Under the proposed model of First Nations Education Jurisdiction, First Nations’ Community
Education Authorities may take many forms. What is proposed here are just a
few of the possibilities. It is hoped that the framework that has been negotiated
will accommodate all of the models First Nations may wish
to establish.
The process for establishing a CEA will be
laid out in the First Nation’s Education Law, which is passed by the
First Nation. The First Nation’s Education Law will also describe the
composition of the CEA. The Education Law will be
the foundation
for the First Nation’s education system but will not contain a lot of
detail regarding day-to-day administration of the system. The details will
be included in the policies and/or rules of the CEA.
The First Nation’s Education law will set out the following:
- the process for establishing the CEA;
- the powers and duties of the CEA;
- the mechanisms for accountability of the CEA to
the members of the Participating First Nation;
- Responsibility regarding finance, including giving direction to create finance
policies;
- Responsibility for personnel, including giving direction to create personnel
policies; and
- The process for delegating responsibilities and powers to the First Nations
Education Authority (FNEA).
The CEA will have the capacity, rights, powers,
and privileges of a natural person and may:
- enter into contracts or agreements;
- acquire, hold or dispose of any property or an interest in property;
- sue or be sued;
- raise, spend, invest or borrow money, and secure or guarantee the repayment
of money borrowed; and
- do such other things as are ancillary to the exercise of its rights, powers,
and privileges according the Agreement between Canada and the Participating
First Nation.
The CEAs will have responsibility for determining
policy directions for their education systems and will oversee the implementation
of First Nations education programming on reserve. They will also be responsible
for approving agreements with other bodies for the delivery of education programs
and services.
The following three models describe how CEAs may
be structured:
I. Single Community, Single School
II. Multiple Communities, Single School
III. Multiple Communities, Multiple Schools
Possible Models for Community Education Authorities
Option I Single Community, Single School
The Participating First Nation (PFN) may choose to either:
- elect;
- appoint; or
- select through a competitive process
representatives to sit on the CEA. The number of
representatives will be determined by the community based on their size and
how they determine they want to govern their education system.
The CEA will have the authority to set in policy/rules
any, or all, of the following:
- Definitions;
- Responsibilities and entitlements of students and parents;
- Language of instruction;
- Responsibilities and roles with respect to school personnel;
- Establishing policy regarding management of student records;
- Establishing policy regarding management of school property;
- Determining the school calendar;
- Establishing the education program and standards for the school subject to
the requirements in the Canada-First Nation Education Jurisdiction Agreement;
- Conflict of interest for CEA members;
- Establishing the process for liaising with the FNEA, including the process
for delegating responsibilities as required;
- Establishing a process through which to work with other agencies, such as
Health or Social Services, in the integrated delivery of education programs;
- Establish agreements with Canada, the province, school boards or other external
agencies for the delivery of education programs and services; and
- Preparing an Annual Report to Community members.
A variation of this option is a single community with multiple schools. This
will largely operate in the manner described above. However, it may be advisable
to set up a School Advisory Committee for each of the schools.
Option II Multiple Communities, Single School (A current example of this in operation at present is the Saanich Indian School
Board)
In this option the Participating First Nations that wish to form a multiple
community, single school CEA would need to include
the process for establishing the joint authority in their respective Education
Laws. All of the Participating First Nations’ Education Laws would need
to be in alignment with the others’ to ensure that the CEA receives the same authority and direction from all Participating
First Nations.
The Participating First Nations may choose to either:
- elect;
- appoint; or
- select through a competitive process
representatives to sit on the CEA. The number of
representatives will be determined by the community based on their size and
how they determine they want to govern their education system. They may determine
that they require equal representation from each Participating First Nation
or may choose to determine the numbers based on student population.
In this instance, the CEA will have the same set
of responsibilities as outlined under Option I.
Option III Multiple Communities, Multiple Schools (Current examples of this model include the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council
and
the Gitxsan-Wetsuwet’en Education Society)
In this option, the Participating First Nations that wish to form a multiple
community, multiple school, Joint CEA would need
to include in their Education Laws the process for establishing the joint authority.
All of the Participating First Nations Education Laws would need to be in alignment
with the others’ to ensure that the CEA receives
the same authority and direction from all Participating First Nations.
The Participating First Nations may agree to certain components of their laws
being consistent for all members of the Joint CEA
to reflect their joint vision for their education system. For example, they
may all include provisions for instruction in their own language as a priority
for their entire education system, or they may jointly decide to support year-round
schooling.
The Joint CEA may be given responsibility for matters
such as:
- the development of financial and/or personnel policies;
- the development of curriculum and resources for use by all schools that are
part of the Joint CEA;
- delegating responsibilities and/or powers to the FNEA;
- negotiating agreements with respect to tuition for status students attending
public schools and the reciprocal for off reserve students attending certified
schools;
- preparing aggregate annual reports for members of the Participating First
Nations; etc.
Those Participating First Nations that currently operate their own schools
may wish to continue to have their own Advisory Committees for their schools.
Provisions for the establishment of these Advisory Committees would need to
be included in the First Nations’ Education Laws.
HOME 
SEARCH 
