Government Education Bill Softens Approach to New Teachers and Increases Government’s Regulation-Making Power

By Jo-Anne Pickel

In early May, the Ontario Government’s Standing Committee on Social Policy held public hearings into Bill 78, the Education Statute Law Amendment Act (Student Performance), 2006. In general, the Bill relaxes the approach to the induction and appraisal of new teachers that had been taken by the previous Conservative government. However, once the Bill is passed, a number of matters previously set out by statute will be left to be prescribed by government regulation.

Bill 78 will do the following:

• Repeal the qualifying test for new teachers and replace it with a New Teacher Induction program which requires teachers to undergo orientation, mentoring and professional development in their first 24 months of teaching;
• Amend the Education Act to provide a separate performance appraisal process for new teachers;
• Repeal provisions of the Education Act dealing with class size and teaching time and authorize the government to make regulations regarding these matters;
• Make a number of amendments to the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996.
• Amend various other government powers: to make regulations in regards to certain other matters (to set the maximum number of professional activity days, to promote the “provincial interest in education”, to set the maximum honoraria paid to trustees), to investigate the affairs of a Board, and to set out the role for student representatives to the board.

New Teacher Induction Program

Bill 78 will repeal the qualifying test requirement for new teachers introduced into the Education Act by the former Conservative government and replace it with a program for the induction of “new teachers”. “New teachers” are generally considered to be teachers who are in their first 24 months in the profession and who have not yet successfully completed the new teacher induction program by obtaining two satisfactory performance appraisals.

School boards are to establish new teacher induction programs which include an orientation for new teachers, mentoring, professional development and training; and any other elements that the government prescribes by regulation. New teachers must undergo the new teacher induction program for the first 12 months during which he or she teaches for a board, and for a second 12 month period if the teacher does not successfully complete the program in the first 12 month period.

As soon as possible after a new teacher begins to teach at a school, the principal assigned to that school is to determine which elements of the new teacher induction program are appropriate for the teacher and the principal is to inform the teacher of this determination. For teachers who were previously assigned to a different school, the principal is to take into account any elements of the program that the teacher participated in at the previous school and the results of the teacher’s performance appraisals at the previous school. The principal’s determination is subject to revision at any time in light of circumstances relating to the teacher’s development and the teacher must be informed of any revisions. The government may also require by regulation that new teachers or particular classes of new teachers complete certain elements of the new teacher induction program.

Every new teacher will be subject to the elements of the program that the principal has determined are appropriate and any elements prescribed by regulation for the teacher or class of teachers to which s/he belongs. A new teacher must receive two satisfactory ratings (not necessarily consecutive) in performance appraisals by the time the teacher’s 24 month new teaching period ends, subject to any extension provided by government regulation.

Performance Appraisals for New Teachers

Bill 78 sets out a new performance appraisal scheme for New Teachers which relaxes some parts of the scheme mandated by the current Education Act as follows:

• the appraisal process for new teachers applies to teachers in their first 24 months of teaching (Bill 78 does not use the category “new to a board” currently used in the Education Act);
• rather than being subject to at least two appraisals per year for their first 24 months, new teachers may only have to undergo two appraisals in their first 12 months of beginning to teach with a board if they receive satisfactory ratings in these two appraisals;
• teachers will be given 120 days rather than 60 days to improve their performance following an unsatisfactory rating;
• the discretion accorded to principals to conduct additional appraisals will be repealed; and
  the ability of a teacher to request additional appraisals will be repealed.

Class Size and Teaching Time

The Bill proposes to replace the Education Act provisions setting out maximum class sizes and minimum teaching time with provisions authorizing the government to make regulations regarding these two issues.

Professional Activity Days

Bill 78 will repeal the maximum of four professional activity days provided in the Education Act and leave the number of PA days to be addressed by the Minister of Education by regulation. According to the Minister of Education’s backgrounder to Bill 78, the government intends to add two additional PA days by regulation, bringing the total to 6 days per year and the government will have the authority to determine the purpose of the PA days by regulation.

Changes to College of Teachers

Upon its coming into force, Bill 78 will make a number of amendments to the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996 to change the number, duties and term of office of members of the Council, to provide Council with the power to make regulations in regards to certain matters such as conflicts of interest, and to provide for the establishment of a Public Interest Committee.

Now that public hearings on the Bill have ended, the Committee will report to the legislature on proposed amendments to Bill 78. Following this, the Bill will undergo Third and final reading before being passed.