Legislation, Policies and Standards

School Act

Rights and responsibilities related to special education are included in the School Act. Public and separate school boards are required to provide each resident and enrolled student who has identified special education needs with access to special education programming. Charter schools and private schools may provide special education programming, but the School Act does not require them to.

Standards for Special Education, Amended June 2004

Standards for Special Education, Amended June 2004 is a ministerial order. It requires public and separate school boards to identify and deliver appropriate programming for students identified with special education needs in grades 1 to 12. Designated Special Education Private Schools must also follow most of these requirements. Standards promotes consistent and enhanced quality of educational practice within our province, so that irrespective of location, students identified with special education needs can access appropriate programming and services. At the same time, through its funding mechanism, Alberta Education recognizes the importance of local autonomy, flexibility and choice in meeting the diverse learning needs of students.

Requirements for Special Education in Accredited-Funded Private Schools

Requirements for Special Education in Accredited-Funded Private Schools describes requirements for providing educational programming to students identified with special education needs in accredited-funded private schools in Alberta.

Standards for the Provision of Early Childhood Special Education

Standards for the Provision of Early Childhood Special Education parallels Standards for Special Education, Amended June 2004, but is directed at children, as defined under the School Act, rather than students. It was developed to help ECS operators (public, separate, private, francophone,charter) to provide high quality special education programming to children who are eligible for Alberta Education funding.

Children and Students

For the purposes of education in Alberta, children are younger than 6 years of age and students are 6 or older.