Under section 37 of the Teachers Act, employers are required to remit the $95 annual practice fee for certificate holders employed with the board. Please review the information in News & Notices in the Employers’ Area and follow the payroll-deduction instructions to ensure you remit the 2026-27 fees before May 15, 2026. If you have any questions, please email trb.employers@gov.bc.ca or call 236-455-1872.
Friday March 13, 2026
Deputy Minister of Education and Child Care
250-880-3451
Kaye.Krishna@gov.bc.ca
With spring break on the horizon, I hope you’re able to take some time to rest and return recharged for the final semester of the 2025-26 school year.
The Deputy Minister’s Bulletin will be on hiatus for the next two weeks and will return on April 2nd to accommodate Good Friday.
This week’s bulletin includes information on the Preliminary Operating Grants for 2026-27 as well as amendments to the Safe Access to Schools Act to ensure that access zones prohibiting people from interfering with safe access to school grounds can be extended beyond the end of this school year.
Wishing you a wonderful spring break.
Kaye
For Action
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Foster Caregivers Needed in Communities Throughout B.C.
The Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) is recruiting Foster Caregivers throughout B.C. with a goal of reaching parents/caregivers of school-aged children who may be most suitable to provide care for children and youth. MCFD is seeking your help to distribute Foster Caregiver recruitment messages to parents/caregivers in your schools.
Please consider asking school principals to share the resources below. There is an image for schools’ Facebook pages and a poster (PDF) to display in physical locations visible to parents/caregivers, school personnel and visitors.
- Recruitment image for Facebook (JPEG)
- Printable Recruitment Ad (PDF)
- Printable Posters for Posting in Schools (PDF)
If you have any questions or need any additional information, please contact the Ministry of Children and Family Development’s Centralized Retention and Recruitment Team.
For Information
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Preliminary Operating Grants for the 2026-27 School Year
The 2026-27 preliminary operating grants have been completed for all 60 boards of education. Total district allocations are based on estimated 2026-27 enrolments provided by boards of education and generate a provincial preliminary total of $7.242 billion.
Detailed information on the Funding Allocation System is included in the Operating Grants Manual, which is available on the 2026-27 Estimated Operating Grants web page.
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Amendments to Access Zones Legislation Introduced
The Safe Access to Schools Act came into force in May 2024, enabling government to establish access zones around K-12 public and independent schools. The Act included a sunset clause to repeal the legislation at the end of the 2025-26 school year. While protests and disruptions at schools have decreased, they continue to occur and government has introduced legislation that would extend the sunset clause until the end of the 2027-28 school year.
The Safe Access to Schools Regulation remains in place until June 30, 2026, and access zones are currently in place around all K-12 public and independent schools, with limited exceptions.
Please continue to report any incidents of protests or disruptive behaviour to ecc.strategicpriorities@gov.bc.ca.
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Removing Barriers For Qualified, Internationally Certified Early Childhood Educators
The Province continues to remove barriers for qualified, internationally certified early childhood educators from more than 30 countries, so that they can continue their careers in B.C. and start working sooner. Those who are certified as an early childhood educator in another country might be able to apply for a Five Year Early Childhood Educator certificate in British Columbia using work experience from outside Canada.
Internationally trained early childhood educator applicants with recognized certification and work experience can now apply for certification through My ECE Registry, without needing additional Canadian work experience. More information is available at the ECE International Applicant web page.
Please note that these changes do not affect early childhood educator applicants trained in B.C. or other provinces. Learn more about international credential recognition on the Office for International Credential Recognition website and in the Credential Recognition: Your Path to Professional Licensure guide.
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Inaugural OneAbility Games and Resources for Inclusive Sport
In May 2026, the inaugural OneAbility Games will launch at the Richmond Olympic Oval with over 800 students with disabilities taking part. The OneAbility Games is a movement to reimagine how youth with disabilities engage in sport and physical activity across systems. It brings together over 50 partners across sport, education, recreation, health and disability advocacy to create a co-ordinated, province-wide ecosystem that supports meaningful participation in sport at all levels.
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Teacher Regulation Branch 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, an outcome was posted about Frank Ian Weniger, who agreed to a three-day suspension.
