· Bill / School board governance · enacted
Bill 51 — School Board Trustee Accountability Changes
Amends the Education Act to remove the power of school boards to disqualify their own trustees for breaches of the board's code of conduct.
What changed
- Section 33 of the Education Act is amended to prohibit school boards from including trustee disqualification as a sanction in their codes of conduct (s. 10).
- Section 87(1)(c) of the Education Act, which previously allowed for trustee disqualification due to code of conduct breaches, is repealed (s. 17).
- Transitional provisions ensure that existing disqualifications and ongoing proceedings related to code of conduct breaches remain valid (s. 33, new s. 260.22).
Why it matters
- Reduces the accountability mechanisms available to school boards for their elected members' conduct.
- Shifts the ultimate authority for addressing severe trustee misconduct away from the local board.
- May impact the ability of school boards to enforce their own governance standards effectively.
Other governance concerns
- Local democratic accountability
- Governance of elected officials
Primary sources (1)
- Primary sourceGovernment documentBill 51 – Education Amendment Act, 2025 (Alberta Legislative Assembly)