Status: Bill 27 was introduced on October 31, 2024.
Ministry responsible: Education
Overview
If passed, Bill 27, the Education Amendment Act, 2024, will support families and students navigating complex conversations around gender identity, sexual orientation, and human sexuality, while also supporting continuity in a student’s learning during a public health emergency or state of emergency.
Bill 27 would require school authorities to be more transparent in communication with parents and result in greater consistency for students, parents and teachers.
Proposed changes will amend the Education Act, which specifies goals for Alberta’s education system and identifies the roles and responsibilities of the Ministry, school boards, charter schools, private schools, teachers, parents and students.
Key changes
If passed, the Education Amendment Act, 2024, will add new sections, as well as amend sections 18, 30, 33, 53, 58.1 and 58.2 of the Education Act, and require:
- schools to notify parents when their 16 or 17-year-old student requests that teachers, principals and other school staff refer to them by a new gender identity-related preferred name or pronouns
- schools to notify and obtain consent from parents for teachers, principals and other school staff to use the new preferred name or pronouns where the request is made by their student aged 15 and under
- school authorities to ensure students are provided with counselling or other assistance prior to parental notification if the above notification is expected to result in psychological or emotional harm to the student, or at the student’s request
- school authorities to notify parents and provide the opportunity to opt their child in, rather than opt-out, where courses, programs of study or instructional materials, instruction, or exercises include subject matter that deals primarily and explicitly with gender identity, sexual orientation or human sexuality
- the Minister of Education to approve learning and teaching resources, as well as external parties and their resources, for topics primarily and explicitly related to gender identity, sexual orientation or human sexuality
The Education Amendment Act, 2024, would also amend the preamble and add sections 3.1, 3.2 and 11.1 of the Education Act to:
- establish a new right to education during emergencies, underscoring students must have access to in-person learning throughout public health emergencies or states of emergency
- require school authorities to notify and obtain parental consent for non-routine individual health measures applicable to a student aged 15 and under during an emergency or be notified only if the student is aged 16 or older
- establish authority for upcoming regulatory amendments, which would provide guidance on expectations for learning during emergencies
Next steps
If passed, amendments to sections involving gender identity, sexual orientation and human sexuality will come into effect upon royal proclamation, which is anticipated for September 1, 2025.
The legislative amendments to ensure education continuity during public health and states of emergencies is expected to come into force January 1, 2025.
Additional regulatory amendments will follow, to provide school administrators more clarity and guidance on expectations for learning during emergencies. These would come into force at the same time as the legislative amendments, except for certain sections regarding school authority policies, which would come into effect on September 1, 2025. Further information regarding regulatory changes will be shared following the passage of the legislation.
Engagement
An online survey was open to Albertans in early 2023 to share input on what amendments to legislation could better equip the province to cope with future public health emergencies. The Public Health Emergencies Governance Review Panel Final Report used input from this survey to inform their recommendations.
Additionally, the Ministry of Education engaged about gender-related policy implementation with approximately 250 stakeholders including school boards, parent and teacher representatives, superintendents, mental health organizations and other education stakeholders in Spring 2024.