Ministry Policy Site

How to Read a Policy Document

This page explains what each section of a policy document means. The ministry policies on this site generally follow the format below.

Section DESCRIPTION
TITLE Policy name.
DATES Date issued and/or date policy is in effect.
STATUS Current, deleted, new, revised, under review.
POLICY STATEMENT Usually, the policy statement is the major guide to future action. It is generalized, philosophically based and goal oriented.
RATIONALE This briefly introduces the policy and provides a history or rationale for the policy.
LEGISLATION / REGULATIONS The sections of the School Act or other statutes that apply to the policy are reproduced or linked under this section. Unless otherwise referenced,"the Act" means the School Act. Regulations are law. Authority for a regulation is contained in the statute.
ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS These are definitions specific to a policy, and are in addition to those contained in legislation or other references or resources.
POLICY Elaborates on the Policy Statement. May identify specific objectives/goals of the policy. Provides additional information and interpretation of the Policy Statement.
PROCEDURES Procedures outline the steps required to implement the policy. Generally, they outline who does what, how, and in what order. Procedures can be either "mandatory" or "discretionary." The two types are quickly distinguished by reference to their verbs:
  • Use of the word "shall," or "must" indicates mandatory items.
  • Use of the word "may" or "should" indicates discretionary items.
REFERENCES/ RESOURCES Other manuals, handbooks, documents, reports, Acts, regulations and policies are identified and linked (or access information otherwise provided) which provide additional information with respect to a particular policy.
CONTACT Contact information is provided for one or more ministry staff to whom questions relating to the policy may be directed.

Find a policy by title, topic, date, or status.

Learn about new policy developments in Policy Changes and in Deregulation.

Learn more about policies and their relationship to the government’s legislative and regulatory framework in How Policy Works.