The First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC) and First Nations Schools Association (FNSA) are sharing updated public health guidance for K-12 school settings released on September 13th by the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and BC Ministry of Education and Child Care (ECC). First Nations schools may wish to refer to the following guidance documents while planning for and providing in-class instruction.
- The BC Centre for Disease Control’s Public Health Communicable Disease Guidance for K-12 School Settings
- The BC Ministry of Education and Child Care’s Provincial Communicable Disease Guidelines for K-12 Settings
While we are sharing this latest guidance with you for information, FNESC and FNSA, like the BC Ministry of Health, BCCDC, and ECC, fully respect the authority of individual First Nations to make decisions about the operation of First Nations schools in the best interests of their students, schools, and communities. This includes the authority to decide if and how to use these guidelines and guidance documents to inform planning.
For those First Nations that have students attending public schools or non-First Nations independent schools, please note that the Ministry of Education and Child Care continues to have expectations that Boards of Education and non-First Nations independent school authorities engage First Nations and support First Nation students. These expectations are set out in the Indigenous Students section of the Ministry guidelines (page 3). First Nations with students in public and non-First Nations independent schools may wish to review this information to inform their discussions with school districts and schools.