person" means an entitled parent or a person who, not being an entitled parent, would be an entitled parent if the person were a parent;

(j) "former Act" means Chapter 136 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Education Act, or any predecessor to that Act;

(k) "French-first-language program" means a school program in which the first language of instruction is French and in which the English language is taught, but does not include a French-immersion program;

(l) "home education program" means a course of study provided to a student under the direction of the student's parent and centered in the student's home;

(m) "Labour Relations Board" means the Labour Relations Board (Nova Scotia);

(n) "local amalgamation committee" means a local amalgamation committee appointed pursuant to this Act;

(o) "minimum municipal contribution" means the amount that would be raised in a municipality if tax was levied at the tax rate, determined by the regulations, on the uniform assessment of the municipality determined pursuant to the Municipal Grants Act, or such lesser amount as determined by the regulations;

(p) "Minister" means the Minister of Education and Culture;

(q) "Mi'kmaq" means all first-nations people, whether living on or off a reserve;

(r) "Mi'kmaq education" means the development of programs, resources and learning materials that provide information about and promote understanding of the Mi'kmaq and their history, heritage, language, culture, traditions and contributions to society and that recognize their origins as first-nations people;

(s) "municipality" means a regional municipality, city, incorporated town or municipality of a county or district;

(t) "parent" includes, except in the definition of entitled parent, a guardian and a person acting in loco parentis to a child;

(u) "permanent contract" means a written contract between a school board and a teacher in a form approved by the Minister that has been entered into after the teacher has served under a probationary contract, or has been employed by the school board for two or more years immediately preceding the year in which the school board entered into probationary and permanent contracts with the teacher for the first time;

(v) "person in charge" of a child means a person over the age of nineteen years with whom a child lives or who controls or is in a position to control or has the apparent charge of a child;

(w) "principal" means the principal of a public school, appointed by the school board pursuant to this Act;

(x) "private school" means a school, other than a public school, that serves school-age children and has a curriculum comparable to that provided by the public schools but does not include a home-education program;

(y) "probationary contract" means a written contract between a school board and a teacher in a form approved by the Minister whereby the teacher is employed on a probationary basis for a term of two years;

(z) "public school" means a public school maintained and conducted under this Act;

(aa) "ratepayer" means a person liable to taxation pursuant to the Assessment Act;

(ab) "regional education officer" means a regional education officer appointed pursuant to this Act;

(ac) "regional school board" means a regional school board established pursuant to this Act;

(ad) "school board" means a district school board, a regional school board or the Conseil acadien;

(ae) "school district" means the area over which a district school board has jurisdiction;

(af) "school program" means the public-school program of education prescribed by the regulations;

(ag) "school region" means the area over which a regional school board or the Conseil acadien exercises jurisdiction;

(ah) "superintendent" means the superintendent of schools appointed for a school region;

(ai) "support staff" includes persons employed in any capacity to assist a school board in providing services for the comfort, assistance, safety and conveyance of students or to provide administrative support to a school board and its schools but does not include a teacher;

(aj) "teacher" means a person who

(i) holds a teacher's certificate or a teaching permit issued by the Minister qualifying the person to teach in the public schools in the Province, including a vocational teacher's certificate or a vocational teaching permit issued by the Minister, and

(ii) is employed by a school board or the Minister in a teaching, supervisory or other professional capacity relating to education;

(ak) "term contract" means a written contract, other than a probationary or permanent contract, between a school board and a teacher in a form approved by the Minister;

(al) "Utility and Review Board" means the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.

(2) Notwithstanding clause (1)(d), in clauses 8(i) and 9(1)(b) and subsections 9(4) and (5), 14(2), 80(4) and 93(1), "district school board" means a district school board established pursuant to the former Act. 1995-96, c. 1, s. 3; 2000, c. 11, s. 1.

Supervision of schools and education

4 The Minister has the general supervision of public schools and education in the Province. 1995-96, c. 1, s. 4.