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By Sheldon Spackman/rdnewsNOW

Environics Research Poll

ATA says few Albertans and teachers support Bill 15

Apr 28, 2022 | 9:19 AM

The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) says just three per cent of Albertans feel that teacher conduct is a top issue in education, and as few as 13 per cent support the outcomes proposed by Bill 15.

This, says the ATA, is according to new results from public and member opinion polling conducted by Environics Research on behalf of the Alberta Teachers’ Association.

“The Minister of Education is executing a massive power grab through Bill 15, but Albertans don’t trust the government to uphold standards for the teaching profession,” said ATA president Jason Schilling in a press release Wednesday. “The minister has picked the worst possible option for regulating teachers, according to the views of Albertans.”

The ATA says poll results also find that:

• Just 13 per cent of Albertans and seven per cent of teachers feel that the ATA should have professional functions removed.
• Only 17 per cent of Albertans and two per cent of teachers trust the government most to uphold standards for the teaching profession.
• A majority of Albertans and four in five teachers trust the ATA most to uphold teaching standards.
• Seven in ten Albertans and nine in ten teachers agree that the ATA is looking out for the best interests of students.
• Fifty-seven per cent of Albertans and 90 per cent of teachers disapprove of the government’s handling of K–12 education.

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“Bill 15 removes professional functions from the ATA and consolidates them under the control of the minister,” added Schilling. “The process will be highly susceptible to political interference and this polling shows that Albertans don’t trust her with the power she’s giving herself. After the fumbling and bumbling over curriculum, COVID and funding, there is no surprise that Albertans have no confidence in the government on this issue either. Bill 15 must be stopped.”

The ATA says Polling results are from representative surveys of 800 adult Albertans and 825 ATA members conducted between Jan. 27 and Feb. 17, 2022. The margin of error for the teacher poll is said to be ±3.4 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

“Bill 15 will ensure that the entire teaching profession is protected by bringing all teachers and teacher leaders under one reformed disciplinary process, no matter who they work for,” countered Katherine Stavropoulos, press secretary, office of the minister of education, in a statement to rdnewsNOW.

“Our priority is the best interests of students, their families, and teachers across the education system, and the public at the centre of the teacher discipline process,” added Stavropoulos. “Alberta is an outlier when compared with other jurisdictions and regulated professions, such as nurses. We are eliminating the conflict of interest where a union could advocate for its members while also overseeing disciplinary matters.”

“This is not a new approach from the ATA in politicizing the issues when the focus should be on our student’s safety,” she continued. “It should be noted that fewer than two per cent of Alberta’s teachers self-selected to participate in this poll. That small number is hardly representative of the more than 53,000 total certificated teachers and teacher leaders in the province. It should also be noted that this poll ended on February 17, a full month and a half before Bill 15 was even tabled in the assembly, on March 31.”