In its final meeting before the Oct. 20 municipal election, the previous Board of Trustees for the Grande Yellowhead Public School Division (GYPSD) approved two letters to be sent to the provincial government on its behalf.
The first addresses trustee concerns about the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act and the Fairness and Safety in Sport Regulation that came into effect as of the 2025-26 school year, and is directed to the minister of education and childcare and the minister of tourism and sport.
The board’s primary concerns are with the administrative burden caused by the new rules, as well as the discriminatory nature of the documentation requirements.
Under the new regulations, female athletes (or their parent/guardian, if a minor) 12 years old and above are required to provide written confirmation that they meet eligibility requirements at the time of registration. That eligibility requires the individual’s sex to be listed as female at birth and recorded as such on their birth certificate when competing in female-only leagues, classes or divisions.
The GYPSD board is concerned about the potential unnecessary repetition of this requirement in subsequent years, as individuals can “challenge” an athlete’s eligibility. This procedure would allow the board to demand the athlete, or their parent/guardian, file a copy of their birth registration document with the board to confirm their biological sex.
“Once a foundational legal document, such as a birth registration document, is submitted and verified by the board to establish an athlete’s eligibility based on their immutable sex at birth, requiring continued annual confirmation or repeated future submissions represents an extreme and unnecessary administrative burden for both the school division and the student/family,” the board states in its letter.
This process also diverts limited resources away from GYPSD’s core responsibility to deliver education programming, the board adds.
The GYPSD board also states that the regulation creates an unequal and undue burden by only requiring sensitive documentation for girls, which conflicts with its duty to provide a “welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environment that respects diversity and fosters a sense of belonging,” as per Section 33(1)(d) of the Education Act.
It urges the ministries to remove or reduce the “administrative complexities” its says increase workloads for school staff, impacting their ability to focus on educational delivery. It also asks the government to reconsider the targeting of female students only, as it conflicts with their obligations.
A second letter was also directed to the ministry of education and childcare concerning a proposal for an agreement that would support rural schools.
The board says rural schools in Alberta face persistent challenges in attracting and retaining specialists like occupational therapists (OTs) and speech-language pathologists (SLPs), which impacts the quality of student support services.
To try and address this issue, the board proposes a Return of Services Agreement, which would incentivize qualified professionals to serve in rural areas by offering a tuition reimbursement or rural service allowances.
This initiative could improve equity in education between rural and urban centres, ensuring students have access to high quality services regardless of location.
The letters were approved during the Oct. 15 public board meeting.
