BILL NO. 121

2 In this Act,

(a) "Minister" means the Minister of Education;

(b) "principal" means the principal of a public school, appointed by the school board pursuant to the Education Act;

(c) "public school" means a public school maintained and conducted under the Education Act;

(d) "public school program" means the public school program of education prescribed by the regulations made pursuant to the Education Act;

(e) "school board" means a regional school board or the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial, established pursuant to the Education Act;

(f) "support staff" includes persons employed in any capacity to assist a school board in providing services for the comfort, assistance, safety and conveyance of students or to provide administrative support to a school board and its schools but does not include a teacher;

(g) "teacher" means a person who

(i) holds a teacher's certificate or a teaching permit issued by the Minister qualifying the person to teach in the public schools in the Province, including a vocational teacher's certificate or a vocational teaching permit issued by the Minister, and

(ii) is employed by a school board or the Minister in a teaching, supervisory or other professional capacity relating to education.

3 (1) On or before January 1, 2013, the Minister shall, subject to Section 5, undertake a comprehensive review of the funding and delivery of education at public schools in the Province.

(2) The review required by subsection (1) must include

(a) an examination of the funding mechanisms for public schools in the Province at the Provincial level and at the school board level;

(b) a cross-jurisdictional review of the funding mechanisms for public schools in every province of Canada;

(c) a cross-jurisdictional comparison of per-capita-based funding models and program-based funding models and any other funding models found to be in use;

(d) a full-cost analysis of all programs delivered under the public school program in the Province;

(e) a review of the delivery of the public school program in rural and urban areas;

(f) a full-cost analysis of the impact of inflationary cost pressures on the delivery of the public school program across the Province; and

(g) a performance review of the Department of Education, principals and support staff in respect of the delivery of education to students in public schools.

4 (1) The review must be completed and a report submitted to the Minister on or before April 15, 2013.

(2) The Minister shall table the report in the House of Assembly if the House is sitting or, where the House is not sitting, file the report with the Chief Clerk of the House.

5 The money required for the purpose of this Act must be paid out of money appropriated for that purpose by the Legislature.

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