On June 7, 2023, the Québec Ombudsman sent a letter to the Committee on Culture and Education commenting on Bill 23 – Act to amend mainly the Education Act and to enact the Act respecting the Institut national d’excellence en éducation.
Favourable to the idea of improving the education system to foster student success, the Québec Ombudsman welcomes this Bill with openness.
In its letter, which reiterates some of the conclusions of its special report titled Putting students first (June 2022), it underscores the importance of making students’ needs the centrepiece of any legislative amendments. It also emphasized the need to maintain the recourse offered to citizens who could be dissatisfied with public services.
Lastly, the Québec Ombudsman made 3 recommendations:
- Consult education system partners on the conditions and procedures for the professional development offered to teaching staff;
- When students switch to another educational institution, allow them (or their parents) to refuse to have documents concerning them transferred if the documents are not by the school team;
- Ensure that the Québec Ombudsman will be empowered to handle complaints regarding the Institut national d’excellence en éducation which the Bill proposes to create.
The Québec Ombudsman’s letter about Bill 23 (PDF, 179 KiB, in French only)
