1 Interpretation
(a) "at-home learning" means teacher-directed education
programming provided by a board, a Francophone regional
authority, an operator of a charter school or a person
responsible for the operation of an independent school to a
student on a temporary basis at the student's residence or at
a location other than the student's regularly attended school;
(a.1) "Attendance Board" m eans the Attendance Board
established under section 45;
(b) "attendance officer" means the superintendent or any other
individual designated by a board as an attendance officer;
(c) "board" means a board of t rustees of a school division;
(d) "bullying" means repeated and hostile or demeaning
behaviour by an individual in the school community where
the behaviour is intended to cause harm, fear or distress to
one or more other individuals in the school community,
including psychological harm or harm to an individual's
reputation;
(e) "charter school" means a sc hool established under section 25;
(e.1) "Commissioner" means the Alberta Teaching Profession
Commissioner appointed under section 225.6;
(e.2) "Crown" means, unless the context indicates otherwise, His
Majesty in right of Alberta;
(f) "early childhood services p rogram" means an education
program provided pursuant to section 21;
(g) "elector" means an el ector as defined in the Local
Authorities Election Act;
(h) "expel" means to expel a student in accordance with section 37;
(i) "Francophone" means an ind ividual who has rights under
section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms;
(j) "Francophone education program" means an education
program offered by a Francophone regional authority that is
intended for the children of Francophones, but does not
include an alternative program established under section 19;
(k) "Francophone education region" means a Francophone
education region established under section 126;
(l) "Francophone regional au thority" means a composite
Francophone regional authority established under
section 129 or a public Francophone regional authority or
separate Francophone regional authority established under
section 131;
(m) "home education program" means an education program
provided pursuant to section 20;
(m.1) "independent school" means a school registered under
section 29;
(n) "independent student" means a student who is
(i) 18 years of age or older, or
(ii) 16 years of age or older and
(A) living independently as determined by a board in
accordance with section 6, or
(B) a party to an agreement under section 57.2 of the
Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act;
(n.1) "intimate image" means an i ntimate image as defined in the
Protecting Victims of Non-consensual Distribution of
Intimate Images Act;
(n.2) "joint use and planning a greement" means a joint use and
planning agreement as defined in the Municipal Government
Act;
(o) "Minister" means the Minist er determined under section 16
of the Government Organization Act as the Minister
responsible for this Act;
(o.1) "municipal and school rese rve" has the same meaning as in
the Municipal Government Act;
(o.2) "municipal reserve" has the same meaning as in the
Municipal Government Act;
(p) "municipality" means a municipality as defined in the
Municipal Government Act;
(q) "non-school building" means a building other than a school
building owned or occupied, in whole or in part, by
(i) a school jurisdiction,
(ii) a school jurisdiction and a municipality, or
(iii) a school jurisdiction and another person;
(r) "parent", unless otherwise s pecified, means, in respect of a
student or a child enrolled in an early childhood services
program, the relevant individual referred to in subsection
(2);
(s) "principal" means a teacher designated as a principal or
acting principal under this Act;
(t) repealed 2025 c6 s3;
(u) "public school district" me ans an area of land established as
a public school district pursuant to this Act or any
predecessor Act or Ordinance;
(v) "public school division" means a public school division
established under section 112;
(v.1) "Registrar" means the Registrar appointed under section
195.1;
(w) "resident student" means an individual who is entitled to
have access to an education program under section 3 and
who is a resident student as determined under section 4;
(x) "school" means a structured learning environment through
which an education program is offered to a student by
( i ) a b o a r d ,
(ii) a person responsible for the operation of an independent
school,
(iii) either a society incorporated under the Societies Act, or a
company registered under Part 9 of the Companies Act,
that is responsible for the operation of a charter school,
(iv) a person providing an early childhood services program,
(v) a parent providing a home education program, or
(vi) the Minister;
(y) "school building" means a building used for the instructio n
or accommodation of students that is owned or occupied, in
whole or in part, by
(i) a school jurisdiction,
(ii) a school jurisdiction and a municipality, or
(iii) a school jurisdiction and another person;
(z) "school building project" means
(i) the purchase, erection, r elocation or renovation of,
(ii) the making of str uctural changes in,
(iii) the addition to or extension of, or
(iv) the build ing of access roads or site preparation for,
a school building;
(aa) "school council" means a school council established under
section 55;
(bb) "school division" means a school division established und er
section 112;
(cc) "school jurisdiction" means a board, the Lloydminster
Public School Division or the Lloydminster Roman Catholic
Separate School District;
(cc.1) "school reserve" has the same meaning as in the Municipal
Government Act;
(dd) "separate school district" means an area of land established
as a separate school district pursuant to this Act or any
predecessor Act or Ordinance;
(ee) "separate school division" means a separate school divisi on
established under section 112;
(ff) "separate school region" me ans a separate school region
established under section 123;
(gg) "special school tax levy" means a tax that is authorized
pursuant to Part 6, Division 5;
(hh) "student" means a person who is
(i) enrolled in a school, or
(ii) required under section 7 to attend school,
but does not include a child younger than 6 years of age
who is enrolled in an early childhood services program;
(ii) "superintendent" means a person appointed as a
superintendent of schools under section 222;
(jj) "suspend", with respect to a student, means to suspend a
student in accordance with section 36;
(kk) "teacher" means an indi vidual who holds a teaching
certificate;
(kk.1) "teaching certificate" mean s a teaching certificate as defined
in the regulations made under section 201;
(ll) "trustee" means a member of a board;
(mm) "unorganized territory" me ans any area in Alberta that is not
included within a public or separate school district or a
school division.
(1.1) Without limiting the generality of the definition of "bullying"
in subsection (1)(d), bullying includes the distribution of an
intimate image of another person knowing that the person depicted
in the image did not consent to the distribution, or being reckless as
to whether or not that person consented to the distribution.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)(r), the parent is
(a) subject to subsection (3),
(i) the guardian as set out in section 20 of the Family Law
Act,
(ii) the guardian appointed under Part 1, Division 5 of the
Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act, if the
guardian notifies the board in writing of the guardian's
appointment, or
(iii) the guardian appointed under section 22 or 23 of the
Family Law Act, if the guardian notifies the board in
writing of the guardian's appointment,
(b) notwithstanding clause (a), the guardian of a student
appointed under a temporary or permanent guardianship
order under section 31 or 34 of the Child, Youth and Family
Enhancement Act, a permanent guardianship agreement
under section 11 of the Child, Youth and Family
Enhancement Act or a private guardianship order under
section 56 of the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act,
if the guardian notifies the board in writing of the guardian's
appointment, or
(c) notwithstanding clauses (a) and (b), the Minister of Public
Safety and Emergency Services, if the student is in custody
under the Corrections Act, the Corrections and Conditional
Release Act (Canada) or the Youth Criminal Justice Act
(Canada).
(3) The authority of a guardian to act under this Act is subject to
any limitation imposed by law on the authority of the guardian, and
where a person claims to be a parent or guardian or claims the
existence of any limitation on the authority of a parent or guardian,
the onus is on that person to provide proof of the claim.
(4) For the purposes of this Act,
(a) "resident of Al berta" means a person
(i) who is lawfully entitled to be or to remain in Canada,
and
(ii) who is living and ordinarily present in Alberta,
but does not include a tourist or visitor to Alberta;
(b) "resident of Canada" means a person
(i) who is lawfully entitled to be or to remain in Canada,
and
(ii) who is living and ordinarily present in Canada,
but does not include a tourist or visitor to Canada.
2012 cE-0.3 s1;2015 c6 s2;2017 cP-26.9 s11;2019 c7 s3;2019 c22 s2;
2022 c7 s2;2022 c21 s19;2024 c14 s3;2025 c6 s3