District 16: Cornwall - Meadowbank's candidates' promises on Education

Indigenous learning

NDP

Work with Mi'kmaq leaders and educators to update curriculum to reflect Mi'kmaq experiences and histories
Ensure the cultural history of PEI taught in social studies includes stories of Indigenous, Métis, and Acadian people

We don't have any Liberal policies on Indigenous learning.

PC

Offer courses on local Indigenous history in the curriculum

Green

Immediately establish a government position to manage Aboriginal content in education

"For example, immediately establish a senior-level position in government at the assistant deputy minister level or higher dedicated to Aboriginal content in education as per the TRC Calls to Action #62." — 2023 Election Platform, 2023-03-23

K-12 funding

NDP

Remove the $5.50 cost for the PEI lunch programme, and provide a free breakfast and lunch programme for all students

"Remove the suggested $5.50 cost of the PEI lunch program and implement a free breakfast and lunch program for all Island students." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09
Cap classes for grades 4-8 at 20 students, and reduce high school class sizes

"Cap classes for grades 4 through 8 at 20, and reduce high school classes to ensure students at every age get the support and attention they deserve." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09
Hire 50 more learning assistance teachers and educational assistants over three years
Remove fees associated with school supplies, field trips, and fundraising

"Eliminating fees and financial pressure associated with school supplies, field trips and fundraising activities." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09
Maintain a school transportation system that meets needs

"Maintaining a school transportation system that meets the needs of all public school students, including those who participate in after-school activities." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09
Integrate environmental and outdoor education

"Integrating environmental and outdoor education into public school curricula." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09

Liberal

Set targets for how many high school grads move on to post-secondary
Increase investments in professional development supports for teachers
Increase focus on student assessments to measure student, teacher, and system performance

"Increasing focus on student assessments (PCAP, PISA, and provincial assessments) as a key measure of student/teacher/education system performance" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22
Increase funding for education assistances, school psychologists, audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and other resource personnel in schools
Emphasise academic and career counselling in earlier grades

PC

Consider a universal breakfast program for schools

"Explore the creation of a universal breakfast program with the English and French language school boards" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24
Create outdoor learning spaces

"Establish outdoor learning spaces to stimulate new educational opportunities and a greater appreciation for our environment" — peipc.ca, 2023-03-20
Add 100 new positions including teachers, educational assistance, youth service workers, counsellors, and mental health support workers

Green

Support and encourage play- and project-based learning in all grades
Increase outdoor education
Invest $5M in the first year to hire more teachers and educational assistants

Learning needs

NDP

Increase funding for autism services for children and youth
Provide wraparound care for students experiencing trauma and mental health issues, including staff training

"Ensuring wraparound care for students experiencing trauma and mental health issues, including training of school staff and integration of community resources." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09
Provide targeted support for students with ADHD

"Providing targeted support for students with ADHD, including a clear referral and assessment pathway and training in early intervention for education professionals." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09
Provide training to resource teachers and educational assistants in trauma-informed care, restorative conflict resolution, and literacy instruction

We don't have any Liberal policies on Learning needs.

PC

Provide a $500 tutor rebate

We don't have any Green policies on Learning needs.

Post-secondary costs and tuition

NDP

Eliminate community college tuition fees by 2026
Freeze and reduce university tuition fees, with the goal of eliminating all tuition fees

We don't have any Liberal policies on Post-secondary costs and tuition.

PC

Continue to fund open educational resources, so as to reduce post-secondary costs
Make on-Island tuition free for RCWs, LPNs, and Paramedics who serve in PEI for two years, and provide bursaries for LPNs, RNs, and Paramedics who study off-Island
Increase the George Coles Bursary to $3,500/year, and expand it to include some off-Island studies and healthcare

"Increase the George Coles Bursary to $3,500 per year for post-secondary students and expand the program to students studying off Island in programs not offered in PEI and to students in health care training programs such as LPNs, RNs, etc." — peipc.ca, 2023-03-20

Green

Provide adequate and predictable funding to post-secondary institutions

"Review funding agreements with Island postsecondary institutions to make sure they have adequate and predictable funding." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-09

"A Green Government would ensure multi-year funding agreements are in place to provide greater long-term predictability in funding. This will give our post-secondary institutions more stability and enable them to better plan ahead.

In recognition of our commitment to support the implementation of UPEI’s new strategic research plan, we would also consider restricted funding for the purpose of furthering its objectives." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-09
Review financial assistance programmes, and increase assistance to grad students doing innovative research

"Review post-secondary financial assistance programs to ensure there is adequate support for Island workers looking to reskill or upskill." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-09

"Increase financial assistance for graduate students doing innovative research." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-09
Consider student-led housing cooperatives
Continue to fund open educational resources, so as to reduce textbook costs

School construction and upgrades

NDP

Study building new schools to offset aging buildings, with attention to reducing student commute times

"Launching a study on building new schools to offset aging buildings, with attention to locations where students currently face long commute times." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09
Increase the budget for school upgrades

"Increasing the provincial budget to finish school upgrades." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09

We don't have any Liberal policies on School construction and upgrades.

PC

Create outdoor learning spaces

"Establish outdoor learning spaces to stimulate new educational opportunities and a greater appreciation for our environment" — peipc.ca, 2023-03-20
Add plans for a junior high school for the Stratford Campus
Use more solar energy at schools
Expand and renovate Queen Charlotte Intermediate School
Add Automated External Defibrillators to all schools
Create a $25M fund over three years for school infrastructure

"Create a School Infrastructure Revitalization Fund investing $25 Million Dollars over the next three years to ensure our schools are safe, modernized teaching and learning environments" — peipc.ca, 2023-03-20

Green

Take projected population growth into account when planning schools

"Better plan school infrastructure for expected population growth, while keeping rural schools open, while building the schools previously announced, like the planned Stratford school.

PEI has experienced rapid population growth in recent years and projected continued population growth over the coming decades. This will increase demands on public infrastructure, including Island schools. School infrastructure planning must take into account our actual and projected population growth to prevent overcrowding and ensure that high quality educational facilities are available and nearby." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-15
Build previously announced schools, including the Stratford school
Provide $500K to monitor air quality in schools

"A Green government would allocate $500,000 in operational funding to undertake air quality monitoring and determine the priority locations for ventilation improvements. Any leftover funding would be dedicated to interim measures to improve air quality like the use of indoor air purifiers." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-15

School governance

We don't have any NDP policies on School governance.

We don't have any Liberal policies on School governance.

We don't have any PC policies on School governance.

Green

Give schools more control and autonomy over budgets, daily schedules, professional development, and implementation of curriculum

"Respect and value teachers by allowing schools, or families of schools, more control and autonomy over their budget, their daily schedules, professional development, and the implementation of curriculum." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-15
Allow permanent residents to vote in school board elections

School vaccination

We don't have any NDP policies on School vaccination.

We don't have any Liberal policies on School vaccination.

We don't have any PC policies on School vaccination.

Green

Expand access to vaccinations in school

Student loans

NDP

Retroactively remove interest on provincial student loans
Convert government loans to grants

"Giving young people a chance by converting government loans to grants, so students aren’t graduating with massive debts." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09

We don't have any Liberal policies on Student loans.

We don't have any PC policies on Student loans.

Green

Consider providing debt reduction to students from elsewhere who come to work in PEI

"Explore the possibility of expanding debt reduction programs to include students from other provinces and international students as incentive to stay and work on PEI." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-09
Increase debt reduction grants for students who stay in PEI after graduation

"Review debt forgiveness programs to support more students who choose to work on PEI after graduation.

○ Increase debt reduction grants." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-09
Cover student loan repayments for 2023-24

"Cover student loan repayments for the 2023-24 year to support recent graduates in this period of high inflation and economic uncertainty." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-09
Set the PEI Student Loan zero-payment threshold to $40K gross income, indexed to inflation, and higher for families

"Set the zero-payment threshold for PEI Student Loans to $40,000 gross income, indexed to inflation and with upward adjustments for family size. This would bring PEI in line with every other Atlantic province and make sure Island graduates do not have to repay loans if their annual income is below $40,000." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-09

Student mental health

NDP

Adopt a restorative conflict resolution practice in schools for tackling bullying

"Tackling bullying effectively in partnership with community leaders and organizations, including adoption of a restorative conflict resolution practice in schools." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09
Provide wraparound care for students experiencing trauma and mental health issues, including staff training

"Ensuring wraparound care for students experiencing trauma and mental health issues, including training of school staff and integration of community resources." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09
Increase funding for student well-being teams
Provide trained mental health staff to all schools

We don't have any Liberal policies on Student mental health.

PC

Create a task force to develop a plan to address cyber-bullying and promote online safety

"Create a multi-sectoral task force to develop an action plan to address cyberbullying behaviour and promote cyber safety" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24
Run a pilot programme to hire School Resource Officers

"Create a pilot program to fund the hiring of School Resource Officers for each family of schools that want one and conduct a comprehensive review of how they can work collaboratively with school administration, teachers, support staff and student wellbeing teams" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

Green

Invest $500K in the first year to hire more school counsellors