Ministry of Education
Consultation Reports
Task Forces
In 2002/03, the Ministry of Education collected information and recommendations from parents, students and education professionals in three major areas of education by undertaking task forces on rural schools, student achievement, and safety in schools.
Rural Task Force
Approximately 86,000 or 15 per cent of British Columbia's public school students attend rural schools. Some of these schools have less than 10 students spread across many grades. The challenge of providing quality education to rural students in this environment prompted the then Minister of Education, Honourable Christy Clark, to appoint a task force to study rural education and to make recommendations for a provincial rural education strategy.
Public Input on Rural Education Task Force
The Minister appointed a task force in September 2002 to review the many challenges facing students, educators and parents in rural and remote communities in B.C. A report of the task force's findings and recommendations (PDF, 182KB) was submitted to Education Minister Christy Clark on January 15, 2003.
On May 1, the Minister released government's response to the task force's recommendations.
Thank you to the many individuals and groups who provided public input to the task force on rural education.
For more information see the ministry's news release on the Rural Education Task Force.
Student Achievement Task Force
The Student Achievement Task Force was established with an overall mandate to "consult with B.C.'s education community and recommend ways to improve the achievement levels of all students in all areas of learning."
The student achievement task force was appointed fall 2002, to recommend ways to improve the performance of B.C.’s 570,000 students. The task force consulted with teachers, administrators, parents and educational leaders across the province, and made 21 recommendations.
On September 9, the Minister released government's response to the task force's recommendations (PDF, 144KB).
Safe Schools Task Force
In the spring of 2002, government appointed an MLA Safe Schools Task Force to consult with parents, students and educators across the province. While the Task Force's report acknowledged “… that violence among children and youth is a complex social problem best addressed through local solutions,” it also called for provincial standards to address student safety in schools.
In March 2004 the Premier announced the Ministry of Education’s development and distribution of provincial guidelines to assist schools and school districts with this very important work. In the fall of 2007, the School Act was amended making it mandatory for boards of education to establish codes of conduct in accordance with the provincial standards outlined in Safe, Caring and Orderly Schools: A Guide (PDF, 2.7MB). Boards of Education are also mandated to ensure that schools within their school district implement the codes.
For more information see the Safe, Caring and Orderly Schools website.
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