School names and addresses updated in the Education Data Exchange (EDX) will now be used for the production and distribution of student transcripts and graduation certificates. Visit the EDX Info Hub for more on ensuring your school’s information is up to date.
Friday April 4, 2025
Deputy Minister of Education and Child Care
250-880-3451
Kaye.Krishna@gov.bc.ca
Hello everyone, and welcome back from Spring Break. I hope you had a restful holiday and were able to fit in some downtime.
This week’s bulletin contains several important announcements, including a reminder to register for the May 2 All Superintendents Meeting if you haven’t already. There is also information about registering for the Critical Incident Response Community of Practice for your staff who may be interested. This week’s bulletin also includes announcements on New Spaces Fund funding, new $10 a Day centres, upcoming erase training sessions, Criminal Record Check requirements for certificate holders, and a refresh to the iMinds collaboration on substance use. There is also an upcoming National School Food program drop-in Q&A session, as well as a funding announcement for the program. I’ve included information on a recent report on cannabis use in BC youth as well, which shows some promising trends.
Have a lovely weekend,
Kaye
For Action
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CRC Requirements for Certificate Holders
The Criminal Records Review Act requires all certificate holders to undergo a criminal record check (CRC) every 5 years. Certificate holders can authorize the CRC inside Your Account. The ministry forwards the authorizations to the Criminal Records Review Program (CRRP) for processing. Effective April 1, 2025, the CRRP will not accept any authorizations that don’t include a certificate holder’s email address. To avoid delays in the process, please encourage your certificate holders to log in to Your Account to ensure all of their contact information is accurate.
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Reminder: Register for the May 2 All Superintendents Meeting
A reminder to register for the All Superintendents Meeting on May 2 at the Coast Coal Harbour Hotel in Vancouver by Thursday, April 10. A limited number of discounted hotel rooms are available on the Coast Coal Harbour Hotel website and also need to be reserved by April 10. The agenda will be provided closer to the date.
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Annual Facility Grant Expenditure Plans – Due May 16
School districts must complete their 2024/25 Annual Facility Grant (AFG) expenditure plans in MyCAPS ensuring they reflect actual AFG expenditures. This must occur prior to the submission of the 2025/26 AFG expenditure plans to the ministry.
The due date for 2025/26 AFG expenditure plan submissions in MyCAPS is May 16, 2025, and can be informed by the 2025/26 Annual Facility Grant (AFG) Allocations Table (PDF) available on the Capital Planning website.
Please contact Nathan.Whipp@gov.bc.ca if you have any questions.
For Information
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2024/25 National School Food Program and 2025/26 Feeding Futures Funding
Information regarding district allocations is now available for 2024/25 National School Food Program funding and 2025/26 Feeding Futures funding. Spending criteria and a question and answer document are also available to guide funding use. Please email ECC.schoolfood@gov.bc.ca if you have any questions.
Also, a reminder that the School Food Programs team will be hosting a virtual drop-in Q&A session for School Food Coordinators and Secretary Treasurers on Friday, April 11 from 11:00am – 12:00pm PDT regarding the National School Food Program.
Please use the following information to join the Q&A:
Meeting ID: 670 4986 4638
Passcode: 480378
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Upcoming erase Training Sessions
Safer Schools Together (SST) and the Ministry of Education and Child Care are hosting a Community of Practice session on April 14, 2025, from 8:30 – 9:45 am PDT. This session will provide an overview of key components to navigate critical incidents with intentional care, consistent practices, and through a trauma-informed approach.
Register through the Community of Practice web page, which includes guiding questions to facilitate the discussion.
Reminder of additional upcoming erase training sessions:
- Digital Threat Assessment (remote) April 15
- Basic Threat and Risk Assessment (in person) April 8 – Fort Nelson, April 25 – Smithers
- NEW** Establishing Family Practices for Safeguarding Against Cyberbullying and Sextortion (family session – remote) April 23, May 21, and June 3
- Establishing Safe, Caring, & Respectful Digital Communities (family session – remote) April 8 and May 7
Please reach out to the Student Safety Team at erase@gov.bc.ca for more information or if you have questions.
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New $10 a Day ChildCareBC Centres Open
Families will benefit from 770 new $10 a Day ChildCareBC spaces at 22 child care centres in March and April 2025, bringing the total number to approximately 16,000 spaces throughout BC. Expansion of the $10 a Day ChildCareBC program helps families access quality, affordable and inclusive child care through the Canada-British Columbia Early Learning and Child Care Agreement.
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Report Release: Cannabis Use Among BC Youth Aged
The McCreary Centre Society recently released Blunt Talk III: Cannabis use among BC youth aged 12–18 to provide key insights on youth cannabis use in BC. This is the first report to use 2023 Adolescent Health Survey data since cannabis was legalized in 2018.
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iMinds – Substance Use Education Resource
The Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, based out of the University of Victoria, has refreshed iMinds, a collection of resources for educators related to substance use and gambling, as well as a way of teaching and thinking about health education. Topics can be sorted by grade level and subject area to identify appropriate lesson and instruction ideas.
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Discipline Outcomes
Discipline outcomes are posted to enhance the transparency of the processes and decisions made with respect to complaints and reports about educators. Recently, outcomes were posted regarding William Donald Harvey who agreed to a reprimand, and Jeffrey Forden Mooney, whose certificate was previously relinquished and is subject to a 60-month ban from reapplying to teach in the K-12 education system. Another outcome was posted about a teacher who agreed to a reprimand. This outcome was anonymized to protect the identity of students who were harmed, abused, or exploited by the teacher.
