The Ministry of Education has issued an amended School Accreditation Regulation as a result of the new interim Accreditation Policy, which was released May 30, 2000. The ministry states that changes to the Regulation ensure it reflects the more significant involvement of school superintendents and boards of school trustees in the accreditation process. This has shifted a number of responsibilities of the external teams, which are also reflected in the amendments. The majority of changes to the Regulation deal with the changes to the accreditation process as set out in the new policy. Specifically, the new process contains requirements that the superintendent and the school board review and approve the school growth plan. The Regulation also sets out that when the superintendent and board are satisfied the accreditation requirements have been met, the board requests of the Minister that the school be granted an accreditation certificate. Some of these steps were previously the responsibility of the external accreditation team, therefore, the team’s duties as set out in the Regulation have also been amended. There are a few additional changes intended to streamline and increase the clarity of the Regulation. For example: the minister is no longer limited to appointing three person external teams; and a number of due dates have been revised to accommodate the new process. According to the ministry, the amendments do not change the duties of boards or teachers and administrative officers to ensure accreditation is carried out.
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