School councils

Policy statement

Reference number
CPS-013

Effective date
January 26, 2000

Purpose

This policy statement outlines the Directorate's policy on the registration of applicant organizations that are established as school councils.

Summary

An organization established as a school council can qualify for registration as a charity under the advancement of education.

Definitions

School councils: Also known as Home and School Associations or Parent-Teacher Associations, serve as advisory and consultative committees for the purpose of increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the schools they support and providing a higher calibre of education for the students

Implementation

1. This policy applies to applicant organizations and registered charities that are established as school councils.

2. Councils are established by legislation in all provinces and the Yukon Territory. ¹ In five provinces, school councils require the consent of the school boards or the Minister of Education before they can be established. Once the consent has been granted and the school council has been formed, the linkage between a school and its council should be self-evident in the council's governing documents and statement of activities. School councils are usually linked to a school, but it is not necessary for the councils to provide evidence that a school officially approves its assistance.

3. In some provinces, it is mandatory for each school to establish a school council, while in other provinces, schools cannot be registered as charities and some school boards are registered as charities.

4. Schools councils are mostly made up of parents who assist, communicate and provide advice to the school and vice versa, all of which contribute in facilitating the education process.

Public benefit

5. Registered charities must operate for the benefit of the public at large. However, council membership can be restricted to certain criteria that may be relevant to the nature of the school, such as religion or language, but the public benefit cannot be restricted, for example, to those living in a particular neighbourhood.

Fundraising and the gifting of funds

6. Some councils combine their advisory roles with fundraising activities. As registered charities can only gift funds to qualified donees, the school and/or the school board must be registered as charities before the school council can gift funds to either of them. A council that intends to apply funds to school projects and purposes or to a school board that are not registered charities will not itself qualify for registration as a charity.

7. A school council whose school is not a registered charity, may raise funds if it does not intend to gift these funds directly to the school. If the school is a non-profit organization, then as long as the control of the funds and the decision making as to their disbursement rests with the council, the council may spend funds for the benefit of the students. For example, the council may offer scholarships, open to any child in the school, or purchase books, laboratory or sports equipment for the school.

8. A school council may also spend funds for the benefit of students at a private school, for example, a school that is supported by tuition fees, providing the private school is a non-profit organization that does not have narrow or non-charitable admission requirements, such as admitting only the student children of employees of a certain company.

Broad or vague objects

9. At common law, objects should not be so broadly or vaguely stated that they allow the pursuit of non-charitable activities. However, broad and vague objects may still be acceptable as long as they restrict the council to charitable activities. The following are examples of acceptable objects that have a clear educational orientation:

• to establish communications
• in collaboration with the school or school board, to discuss issues of mutual concern and provide advice
• to consult and liaise with the school

Internal divisions

10. Some organizations are internal divisions of Home and School Associations or Parent-Teacher Associations. They submit governing documents adopting the same objects as the national organization.

11. Many provincial organizations are not registered charities. Each provincial organization has a representative who is authorized to issue official donation receipts on its behalf. When an internal division has a fundraising campaign, the donated funds are sent either to a provincial organization or to the national organization that issues official donation receipts to the donors.

Political activities

12. An organization that is an internal division cannot have objects that are sufficiently broad to allow for the pursuit of political activities. For example, to work towards securing legislation, or other objects that refer to the promotion of one side of a broad social issue of a controversial nature.

13. Registered charities can devote approximately 10 percent of their resources to ancillary non-partisan political activities that further their charitable purposes. However, school councils that are registered cannot support municipal or school board candidates even though many school councils hold activities closely linked to municipal or school politics.

Footnotes

Footnote 1

Summary of provincial and territorial legislation

British Columbia

Section 8 of the School Act (amended 1996) authorizes parents to apply to the Board or the Minister to establish a parents' advisory council.

Jurisdiction: The councils may advise the board and the principal and staff of the school respecting any matter relating to the school.

Alberta

Section 22 of the School Act (1988) authorizes parents to establish a school council.

Saskatchewan

Section 135 of the Education Act (1995) provides that the board of education may establish a local school advisory committee, for a school, a group of schools, or all the schools in a school division. The membership and procedure may be prescribed by the Board.

Manitoba

Subsection 17 (3) of the Public Schools Amendment Act (1993) provides that the minister may establish a local school committee for each school ward, and set the number of members and terms of office. Subsection 17(5) sets the qualifications for school committee membership (residency in the ward of at least 6 months).

Ontario

Paragraph 170(1)(17.1) of the Education Act (as amended December 8, 1997) states that "Every board shall establish a school council for each school operated by the board, in accordance with the regulations." The language is mandatory.

Quebec

The Education Act (1990) requires a governing board (section 42) to be established in each school. Governing boards consist of parents, teachers, other staff, students (if a secondary school), community representatives, and the principal (who is a non-voting member).

New Brunswick

Section 32 of the Education Act (1997) states that there shall be a parent school support committee for each school.

Nova Scotia

The Education Amendments (1994) Act created Section 40A of the Education Act. It provides that on the recommendation of the Minister, the Governor in Council may establish a school council for a school. School councils shall include teachers, parents, students (if a secondary school), community representatives, and the principal (as a non-voting member).

Prince Edward Island

Section 66 of the School Act (1993) provides that parents may establish school councils for their school. The majority of members must be parents.

Newfoundland

Section 25 of the Schools Act, 1997, provides that a principal of a school shall establish a school council for the school.

Yukon

Section 69 of the Education Act (1990) provides that where the Minister receives a petition in the prescribed form signed by not less than ten persons living in the school attendance area of a Yukon school who would, if a school council were established, be entitled to vote at an election for the members of the school council, the Minister shall, by order, establish a school council for that Yukon school.

Date modified:

2010-12-03