Ministry Policy Site

Policy Hierarchy

Policy is embedded within a legal and governance framework and must comply with existing laws such as the School Act (508 Kb) and the Teaching Profession Act (59 Kb).

The Hierarchy of Law, Legislation, Regulation, Policy and Procedures

The law has the most authority and is primarily determined through legislation, court decisions (judicial precedent) and custom.

In Canada, the Canada Act establishes whether responsibilities are federal, provincial or both. That is why some legislative areas are federally governed (e.g., the military), some are jointly governed (e.g., the environment) and some, like education, are provincially governed.

Legislation can be enacted by the federal and provincial governments. Legislative responsibilities can also be delegated to local governments and First Nations.

Some legislation also has subordinate legislation: regulations and minister's orders. Any regulations or minister's orders must be specifically authorized by legislation.

Policies can flow from legislation or from funding decisions. In the provincial government and in the Ministry of Education, policies are communicated in writing.

Procedures provide educational partners with guidelines on how to implement ministry policy.

Links

For more on policy, and discussion of the roles of the various education policy-making bodies in British Columbia, see:

• What is Policy?
• Ministry, School Board and School Policy Roles

To see current policies [B.C. Ministry of Education], see Find A Policy, or see Policy Changes to review recent developments.