Effective Sunday, September 1, schools in Alberta will be permitted to use calming and seclusion room following the repeal of the existing ministerial order.
The provincial government announced the reversal Thursday and outlined its plan to have new standards in place for seclusion rooms by the end of October. The standards will be formulated after consultation with:
- Inclusion Alberta
- Alberta Teachers' Association
- Alberta School Boards Association
- Alberta School Councils' Association
- College of Alberta School Superintendents
- Alberta's four metro school boards
"Everyone involved in a school shares the same priority: to have a safe, caring and inclusive environment for everyone," said Adriana LaGrange. Alberta's Minister of Education in a statement released Thursday. "Since becoming minister, I have received numerous letters from our partners in the school system, including the Alberta Teachers’ Association, asking me to rethink the former government’s short-sighted approach to seclusion rooms and student safety. In fact, almost every stakeholder I encountered on this issue, school boards, teachers, administrators and parents, clearly tell me that a full ban limits a school’s ability to protect the safety of everyone, and to work in partnership to revise the existing policy.”
The Ministry of Education will now require all school authorities to submit a monthly report documenting the use of seclusion rooms.
