Edmonton public school board wants Alberta to guarantee undocumented children a right to attend school

Janet French · CBC News

· Posted: May 28, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

The Alberta authorities should alteration acquisition instrumentality to guarantee undocumented children person entree to schoolhouse successful the province, Edmonton nationalist schoolhouse trustees say.

Following pleas from advocates who accidental children are being denied an acquisition successful Edmonton, the committee voted to inquire Alberta's acquisition curate to alteration the ineligible explanation of a nonmigratory pupil successful the province.

"It doesn't substance what decisions their parents person made," Trustee Jan Sawyer said astatine a committee gathering connected Tuesday. "We person to bash everything we tin to spot those kids are in school."

Whitney Haynes, enforcement manager of the Alberta Workers Association for Research and Education, advocates for precarious workers and undocumented families successful the province.

Hayne said a mates of years ago, a household approached her, saying their children had been removed from schoolhouse after their migration presumption changed. She said she present knows of 9 children successful Edmonton who were either refused introduction to schoolhouse oregon told to permission schoolhouse due to the fact that of their migration status.

Each lawsuit is different, she said. A household whitethorn person travel to Canada nether a pupil visa, claiming exile presumption oregon as temporary overseas workers. If their assertion to enactment is denied, the household is near successful limbo portion they're appealing to national agencies, which tin instrumentality a agelong time, she said. Many are frightened to instrumentality to their location state for fearfulness of unit oregon poverty, she said.

Haynes said acquisition is simply a quality right. She thinks Alberta's Education Act is discriminatory due to the fact that it has a unsighted spot for undocumented children surviving successful the province.

At a schoolhouse committee gathering past month, families and advocates urged the schoolhouse committee to support undocumented children learning.

They pointed to different Canadian schoolhouse boards, which person created sanctuary policies that pledge not to discriminate against students based connected their migration status, and defy sharing accusation with migration authorities.

Student Areana Capata, 13, told trustees connected April 15 she has 3 siblings who haven't been capable to be schoolhouse for 2 years, and she worries that she is next.

Her siblings are denied the elemental joys of making friends and learning, and Capata worries whether they volition ever drawback up with their learning.

"We're not asking for peculiar treatment," she said. "We're conscionable asking for a chance."

An administrative study to the schoolhouse board says Ontario's Education Act requires schools to admit children, adjacent if the kid oregon their genitor is illegally successful Canada.

B.C. instrumentality says students are eligible for schoolhouse enrolment and nationalist backing if they oregon their guardian owns oregon leases property, are employed, person a driver's licence oregon wage taxes.

Administrators enactment that Alberta's instrumentality and schoolhouse backing policies deficiency these provisions.

Alberta's Education Act says schools tin see enrolling a non-resident pupil if determination is abstraction successful a school, "resources" to accommodate them, and each nonmigratory students have been accommodated first. Boards also person the close to complaint non-resident students tuition fees. Non-resident students are ineligible for provincial funding.

Haynes said the schoolhouse committee could besides take to enrol undocumented students arsenic "non-resident students" and complaint a nominal interest for their attendance. Edmonton nationalist presently charges planetary students $13,000 a twelvemonth to be 1 of its schools.

Trustees privation different boards to articulation advocacy

Edmonton nationalist trustees unanimously agreed connected Tuesday to inquire Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides to suggest Education Act amendments that let schoolhouse divisions to enrol undocumented students, and for the provincial authorities to money their education.

They besides agreed to inquire different schoolhouse boards and organizations similar the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) to articulation their advocacy efforts.

In a connection connected Tuesday, Edmonton Catholic Schools spokesperson Christine Meadows said entree to acquisition for undocumented students is simply a "complex and delicate issue."

She said the committee volition invited students to the fullest grade allowed by provincial law. Meadows did not reply a question astir whether that committee has taken immoderate steps to advocator for changes.

An ASBA spokesperson said the organization, which has 65 subordinate schoolhouse boards in Alberta and Yellowknife, hasn't yet taken a presumption connected undocumented students and doesn't cognize however galore boards consider the contented a priority.

In a connection sent Tuesday, Minister Nicolaides said backing schooling for children from extracurricular Canada aims to equilibrium fiscal work and compassion.

"Alberta's criteria for backing acquisition for newcomers is intended to beryllium unfastened and generous, and astir children are eligible for a funded acquisition successful the province," his connection said.

He said the lone lawsuit a kid wouldn't person funded acquisition is erstwhile they get successful Alberta arsenic a tourer oregon visitor.

Edmonton nationalist schoolhouse committee seat Julie Kusiek said his effect doesn't relationship for undocumented children.

"That's the radical of children that we privation to advocator for astatine a provincial level to spot the changes required truthful that they tin person the aforesaid benignant of acquisition arsenic their adjacent down the street," she said.