Sask. children's advocate releases investigative report on gov't oversight into independent schools
Lisa Broda makes 36 recommendations to Ministry of Education and province
Saskatchewan's advocate for children and youth has released an investigative report into the Ministry of Education's oversight of registered independent schools in the province.
The report, called Making the Grade – Moving Forward in Independent Education, was released on Wednesday by Lisa Broda, the province's children and youth advocate, and includes 36 recommendations for the ministry.
In the 2022-23 academic year, there were 5,766 students enrolled in 63 registered independent schools in Saskatchewan, according to Broda's report.
Broda prepared the report as a response to allegations that arose last year of historical abuse at the Christian Centre Academy (now Legacy Christian Academy), a private Christian school in Saskatoon, according to the new release.
More than 30 former students of Christian Legacy Academy in Saskatoon allege years of physical abuse, solitary confinement, exorcisms, and forced political campaigning by staff and leadership of the school and the adjacent church.
Four people affiliated with the school have been criminally charged in relation to the allegations.
Broda looked into whether steps were taken to safeguard the protection of students currently attending independent schools in the province.
"During this process, however, the Advocate noted concerns with potential ongoing gaps in oversight and accountability processes implemented by the Ministry," the release said.
In August 2022, a group of former Legacy Christian Academy students launched a $25-million class action lawsuit. Caitlin Erickson, one of those students, said Thursday she was pleased to see Broda's report.
"It was really great to see the provincial advocate really outline the same concerns that we as students had brought to the Minister of Education at the time last year," she said.
The report asks the government and the ministry to work together on a better system for students to raise concerns, and to safeguard effective oversight and accountability, among other recommendations.
Erickson said the province has failed and is continuing to fail its students on oversight of independent schools.
"It is very glaring that the current Ministry of Education does not have the capacity to monitor these schools and to make sure that things are on the up and up, and they do have a duty and responsibility to the children of this province," she said.
Registered independent schools are not fully funded by the Ministry of Education, but they do still receive some funding from the province.
The Saskatchewan government's 2022-23 public accounts say Legacy Christian Academy received $936,303.
Broda's report says that, even as private organizations, independent schools are required to uphold the full spectrum of children's rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code, 2018 — and the province is obligated to ensure that they do so.
The report calls on the government to ensure that all schools comply with Saskatchewan's Human Rights Code.
Broda said the province must have standards for all schools to ensure all children are educated in safe environments.
"The school age years are vital to a young person's development, and children and youth have a right to a quality education," Broda said.
Under the current system, independent school boards have the power to decide when to grant students access to their school records. Students in the provincial system don't face such limitations, according to the report.
Broda recommends making sure all students can access their records.
Jennifer Beaudry, another former Christian Centre Academt student and part of the class-action lawsuit, said this recommendation could change lives.
"I have personal experience of reports not being made to the Ministry of Education, or being made late, and then the ministry not wanting to expand on that or acknowledge that they have that," she said.
Matt Love, the education critic for the province's Opposition NDP, said the report shows that the government's priorities are misplaced.
"What we see in this report is a continued failure by this government to take the concerns of the children's advocate seriously. Many of these concerns were previously flagged last year," Love said in a news release.
In an emailed response to the CBC, a Ministry of Education spokesperson said it appreciates the children's advocate's work on this report.
"Due to the length of the report and the number of recommendations made in it, a detailed analysis is required before we can provide further comment," it said.
Beaudry said she has learned over the years not to get too excited about every report that comes out. But she said she is hopeful for change.
"Amidst all of the darkness and the heaviness that has happened historically and is currently happening right now, there are good things that can come of this," she said.
"We're starting to see that trickle into effect and we're starting to see it snowball, even though there's no snow outside."
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With files from Jessie Anton