The Government of Saskatchewan announced changes to how Independent Schools in the province will be regulated.
The changes come after allegations by former students of the Christian Centre Academy, now called Legacy Christian Academy, which launched a class action lawsuit alleging years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse by staff and leadership at the school and adjacent church.
The Ministry of Education announced the changes to The Registered Independent Schools Regulations to increase the accountability of Qualified Independent Schools.
The Ministry will appoint an administrator to three independent schools for the 2022-23 school year that currently has someone employed who was named in the recent lawsuit by former students.
The three schools are Legacy Christian Academy, Grace Christian School and Regent Academy, which will also be subjected to monthly unscheduled visits. In addition, the province will also be increasing the number of unscheduled supervised visits to all independent schools for the 2022-23 school year.
In addition, the amendments that came into effect as of today provide the Minister of Education the ability to:
- Appoint an administrator of a school;
- Put schools on probation; and,
- Require all Qualified Independent Schools to notify the Ministry within 24 hours if there are allegations of criminal activity or a criminal charge against a staff member.
The Ministry will also have the ability to suspend or cancel an independent school’s certification if necessary. Upon cancellation, the school would legally no longer be able to operate.
Before these changes, all Qualified Independent Schools were visited and monitored closely by the Ministry of Education, with teachers supervised on-site three times a year.
In 2012, the province began funding Qualified Independent Schools that meet the standards and criteria outlined in provincial regulations.
