Teacher regulation needs fixing: Saskatchewan Education Minister Don Morgan

The Saskatchewan government is moving ahead on a more arms-length way to regulate and discipline teachers.

Currently, complaints about teacher competence or behaviour are handled internally by the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation, which is the union that represents teachers.

On Friday, the government appointed a "transition committee" that's supposed to figure out how the new body will operate. 

The committee will work with government and the STF to iron out the details regarding funding, disciplinary action models and new rules for teacher certification. 

Education Minister Don Morgan said the current process for regulating teachers in Saskatchewan is too complex and needs to be more fair and transparent. 

"We're not saying be tough, be mean," he said. "We're just saying be fair, be robust. Get a system that works."

The government says the new body could be modelled after the groups that regulate other professionals in the province, such as lawyers (regulated by the Law Society of Saskatchewan) and doctors (regulated by the College of Physicians and Surgeons).

It's expected the new process will be in place in 2015.

These are the members of the transition committee:

• Clint Repski for the Ministry of Education.
• Gwen Dueck and Fay Elke for the STF.
• Kyle McIntyre for the League of Educational Administrators, Directors and Superintendents (LEADS).
• Elizabeth Perreault for the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA).
• Keith Frame for the First Nations Directors of Education.
• Gerry Hurton for the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) and
• Derwyn Crozier-Smith, former STF general secretary, as a member of the public.