School compliant with Bill 24: An Act to Support Gay-Straight Alliances
As a result of recent media articles, some concerns have been raised by members of the Neerlandia community regarding how government legislation affects Neerlandia Public Christian School.

In response to the changes to the School Act regarding a board’s responsibility to provide its students and staff with a welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environment, the PHPS Board of Trustees reviewed the related policies and administrative procedures (APs) in June 2018.

Keep in mind, there are 2,388 schools in the province operating under 375 school authorities. As a school authority, PHPS has fifteen community schools under our jurisdiction. Pembina Hills has several policies and administrative procedures in place that make Neerlandia Public Christian School compliant with the government’s legislation of Bill 24: An Act to Support Gay-Straight Alliances. All of our schools must comply with PHPS board policies and administrative procedures.

Neerlandia Public Christian School is the only school in our division that provides an Alternate Religious Program of instruction in the context of Christian ethics, morals and beliefs. It will continue to maintain that status and government funding. NPCS’ vision, mission and values will be maintained.

Division policies and procedures align with Bill 24 and the School Act
We believe that all students and staff should be able to work and learn in a welcoming, caring, respectful, and safe environment and we have met the legislated expectations as outlined in our Policy 19 – Welcoming, Caring, Respectful, and Safe Environments.

We have also updated references to the School Act in AP 50-09 Student Code of Conduct. This document serves as a guide and sometimes as a teaching resource to help students understand their responsibilities as participants in a welcoming, caring, respectful, and safe learning environment. Our APs relating to 60-12 Inclusive Practices and 60-15 Student Activities and Organizations have also been fine-tuned to align with amendments to the School Act. All Policies, Administrative Procedures and Forms are available at www.pembinahills.ca/policy-manual/.

We care about the safety of each individual student, and seek to honor everyone involved when issues arise. As a school board, we need to abide by the law, and we seek to protect all students and staff through our policies and procedures.

If you have questions about division policies, contact:
Jennifer Tuininga, Board Chair at Jennifer.Tuininga@phpschools.ca or 780-284-0971

If you have questions about administrative procedures or programming, contact:
David Garbutt, Superintendent of Schools at David.Garbutt@phpschools.ca or 780-674-8507