Summary - Bills discussed throughout course, either in readings or lectures. Important to study for exam. PDF

Preview

Summary

Bills discussed throughout course, either in readings or lectures. Important to study for exam. ...

Description

Bill 60: Establishment of MEQ (1964) - To unify government authority by establishing a Department of Education o Before this there was no unified body, only a “council of public instruction” and the education system consisted of two compositions: Catholic and Protestant. Church now replaced by state. - Education became only a provincial responsibility and power - Nothing was stopping the creation of the body, able to make it as powerful as they wanted - There is still duality within the education system regarding language (English and French), which still exists to this day. (The MEQ never managed to achieve uniformity) - Licenses are administered by the MEQ for both private and public schools. - Responsible for ALL aspects of education which emphasizes the amount of power the MEQ has - Paul Gerin Lajoie lobbied for a Ministry of Education. o Lesage told Lajoie to travel the countryside and encourage the people. o As a result, there arose the formation of the Ministry representing a governing body of the people. o He was honoured by being the first minister of education. Bill 56: Private Education Act (1968)  Quebec: The private school capital of Canada o Traditional  During the French regime, education was religious and private. And over the years, the private education system stayed catholic.  In 1968, the Private Education Act was quite generous to private schools in support and funding, even compared to now. o Legislative  Bill 56 passed in 1968 and gave these schools a lot of support while legally guaranteeing their existence o Economic  In 1968, schools were generously funded by around 80%. Now, private schools are funded about 50% (the funding formula is complicated) Bill 63: An Act to Promote the French Language in Québec (1969) (ineffective, wasn’t implementable) a) Saint Leonard Crisis: courts refused to intervene o A school board in Saint Leonard decided to phase out the English language education. The community was mostly Italian and bilingual education was in their best interest. The province wanted to take this school to court but legally there was nothing the courts could do. This therefore received lots of media attention; the problem was not legal but political, which compelled the government to act. o Bill 63 was the government’s response. b) Bill 63: had many provision to promote the French language. It said that parents have a choice to send their children either to a French or English school. This was from1969 to 1974. o Consequence: the government that passed bill 63 was no longer reelected. Suffice it to say that the bill was unpopular. The French population wanted a bill that promoted and protected the French language. c) Reactions to Bill 63: o Anglophones: They were never really threatened by anything. They were not threatened by the phasing out of the English language because few of them lived in Saint Leonard. However, they were a little concerned about the importance placed on language and the direction it was heading. o Allophones: Were relieved because government legislated in their favor. They felt vindicated because the government recognized their point. o French: They were divided; some liked to have a choice while others wanted this choice to be limited because they were concerned about the linguistic future of Québec. 1

Bill 22: The official Language Act (1974) (liberals) (bureaucracy couldn’t make it work, process was flawed) a) Sufficient Knowledge Clause o This clause stated that you can attend an English language school if you show sufficient knowledge of the English language. How do they check for this? It was very hard to administer. A test was administered to determine who got into an English school. b) It was a weak law. o The teachers refused to test the children because they thought it was immoral. Therefore, the principal of the school had to test them. Parents had their children tutored in order to pass. It was weak because most children passed. In all, this law upset everyone. c) Reaction to Bill 22: o Anglophones: Resented being subjected to a test and resented being treated like second-class citizens. o Allophones: They were nervous because their children had no guarantee in an English school. And, if their kids failed, they would have to go to a French school. English was the language of opportunity. They were not happy. o French: They were not happy because too many allophones were passing the test and the French parents who wanted to send their children to English schools resented the test; in order for their children to pass the test they had to hire tutors which defeated the purpose of sending them to an English school. o In sum, this bill displeased everyone. It had good intentions but was impossible to execute. Bill 22 failed to produce a generation of French speaking allophones. Election of Party Quebecois resulted in the election of Rene Levesque, who came out with Bill 101, which based English education on parentage. Bill 101: Charter of the French Language (1977) (PQ) - Passed in 1977 - Bill 101 was effective. It admits students IF students come with an English academic background (in terms of who their parents are). - There are many amended versions of the Charter of the French language (Bill 101). a) Bill 101 is based on parentage: the education background of the students’ parent. b) Application of Bill 101: o This bill could easily be applied. o Nothing is illegal about Bill 101. In other words, the province could legislate language. o At the time, schools were protected by religion, but language was not constitutionally protected o Bill 101 only applied to elementary and secondary schools; it did not apply to cegeps and universities. c) "Certificate of Eligibility": o A Certificate of Eligibility is a document you need to attend an English elementary or secondary school. o What did the child need to have in order to get this certificate? - At the time, a parent had to have received the majority of their elementary education in English, in Quebec (this was dubbed ‘the Quebec Clause’) o The intent of this bill was simple: - The only people who had access to English education were those who had parents who had an English background. This limited the amount of children who could be educated in English. There was no way around this law, since you cannot change the education your parent had in the past. In other words, the education of a child was predetermined. Thus, this bill was simple and effective. d) Exemptions from Bill 101 (there were some exceptions from the Certificate of Eligibility) o If you are a diplomat or a business man and reside in Quebec temporarily, your children can attend English schools. o The children of members of the military (because it is not the child’s choice to live in Quebec- he just has to come because his parent(s) is part of the military) 2

Severely handicapped students. Students with severe learning challenges. Students attending an unfunded private school. If parent wanted to send child to private school they don’t need a certificate. If a child moved from New Brunswick (they have a bilingual education, they had access to French and English there, so we reciprocated with people from New Brunswick). * New Brunswick is the only official bilingual province * If you don’t have one of these conditions or traits mentioned above then your children will be educated in French. e) Reactions to Bill 101 are: o The English didn’t have a problem because the parents of these children attended an English establishment. If a parent attended an English school in Quebec (at the elementary level) for a minimum of 3 years, his/her child will be able to attend an English school too. o The Anglophones were threatened and many of them left this province (resulting in an exodus). The Anglophones were also disappointed because they depended on the allophones to fill the classrooms. However, Protestant schools were more attractive, and allophones were recommended to go there. o The Allophones were very upset. They were not allowed to admit their children into English schools at all because they were all educated out of Quebec. o If their kids were already in English school, they were allowed to continue their education there (continuity clause). If they had a sibling in English school, eligibility was granted to them (sibling clause). Unlike Bill 101, Bill 22 didn’t have this; it only depended on the admissions test. Bill 101 made sure that schooling was based on prior situations of parents and/or siblings. The French who wanted to educate children in English were upset because their children would not receive a sufficient education in the English language. * Allophones are considered everyone from outside of Quebec. Consequently, Bill 101 displeased the people, which made them want to leave Quebec. * The Francophones were not to blame (correct). o o o o o

f)

The results of Bill 101 o The point was to channel more students to French schools. And it worked. o It also forced many to leave this province, and discouraged many people from Canada to move to Quebec. o It was perceived as an unfair provision to the rest of Canada. o It also increased enrollment in English CEGEPS and Universities. o It did establish the supremacy of French language here. o It increased the degree of bilingualism in Anglophones and Allophones. o Increased the enrolment in English as a second language. o Bill 101 guaranteed the Francophones that their language would be promoted, protected, and preserved so that the future generation will have a good French education

Bill 24: Youth Protection Act (1977) The Youth Protection Act (Bill 24, 1977) and Child Abuse - YPA lists eight situations which can endanger a child (s. 38): o Parental abandonment or neglect o Mental or affective development threatened by lack of care o Physical health threatened by lack of care, isolation or prolonged emotional rejection by parents o Deprivation of material conditions of life o In custody of someone whose lifestyle creates risk for the child o Child forced to engage in work which is unacceptable for his or her age o Sexual abuse or physical ill treatment o Child has serious behavioural disturbances unattended to or uncorrected by parents - YPA identifies the following three conditions to be indicators of danger (s. 38.1) Child runs away from home 3

-

-

Child of school age who does not attend school or is frequently absent without reason Parents do not provide child with care, maintenance and education or do not exercise stable supervision over him or her while the latter has been in care (social service agency or foster home). Confidentiality with children o Your obligation to protect a child is more important than your word to a child o “Do you promise not to tell anyone” … Make this promise  if it is harmless, then don’t repeat it – if it is harmless, then notify whoever you need to tell Reporting Child Abuse o If you suspect anything: - Tell your administration - Notify youth protection/director of youth services (fax or email gives you proof that you fulfilled your duty) o Abuse is serious and sexual abuse is even more serious o Sexual abuse must be reported by any person who has reasonable cause to believe that a child is being abused o Other forms of abuse must be reported by any professional who provides care or assistance to children who has reasonable cause to believe that a child is being abused

Bill 71: The Educational Project (1979) Some context on Curriculum Development in Quebec - Prior to the Quiet Revolution (1960s) o There was no provincial curriculum o Curriculum was in the hands of the church (Catholic mostly)  religious school boards o Conservative and laissez-faire ideology o Catholic and protestant had different curriculum (traditional/ conservative) o Built on philosophy of religions - Post Quiet Revolution o The Parent Commission suggested that the curriculum become centralized, unified, standardized (they wanted the schools to do their own thing) o Wanted neutral curriculum for all o Still no provincial curriculum though - A decade later... (1979) o People put pressure on the government to improve the curriculum due to their dissatisfaction o Bill 71 was passed to centralize the curriculum and make it one in English and French (in Catholic and Protestant schools) - Green Paper - a consultation paper (1978)  introduces an idea o Gave the government the responsibility of the curriculum o Government floated a policy paper to see how public would react to a controlled curriculum. The Public was FOR it so they began to quickly implement things. Their idea behind this “Green Paper” was to improve the curriculum. Thus, this “Green paper” proposed the legislation - Orange Paper - a plan of action (1979) o Proposed the execution of Bill 71 to the public (where the curriculum guide and provincial exams come from) o Determined how to execute when the Bill passed - Bill 71 (1979) o Established the government’s legal right to make regulations regarding the curriculum (but left the MRE program to the schools) o Finalized this process o This bill did not dictate HOW to teach. However due to the fact that they imposed a pedagogical approach, teachers were professionally insulted (they felt that they were being told how to do their jobs) a) The intent of Bill 71 was to involve parents in education and to make schools more autonomous. 4

Bill 71 involved parents. How? With the educational project which was an attempt to mandate school character. Every school must have a character different from their school board. It was a way in which to give school more autonomy from the school board. The character of the school need to reflect the community which involves parents. o Now with this Bill schools had the Law but they still needed to know how to apply it. b) The individualization of the schools was perceived as being inconsistent with the (then) present trends of centralization, consistency and systems. c) It was a good idea on paper but it wasn’t implemented – it lacked actual planning/no established means for doing so. Schools were stating the project but they weren’t living it d) 2 objectives o Give it a distinctness or unique project that would serve the community which includes the parents o To get the parents involved o

Bill 40 (1983) (failed)  The purpose of this bill was to establish linguistic school boards. However, it caused a lot of conflict and wasn’t supported by the population. As a result, the bill was withdrawn and never ratified. Bill 3 (1984) (failed)  Became a law but didn’t last long because there was difficulty merging the linguistic and religious school boards.  The law also didn’t last because the government realized that they couldn’t pass a law against the Constitution  This bill allowed the government to reconsider the demographics of the province  However, PSBGM questioned the legality of the bill. They looked at the bill and counted how many schools they had in Montreal in 1867. They ended up not having any. Consequently, the government passed a bill that would abolish the PSBGM school board, which was protected by the constitution, which means that the government passed an illegal bill. They had to cancel the bill that was already passed.  Due to this, the Common School Boards were abolished. This wasn’t a problem since they were never constitutionally protected. Bill 107 The Education Act and Linguistic School Boards (1988) (legal and constitutional but too complicated. Dead until Bill 109)  Was a bill to change many aspects of the education system and was a result of the curriculum evaluation in the 80’s.  Bill 107 was legal, but the most controversial bill  This bill is the rewrite of the Educational Act. Bill 107 was passed with provision that it could not go into effect until the courts looked at it (government didn’t want to go through what they did for Bill 3 again).  This bill was the beginning of big acts and the government getting involved in education  This bill doubled the number of school boards to reduce costs and make do with fewer resources and entailed that: o Rural areas would have three school boards:  Dissentient School Board  English School Board  French School Board  (Common School Board was eliminated) o Urban areas (Quebec and Montreal) would have four school boards (instead of two):  Confessional Roman Catholic  Confessional Protestant  Linguistic English  Linguistic French  A new and the most comprehensive Education Act ever  Implementing the Reforms- committees, councils and boards were instituted to get advice and suggestions.  Provisional Councils were established to manage the transition and handle disputes. 5





Advisory Committee on the Establishment of Linguistic School Boards (1994) o Patrick Kenniff, rector of Concordia, advised the government how to make Bill 107 executable (known as the Kenniff Report). His suggestions were not constitutional and his task was impossible to attain:  He recommended suspending the right to create religious school boards.  He made other recommendations that were taken such as the “English Language Advisory Board on English Language Education”. English Language Advisory Board on English Language Education (1994) was created to recommend to the government how they can better serve the English community and to ensure that the English’s rights would always stay intact.

From parental involvement notes: The Orientation Committee (1988) a) Functions (mandate=what, for what) o Determine the aims and objectives of a schools educational project- the implementation plan o Encourage parental involvement (the education project had the WHO… the orientation committee had the HOW) b) Composition o Parents o Non-teaching professionals o Teachers o 2 students of sec. 4 and 5 o Members of professional staff o Representative of the community.

6

c) Matters on which the orientation committee must be consulted o Roles of orientation committee o establish orientation o establish education project o put education project in effect c) Responsibilities o If school is changing orientation, new project or new principle o Application or withdrawal of school religious status o Enrichment of school program o School events, social cultural, sport program etc. d) Other functions of the orientation committee o contact with community o Student safety o Extra and core curricular activities * Their power was mostly voice and it is the principle or administrator who had the final say. Bill 109: Linguistic School Boards Revisited (1997) - Bill 109 was influenced as much by the political context of the time, as it was by the failures of Bill 3 and 107 - Political Reason: The issues between Quebec and Canada as well as the referendum in 1995 had a lot to do with this. Due to Quebec’s need for sovereignty, the federal government was trying to get involved to show that federalism can work - Economic Reason: boards were reduced to 62 French boards and 9 English, so the government had few boards to fund - Constitutional Reason: a bilateral agreement to amend the constitution - In June 1996 o The MEQ published a Communiqué which introduced the reconstruction of school boards o It was a memo that said “we are pursuing this objective until the very end” - In August 1996 o The plans for school board reform are put on hold again which pended public consultation at the next Estates General on Education  The government got cold feet and wanted to survey the public to see if they were going to pay a political price to pursue this policy – wanted to see if there was enough support  BUT there wasn’t - In January 1997 o The provincial government requested bilateral amendment to Section 93 of the Constitution (in section 93 it said that education was a provincial responsibility, and in 93.1 said that religious boards are constitutionally protected which was contradictory to the establishment of linguistic school boards). - In April 1997 o The provincial government unveiled Bill 109 which expressed the government’s intent to move ahead with linguistic school boards. - In June 1997 o The MEQ announced their plan to eliminate confessional school boards in Montreal...