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Part of New and proposed legislation

Supporting Alberta students and families

The Education Amendment Act, 2024, aims to support student success and well-being in Alberta schools.

Status: The Education Amendment Act, 2024, received Royal Assent on December 5, 2024.

Ministry responsible: Education

Overview

The Education Amendment Act, 2024 (formerly Bill 27), supports 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. 

The Act creates greater transparency in communication between school authorities and parents and results in greater consistency for students, parents and teachers.

The Education Amendment Act, 2024, amends 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

The Education Amendment Act, 2024, adds new sections, as well as amend sections 18, 30, 33, 53, 58.1 and 58.2 of the Education Act, and requires:

  • school authorities to notify parents where a student requests that teachers, principals and other school staff refer to them by a new gender identity-related preferred name or pronouns
  • that teachers, principals and other school staff cannot use the new gender identity-related preferred name or pronouns until parental notification has occurred, and for students under 16 years of age, until parental consent has been obtained
  • 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
  • that learning and teaching resources dealing primarily and explicitly with gender identity, sexual orientation or human sexuality must be approved by the Minister of Education, unless such resources are being used to provide religious instruction
  • that external parties presenting learning and teaching resources dealing primarily and explicitly with gender identity, sexual orientation or human sexuality must be approved by the Minister of Education, whether in the context of religious instruction or otherwise

The Education Amendment Act, 2024, also amends the preamble and adds 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

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 will 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 will come into force at the same time as the legislative amendments, except for certain sections regarding school authority policies, which will come into effect on September 1, 2025. 

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. 

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