3rd Session, 43rd Legislature

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Bill 38

THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS AMENDMENT AND MANITOBA SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION AMENDMENT ACT

(Assented to                                         )

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

PART 1
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS ACT

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

1   The Public Schools Act is amended by this Part.

2(1)   Subsection 1.2(1) is amended

(a) in the part before clause (a) of the English version, by adding "is intended to" after "that";

(b) in clause (a) of the English version, by striking out "is intended to"; and

(c) by replacing clause (b) with the following:

(b) create, or should be known to create, a negative or unsafe school environment for

(i) another person, or

(ii) a group or class of persons, on the basis of any characteristic set out in subsection 9(2) of The Human Rights Code.

2(2)   Subclause 1.2(2)(c)(i) is replaced with the following:

(i) through any form of expression, whether or not the expression was created by a person with the assistance of artificial intelligence, including written, visual, verbal, auditory or physical expression, or

3(1)   Clause 47.1(1)(a) is amended by striking out "and staff".

3(2)   Subsection 47.1(2) is amended

(a) in clause (a), by striking out "and staff";

(b) in clause (b), in the part before subclause (i), by striking out "the following are unacceptable" and substituting "doing any of the following will result in an intervention";

(c) in subclause (c)(i), by striking out "involvement" and substituting "activity";

(d) in clause (d),

(i) in the part before subclause (i), by striking out "and staff", and

(ii) by replacing subclause (i) with the following:

(i) digital technology, including the Internet, websites, social media, e-mail, text messaging, instant messaging and artificial intelligence, and

(e) by replacing clause (e) with the following:

(e) in as much detail as possible, the interventions to be taken for not complying with the code of conduct and the process for appealing decisions related to those interventions;

4   Section 51 is replaced with the following:

Appointment of superintendent

51(1)   A school board must appoint a superintendent, fix and pay their remuneration and define their duties.

Qualifications

51(2)   A school board must not appoint a person to be the superintendent of the school division or school district unless the person

(a) holds a valid and subsisting teaching certificate issued under The Education Administration Act or issued by another jurisdiction in Canada;

(b) has teaching experience, including experience in delivering curriculum, evaluating and reporting on student progress and supporting student needs; and

(c) has administrative experience relevant to the duties of a superintendent, including experience supervising staff and managing operational resources.

Notice of appointment

51(3)   Within 10 days after the appointment of a superintendent, the school board must give written notice of the appointment to the minister, including the superintendent's full name and their qualifications.

Duties of superintendent

51.1   The powers, duties and functions of the superintendent include the following:

(a) carrying out the powers, duties and functions assigned or delegated to the superintendent by this or any other Act or by the school board;

(b) implementing school board policies and ensuring compliance with them;

(c) administering educational programming provided by the school division or school district;

(d) except as the school board otherwise directs, managing and supervising staff;

(e) acting as the liaison between the minister and the school board.

5(1)   Clause 52(1)(a) of the French version is amended by striking out "surveillance" and substituting "supervision".

5(2)   The following is added after subsection 52(1):

Superintendent's hiring recommendations

52(1.1)   If a school board does not delegate to the superintendent the power to employ necessary staff under clause (1)(a), the school board must, before filling a job vacancy, give the superintendent an opportunity to provide hiring recommendations respecting the vacancy.

6   The following is added after section 52 and before the centred heading that follows it:

Chief superintendent of northern school division

52.1   For greater certainty, sections 51 to 52 apply to the chief superintendent of the northern school division, but not to an area superintendent of the northern school division.

Consequential amendment, C.C.S.M. c. E10

7   Clause 4(1)(p.2) of The Education Administration Act is amended by striking out "and staff".

PART 2
THE MANITOBA SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION ACT

R.S.M. 1990, c. 240 amended

8   The Manitoba School Boards Association Act is amended by this Part.

9   Section 1 is amended by adding the following definitions:

"designated representative" means an individual designated under subsection 5.1(3) to represent an Indigenous educational organization or other organization; (« représentant désigné »)

"Indigenous educational organization" means

(a) a council, government or other entity that

(i) is authorized to act on behalf of an Indigenous group, community or people that holds rights recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, and

(ii) operates one or more schools in Manitoba, or

(b) an entity that operates one or more schools on a reserve in Manitoba; (« organisme d'éducation autochtone »)

10   Section 4 is amended

(a) by adding the following after clause (d):

(d.1) to promote efficiency and improvement in the fulfillment of the roles of designated representatives within Indigenous educational organizations or other organizations who are members of the association;

(b) in clause (e), by striking out "The Department of Education and Training of the province" and substituting "the department of the minister responsible for the administration of The Public Schools Act".

11   The following is added after section 5:

Other members

5.1(1)   An Indigenous educational organization or an organization that provides governance, administrative or educational support to a school in Manitoba may apply to become a member of the association.

Approval

5.1(2)   The executive may approve an application if

(a) in the case of an applicant that is not an Indigenous educational organization, the applicant is a non-profit organization and publicly discloses its finances;

(b) in the opinion of the executive, the objects of the applicant align with the objects of the association;

(c) the applicant meets any criteria set out in the by-laws of the association; and

(d) the applicant pays the prescribed membership fee.

Organization may designate representatives

5.1(3)   An approved Indigenous educational organization or other organization may, by giving written notice to the association,

(a) designate up to nine individuals to represent the organization in the association; and

(b) change its designated representatives, including by revoking a designation.

12(1)   Subsection 6(1) is amended by adding "or designated representative" after "A trustee".

12(2)   Subsection 6(3) is amended by adding "or a designated representative" at the end.

13(1)   Subsection 7(1) is amended by striking out "and" at the end of clause (c) and adding the following as clause (c.1):

(c.1) when the association has one or more members that are Indigenous educational organizations, a director who is a designated representative of an Indigenous educational organization; and

13(2)   Subsection 7(2) is amended by adding ", or who is a designated representative," after "member of the association".

13(3)   Subsection 7(3) is amended by striking out "he or she" and substituting "or ceases to be a designated representative, they".

PART 3
COMING INTO FORCE

Coming into force — royal assent

14(1)   Subject to subsection (2), this Act comes into force on the day it receives royal assent.

Coming into force — proclamation

14(2)   Part 2 comes into force on a day to be fixed by proclamation.