WHEREAS many schools on Prince Edward Island collect fees from students, including general “student fees,” materials fees, school supplies fees, activity fees, extra-curricular activity fees, and field trip and travel fees, and,

WHEREAS these fees can place a significant financial burden on Island families, and,

WHEREAS the School Act, section 68, guarantees “the right to free school privileges in the public schools of the province” and these fees contravene the spirit of that guarantee, and,

WHEREAS in the 2008 Speech from the Throne¹ the government committed to begin the process of removing school fees, and

WHEREAS the nature of school fee collection means that it is difficult or impossible to understand the financial contribution to school through school fees by Island families, and the operational impact of their removal, and

WHEREAS immediately removing these fees would place undue burden on the ability of schools to operate,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the PEI Home and School Federation request that Minister of Education, Early Learning and Culture develop a system for reporting to each public school community, on an annual basis, a summary of the school fees collected in that school, and a summary of how the fees were used, and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the PEIHSF requests Minister of Education, Early Learning and Culture use the same information to provide an annual report on school fees summarized for all schools in the province taken together, and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the PEIHSF requests the Minister of Education, Early Learning and Culture develop a plan toward the gradual elimination of school fees, ensuring that the pace of elimination does not unduly inhibit the ability of schools to offer curricular and extra-curricular activities equitably to all students.

REFERENCES

1. From the 2008 Speech from the Throne: “My Government also understands that programs offered by our schools should be equitably available to every Islander. On the basis of that understanding, my Government will begin to eliminate student fees for curriculum-based activities. This measure will remove any potential impediments to families who only want the best for their children.”