Education Equity Moves Towards Second Phase
The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission's education equity program was launched in 1985 to address the high dropout rate of Aboriginal students. By 1989, most school boards with significant enrolments of Aboriginal students had equity plans that focused on five areas: curriculum; school policies and practices; parental involvement; cross-cultural training for teachers; and efforts to increase the number of Aboriginal teachers. These plans have evolved over time and now include anti-racism or anti-discrimination policies, training for all staff, and procedures to deal with discriminatory incidents. In November 1997, a broad initiative by key partners in the education community moved education equity in Saskatchewan towards a second phase of development, when the Equity in Education Forum released a policy document entitled Our Children, Our Communities and Our Future. This policy articulates a common vision for promoting equity in schools and covers all students, including students of Aboriginal ancestry. Forum members include the Commission; Department of Education; Saskatchewan School Trustees Association; Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation; League of Education Administrators, Directors and Superintendents; Gabriel Dumont Institute; University of Saskatchewan; and University of Regina. K-12 Education Equity Plans The Commission will continue to support individual school boards by approving and monitoring K-12 education equity plans, while working with its partners on the Forum to develop schools that address the needs of all students. Thirty-six school divisions and approximately 100 individuals participated in the Commission's annual education equity seminars in Regina and Saskatoon in November 1998. The seminars provided an overview of reports from school divisions with approved plans, then moved into small group discussions on "How to Assess Success in Equity." There are currently 18 approved plans in school divisions with approximately 77,400 students. | ||||
New EE Monitoring Process in Action | ||||
Last year the Commission had its first opportunity to work with the new, three-year monitoring cycle for employment equity plans. All employers with approved plans will continue to provide the Commission with annual written reports. However, the Commission will monitor only one-third of the plans in-depth each year. |
The change was intended to permit a more detailed and comprehensive review of selected plans, including participation from the designated groups addressed by employment equity -- women, Aboriginal peoples, people with disabilities and visible minorities. | |||
