2nd Session, 43rd Legislature

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Bill 225

THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS AMENDMENT ACT (UNIVERSAL SCREENING FOR LEARNING DISABILITIES)

(Assented to                                         )

HIS MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows:

C.C.S.M. c. P250 amended

1   The Public Schools Act is amended by this Act.

2(1)   Clause 41(1)(a.1) is amended, in the part before subclause (i), by adding "in accordance with this Act or" after "provide,".

2(2)   The following is added after subsection 41(1):

Universal screening for learning disabilities

41(1.0.1)   The appropriate educational programming to be provided by a school board under clause (1)(a.1) must include a program for screening pupils for learning disabilities that meets all the following requirements:

(a) each pupil enrolled in kindergarten to Grade III in a school within the jurisdiction of the school board must be screened for learning disabilities by a teacher in the school;

(b) each pupil must be screened twice in each school year;

(c) the screening tool, the benchmarks relating to the tool and the screening practices must be approved by the minister;

(d) the teacher must provide the results of the screening to the pupil's parent or legal guardian within 30 days after the screening was administered;

(e) the school board must ensure that further assessments and other specialized resources are allocated based on the results of the screening.

Coming into force

3   This Act comes into force on July 1, 2025, and if it receives royal assent after that day, it comes into force on July 1, 2026.